September 1, 2025 • 21 mins
"Even if God doesn't rescue us, we will not serve your gods." These powerful words from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego perfectly capture what it means to be a prisoner for Christ—complete surrender and obedience regardless of outcome.
In this heartfelt conversation, Pastor Lee welcomes his wife Erica to explore Paul's profound declaration in Ephesians 3:1 where he identifies himself as "a prisoner for Christ Jesus." Together, they unpack what this identity means for believers today, examining how Paul's physical imprisonments in Philippi, Caesarea, and Rome became platforms for ministry rather than limitations.
The discussion weaves through powerful biblical narratives—from Paul and Silas singing hymns at midnight while chained in an inner cell, to Jesus calming the storm after the disciples followed him obediently into the boat. These stories reveal a transformative truth: being Christ's prisoner means viewing every circumstance as an opportunity to spread the gospel, choosing obedience regardless of comfort or convenience.
Perhaps most striking is the paradoxical freedom that comes with this surrender. As Pastor Lee notes, "Paul had more freedom sitting inside those prison walls than most people walking around outside." This liberty comes from understanding that victory isn't avoiding tribulation but overcoming it through Christ's power. As Erica beautifully articulates, "Sometimes walking in victory isn't always avoidance of tribulation... we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony."
Whether you're facing storms in your health, relationships, career, or faith journey, this episode offers the encouraging reminder that God is with you in the boat. Stay in obedience to where He has called you, proclaim His promises, and discover the extraordinary freedom that comes from being a prisoner for Christ.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hey, what's going on?
Everybody?
This is Pastor Lee and I ampastor of Christ Family Outreach
Church, located in Amelia,virginia, and if you have not
made your way out to one of ourservices, we would love to see
you at our Thursday nightrecharge service at 7 pm or our
Sunday morning service.
Doors open at 9 30 and servicegets going at 10 am, so come on
out, say hey, worship the Lordand fellowship with us.
(00:33):
Today in studio, here at thetable, I have a very, very
special guest.
It is this person's first timeon the show and she is someone
very, very special to me.
We have been together moreyears than we have not.
It is the one, the only, mywife, my bride, my boo, erica.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Hello everybody.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
How you doing boo-boo .
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So today we are going to be talking about being a
prisoner for Jesus and whatexactly that means in scripture
and how we can apply it in ourpersonal lives today and even
now.
As I just kind of mentioned thetitle of this, I'm sure there's
a lot of people out there thatare still grinning and excited
that they have heard your voiceon air, because we did not let
(01:18):
people know that you were comingon.
Well, maybe a couple people wedid, but so I'm sure people are
elated to hear you on thisepisode and I'm excited to have
you here too.
So thank you for coming by.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
All right.
So today's episode, we're goingto discuss something that Paul
said in Ephesians, chapter 3.1.
And here it is.
If you got your Bibles, goahead and crack it open,
ephesians 3.1.
Paul writes For this reason, IPaul a prisoner for Christ Jesus
, on behalf of you, gentiles.
So Paul calls himself aprisoner for the Lord, and today
(01:51):
we're going to talk about themeaning of that and how we can
apply it, as I mentioned momentsago, in our personal lives
right now.
The Bible records threedifferent times that Paul was
imprisoned simply for sharingthe gospel.
He was first arrested inPhilippi in 49 AD, and you may
remember that was where Paulcast out the demon that was in
(02:12):
the slave girl, and she wasinvolved in fortune telling
right, but with the demon nolonger in her, the Bible says
that her owners became angrybecause their hope for gain was
gone.
In other words, without thedemon, she could no longer tell
the future and therefore, by notbeing able to tell the future,
she could not make her ownersany more money.
Paul's second arrest came inCaesarea for two years, and then
(02:37):
the third arrest comes in Romefor another period of two years.
Now, being a prisoner for theLord, as Paul calls it.
It does not mean that you haveto be in jail or prison.
Just want to make that clearright off the bat.
But I think if we look at howPaul responds to being in jail,
we can, without a doubt, beginto see what it means to be a
(02:59):
prisoner of the Lord.
For example, in Acts, chapter16, verse 25, we see Paul in
prison.
They are placed in an innercell for maximum security and
their feet are in stocks andchains.
And the Bible tells us that atthe midnight hour, paul and
Silas are praying and singinghymns to God and the prisoners
(03:21):
are listening to them.
So, erica, one of the majorsteps of being a prisoner for
the Lord is, no matter where hehas you in life, you've got to
continue to see it as a ministryopportunity to spread the
gospel, an opportunity to spreadthe hope, to spread love and
the salvation message.
It's not about our feelings,it's not about us being
(03:42):
comfortable.
It's about being obedient, nomatter where we find ourselves
in life.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, I like that.
I just happened to have watcheda pastor on YouTube this week
and I thought it went so wellwith what you're talking about,
with being a prisoner for Christ.
And it's about being obedient,no matter what the cost, right,
and so no matter what it lookslike in our circumstances and
where we are in life.
And he talked about Mark,chapter four, verses 35 through
(04:11):
41.
And it's when Jesus calms thestorm with his disciples and he
tells the disciples let's go tothe other side.
And they get in the boat withhim obediently.
Right, they go willingly.
And then what happens?
A storm happens.
And so there's a lot to talkabout here, because to me it
kind of parallels a little bitwith Paul being in prison
(04:34):
because of his obedience to whathe's called to do, right.
So here they are in a storm.
The waves are coming over themand in this particular scene,
the disciples were beingobedient when Jesus asked them
to get in.
Have you ever been obedient towhat God called you to do?
The storm came and it seemedlike God was maybe asleep in the
boat.
The waves were literally comingin and fear starts to take over
(04:58):
that the boat's going to sink.
What do you do in that instance.
It's kind of like when he's putin jail.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
We know what they did right.
Obviously, they get scared,they get nervous, they start
crying out.
They're asking Jesus hey, areyou going to let us die Like?
Is this going to be the end ofit?
Right here, Not realizing thatJesus had called them into the
boat?
And by him calling them intothe boat, he's also calling them
into the storm, right In aperfect life.
(05:25):
I would love to say that if wewere in that boat, or if we were
in that maximum security, ifyou will, inner cell, that we
would cry out to God with suchgreat faith.
But that's not always.
If we're honest with oneanother, that's not always how
everyone does it, but that's howwe should do it.
We should call out on the nameof the Lord and be saved.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Absolutely, and I love here in scripture.
If you look at it, it's likethis didn't take Jesus by
surprise, right?
He knew that this was coming,he had told them get in the boat
, and here it even says Jesuswas in the stern sleeping on a
cushion, like he was evencomfortable.
He was sleeping in a cushionright In the boat, and so he is
(06:08):
perfectly in peace in the boat,knows what's going on.
But because of their fear, italmost caused them to get out of
obedience to what God calledthem to do and possibly jump out
of the boat.
And how many times do we look atour circumstances or the waves
and miss who's already on thatboat, with us being Jesus Christ
?
Right?
(06:28):
So, just like with Paul, hedidn't forget who was in jail
with him, and so that's why hewas able to focus so much in
serving the Lord and spreadingthe gospel, even though he was
in chains for Christ.
And so the storm could havecaused the disciples to behave
in a way that could havedestroyed them in a way that
that storm couldn't Just likewith Paul being in jail, you
(06:50):
know, he could have looked athis circumstances and he could
have chosen to maybe sneak outor escape or whatever else in
his flesh he wanted to do, andthat, actually, that choice
could have destroyed him, versuswhat God had called him to do.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Paul and Silas had been beaten with rods and there
had been many blows inflictedupon them.
So here they are they'recharged with disrupting the
peace.
They're charged with not justdisrupting the peace, but how
are they disrupting the peace?
By simply preaching the goodnews, the gospel message.
They wanted to help people andthey're in trouble for it, and
they've done absolutely nothingwrong, right, and so now we've
(07:31):
got to understand that they'renot thinking of themselves,
they're thinking you know what,no matter what type of situation
we're in, we're going to giveGod praise right here, right now
, and I just want to say to thelisteners out there that that's
being a prisoner for the Lord.
No matter where you are, nomatter your circumstance, no
matter what you're faced with orwhat you're going through, you
(07:52):
are going to be obedient to God,to whatever the cost, whatever
the price, no matter the time.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
There was a quote I heard this week and it just
resonated so well with me.
And it said week, and it justresonated so well with me.
And it said seasons of miserycan become seasons God uses for
a life of ministry.
And right here we can see, withPaul and Silas being in prison,
how God used that season intheir life, that season of
misery, for a life of ministryright ahead.
(08:21):
And so storms can sometimes makeus think normally what we
wouldn't think.
It can cause us and tempt us tocontemplate things.
Maybe we wouldn't normally, butwhen you're grounded in the
word, just like Paul and Silaswas right, they knew who was
with them, they knew the word,they knew who Jesus Christ was.
It couldn't shake them.
And they knew, just like withthe disciples, it couldn't shake
(08:44):
them.
And they knew, just like withthe disciples, that Jesus was on
the boat right.
So in every storm, satan wantsus to use it to influence you
and me to make a decision.
No-transcript story with Pauland Silas, they had two options,
right they could walk inobedience or they could choose
(09:08):
to leave or choose to escape,just like we had talked about
before, and that would haveactually brought the destruction
of their ministry and theirtestimony not actually being in
prison.
Prison wasn't what brought themdestruction right.
Their own choosing of selfwould have caused the
destruction.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Fast forwarding just a little bit something Paul
writes in his letter to Timothyduring his imprisonment in Rome.
This letter comes shortlybefore his death in 64 to 65 AD.
And Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2,verse 9, that he has been
suffering for preaching thegospel and has been bound with
(09:48):
chains as a criminal.
But then Paul writes this butthe word of God is not bound.
Amen, hallelujah.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
He says I have been suffering for the power of God's
Word inside of me.
You cannot lock up the messageof the gospel that's inside of
(10:23):
me, not lock up the message ofthe gospel that's inside of me.
I will continue to speak thetruth as long as I have breath
in my lungs.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Praise the Lord.
I love that In John 16, 33, itsays in this world you will have
tribulation.
So we know we're going to havetribulation in this world.
Right, we may not look likewe're in prison at some point of
our life, but we're going tohave tribulation.
But victory in our life is notavoidance but it's actually
(10:50):
overcoming.
Because it says in the rest ofJohn 16, 33, but take heart, I
have overcome the world.
So we're not going to avoidtribulation in life, but we can
overcome it with the help ofJesus Christ.
So sometimes, you know, some ofyou guys might be struggling at
(11:11):
home because you're thinking,man, I just feel like I'm not
walking in victory.
But believe me, if you'refollowing Jesus Christ, you're
doing what his word says, you'repraying, you're in tune with
the Holy Spirit and what he'stelling you to do.
Sometimes walking in victoryisn't always avoidance of
tribulation, because his wordsays we're going to have
tribulation.
But we can walk in thattribulation in victory by
(11:32):
overcoming.
And what does the word say?
We overcome by the word of ourtestimony.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Yes, by the blood of the lamb and the word of our
testimony.
I think a lot of people, erica,think that, and we've met
people like this throughout ouryears of doing ministry.
Praise God, we've been doingministry for a long time
together and a lot of people wehave met throughout the years
think that victory only comesduring good times.
They think that good timesmeans victory, and really that's
(11:58):
not.
We go back to the story thatyou brought up, with Jesus on
the boat, with the disciples,and they have victory in the
midst of the storm, becauseJesus Christ speaks to the wind
and to the rain and he calls itto be still, to be silent, to be
calm, and there's victory rightthere, right there.
(12:19):
But if they don't end up in thestorm, then they don't get the
victory.
You know, in order to havevictory, you've got to have
something that you becomevictorious over.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Right and so.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
So trials when we have trials, when we have storms
, then we have opportunities tohave victory and we've got to
realize that, going into heavythings, sometimes going into
dark times, we've got to realizethat the light of Christ always
shines through us as believersand we can have victory, whether
(12:52):
we're at the top of themountain or down at the bottom
in the valley.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Praise the Lord, talking about someone with
victory.
I did want to bring this up aswell.
I love the story of Shadrach,meshach and Abednego and Daniel.
And here we go we have threemen right here who are obeying
the Lord.
Right, they refused to bow downto idols, they refused to bow
down to the idol of KingNebuchadnezzar, and they get
(13:16):
thrown into the fiery furnace.
But if you read in verse 16, itsays we don't need to defend
ourselves before you in thismatter.
16, it says we don't need todefend ourselves before you in
this matter.
If we're thrown into theblazing furnace, the God we
serve is able to save us from itand he will rescue us from your
hands, o king.
But even if he does not, wewant you to know, o king, that
(13:36):
we will not serve your gods orworship the image of your gold
you have set up.
And then we all know the storyof what happens, right, and I
won't go into that.
It's one of my favorite stories,but I do want to go through at
the end, when, in verse 28, itsays then Nebuchadnezzar said
praise be to the God of Shadrach, meshach and Abednego, who has
(14:05):
sent his angel and rescued hisservants.
They trusted in him and defiedthe king's commands.
That word trusted there in theHebrew.
That is the only time in theOld Testament that it's used,
and it actually means to bathe,wash self and take refuge in.
And the only way you and I canbe so prisoners right for the
(14:26):
Lord, we literally have to batheourselves in his word, in
prayer and in praise, and takerefuge in him when things get
hard, and so I love that.
That's just another example ofmen being obedient and going
through tribulation and nomatter and just being okay with
no matter what the circumstances.
At the end they're trustingcompletely in what the Lord has
(14:50):
for them.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Yeah, I love back to the Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego piece.
I love when the response to theking is even if God doesn't
rescue us from this, you know,even if God doesn't rescue us
from this, and and you know, we,we pray for miracles, we pray
for healings for certain people,and sometimes we've seen it
take place, sometimes we havenot seen it take place, and and
(15:11):
and I love it when someone hasthe faith that they can say,
just like, just like those threebefore the fiery furnace, even
if God doesn't rescue me fromthis, I know that I have victory
when all of this is said anddone.
I know that I have victory whenall of this is said and done.
Yeah, even if it looks like tothe outward person that you know
me dying here on this earthmeans I lost a battle.
(15:32):
No, it doesn't mean you lost.
You actually won.
Even in death on this earth, wewin because Christ defeated
death.
We defeat death and in our lastbreath here, our next breath is
with our Father in glory.
And so, as Christians, we havethat victory.
And they knew that, those threeHebrew boys.
They knew that, going into thefiery furnace, this will not be
(15:55):
the end of us, this will not bethe end of us, even if God
doesn't save us here.
This will not be the end of usand God will give us victory.
And it may not look likevictory to the king's eyes, but
we know that it's victory in theeyes of god.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah and until that answer is no, I just I just
asked that you listeners justRead the word and trust in what
it says, because some of you outthere right now are listening
and you're going through majorstorms and wondering where is
god in all of this.
Listening and you're goingthrough major storms and
wondering where is God in all ofthis, and I'm here to tell you
don't behave in a way that coulddestroy you when that storm
(16:29):
can't.
God is with you in the boat.
Stay in obedience to what andwhere he has called you.
If you're in a health crisis,proclaim Isaiah 53, five.
By his wounds we are healed.
Do you have a wayward child?
Proverbs 22,.
22, 6.
Train a child in the way heshould go, and when he is old,
he will not turn from it.
Is your marriage struggling?
(16:50):
Mark 10, 9.
What, therefore?
God has joined together.
Let man not separate.
Whatever waves are coming atyou right now, stay in the boat
with jesus.
Don't give up.
Press.
Press forward and remembervictory is not avoidance, it is
overcoming, and I love thescripture.
2 Timothy 4, 7,.
I have fought the good fight, Ihave finished the race and I
(17:12):
have kept the faith.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, paul writes something so powerful in 2
Timothy 2, verse 10.
He writes therefore I endureeverything for the sake of the
elect that they also may obtainthe salvation that is in Christ
Jesus, with eternal glory.
Think about that.
Paul was willing to take whatcame his way with these
imprisonments.
He's willing to take whatevercomes, because he knows that
(17:38):
even in these imprisonments he'sgoing to be ministering the
gospel, whether he's on theoutside of the prison or the
inside of the prison, the nameof Jesus is coming from his
heart and coming from his mouth.
Out of the overflow, out of theabundance of our heart.
The mouth speaks and Paul.
Paul has Jesus in his life andPaul is proclaiming and
preaching Jesus, no matter wherehe is, and that, my friends, is
(18:00):
being a true prisoner of thefaith.
That's a prisoner of the gospel.
That's a prisoner of the gospel.
That's a prisoner of JesusChrist, that, no matter where we
find ourselves, we areproclaiming Jesus as the way,
the truth and the life.
And so he's not going to stoppreaching just because preaching
got him into trouble.
And maybe you've been therebefore as a Christian,
unfortunately, Maybe you've donesomething at work or out in
(18:22):
public that calls people to lookat you funny, or maybe got you
a warning in the office at thejob.
But I just want to tell youkeep being who Christ has called
you to be, Keep being whoChrist has called you to be,
Keep shining the light of Christwithin your life.
So again I'm going to say Pauldid not stop preaching just
because it was the preachingthat got him into trouble.
(18:45):
He knew these people needed tobe set free themselves.
These people that were next tohim in jail, that were watching
him, these guards.
Paul knew that they needed tobe set free.
He knew that they neededsalvation.
The people at your job that maylook at you sideways or they
may look at you funny.
They need salvation, they needJesus.
(19:12):
And so here Paul is again,locked up again for preaching
the gospel again.
And some people may say thisman hasn't learned his lesson.
He's still preaching the wordand that gets him into trouble
time and time again.
Why doesn't he just take hisfaith and be quiet, my friends,
when you have truly fallen inlove with Jesus, you cannot be
quiet when you realize it'sChrist that has saved your life
and has rescued you, redeemedyou, healed you, delivered you.
(19:33):
You can't be silent about thattype of salvation.
You can't be quiet about thatkind of rescuing.
So here we've got Paul locked upagain for preaching the gospel
again, and he's got more freedomsitting inside of those prison
walls than most people walkingaround on the outside of the
prison.
And think about that.
(19:54):
More freedom on the inside ofthe jail than most people have
walking around outside the jail.
And it's because Paul saw thatbeing a true prisoner for Christ
means you are truly set free,and set free indeed.
And they may be able to shacklehim, Erica, from the outside,
but they're not going to shacklehim and chain him up.
(20:15):
They will not have him as acaptive on the inside.
Paul was a prisoner of the LordJesus Christ, and because he
was, he was a free man.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Yes, I love that.
I just want to thank you somuch for having me on this
podcast today and I just enjoydoing ministry with you.
I enjoy doing life with you.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
It's been a long time .
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And what a privilege it is to be able to speak to
these listeners, and I wouldlove to be able to end us in
prayer, if that's okay with youAbsolutely Go right ahead, baby.
Dear Heavenly Father, lord, Ijust thank you for today.
I thank you for every singlelistener that is listening right
now, lord, and I just pray youwould be with them right now in
a mighty way.
Lord, that you would meet themright where they're at, whether
(20:59):
they're going through a storm orwhether they're going through
just a peaceful time on theirboat, whatever it may be, lord,
that you would meet them rightwhere they are.
God, that they would beobedient to whatever you've
called them to do, whatever costthat it may cost them.
And, lord, what a privilege itis to follow you all of the days
of our life.
We thank you, we praise you inJesus name, amen.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Amen and amen, and until next time on Beyond Sunday
.
God bless you and remember.
Remember, serve the Lord withall your heart.
Hey, what's going on?
Everybody?
This is Pastor Lee and I ampastor of Christ Family Outreach
Church, located in Amelia,virginia, and if you have not
made your way out to one of ourservices, we would love to see
you at our Thursday nightrecharge service at 7 pm or our
Sunday morning service.
Doors open at 9 30 and servicegets going at 10 am, so come on
out, say hey, worship the Lordand fellowship with us.
(00:33):
Today in studio, here at thetable, I have a very, very
special guest.
It is this person's first timeon the show and she is someone
very, very special to me.
We have been together moreyears than we have not.
It is the one, the only, mywife, my bride, my boo, erica.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Hello everybody.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
How you doing boo-boo .
Speaker 2 (00:55):
I'm doing great.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So today we are going to be talking about being a
prisoner for Jesus and whatexactly that means in scripture
and how we can apply it in ourpersonal lives today and even
now.
As I just kind of mentioned thetitle of this, I'm sure there's
a lot of people out there thatare still grinning and excited
that they have heard your voiceon air, because we did not let
(01:18):
people know that you were comingon.
Well, maybe a couple people wedid, but so I'm sure people are
elated to hear you on thisepisode and I'm excited to have
you here too.
So thank you for coming by.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, I'm excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
All right.
So today's episode, we're goingto discuss something that Paul
said in Ephesians, chapter 3.1.
And here it is.
If you got your Bibles, goahead and crack it open,
ephesians 3.1.
Paul writes For this reason, IPaul a prisoner for Christ Jesus
, on behalf of you, gentiles.
So Paul calls himself aprisoner for the Lord, and today
(01:51):
we're going to talk about themeaning of that and how we can
apply it, as I mentioned momentsago, in our personal lives
right now.
The Bible records threedifferent times that Paul was
imprisoned simply for sharingthe gospel.
He was first arrested inPhilippi in 49 AD, and you may
remember that was where Paulcast out the demon that was in
(02:12):
the slave girl, and she wasinvolved in fortune telling
right, but with the demon nolonger in her, the Bible says
that her owners became angrybecause their hope for gain was
gone.
In other words, without thedemon, she could no longer tell
the future and therefore, by notbeing able to tell the future,
she could not make her ownersany more money.
Paul's second arrest came inCaesarea for two years, and then
(02:37):
the third arrest comes in Romefor another period of two years.
Now, being a prisoner for theLord, as Paul calls it.
It does not mean that you haveto be in jail or prison.
Just want to make that clearright off the bat.
But I think if we look at howPaul responds to being in jail,
we can, without a doubt, beginto see what it means to be a
(02:59):
prisoner of the Lord.
For example, in Acts, chapter16, verse 25, we see Paul in
prison.
They are placed in an innercell for maximum security and
their feet are in stocks andchains.
And the Bible tells us that atthe midnight hour, paul and
Silas are praying and singinghymns to God and the prisoners
(03:21):
are listening to them.
So, erica, one of the majorsteps of being a prisoner for
the Lord is, no matter where hehas you in life, you've got to
continue to see it as a ministryopportunity to spread the
gospel, an opportunity to spreadthe hope, to spread love and
the salvation message.
It's not about our feelings,it's not about us being
(03:42):
comfortable.
It's about being obedient, nomatter where we find ourselves
in life.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Yeah, I like that.
I just happened to have watcheda pastor on YouTube this week
and I thought it went so wellwith what you're talking about,
with being a prisoner for Christ.
And it's about being obedient,no matter what the cost, right,
and so no matter what it lookslike in our circumstances and
where we are in life.
And he talked about Mark,chapter four, verses 35 through
(04:11):
41.
And it's when Jesus calms thestorm with his disciples and he
tells the disciples let's go tothe other side.
And they get in the boat withhim obediently.
Right, they go willingly.
And then what happens?
A storm happens.
And so there's a lot to talkabout here, because to me it
kind of parallels a little bitwith Paul being in prison
(04:34):
because of his obedience to whathe's called to do, right.
So here they are in a storm.
The waves are coming over themand in this particular scene,
the disciples were beingobedient when Jesus asked them
to get in.
Have you ever been obedient towhat God called you to do?
The storm came and it seemedlike God was maybe asleep in the
boat.
The waves were literally comingin and fear starts to take over
(04:58):
that the boat's going to sink.
What do you do in that instance.
It's kind of like when he's putin jail.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
We know what they did right.
Obviously, they get scared,they get nervous, they start
crying out.
They're asking Jesus hey, areyou going to let us die Like?
Is this going to be the end ofit?
Right here, Not realizing thatJesus had called them into the
boat?
And by him calling them intothe boat, he's also calling them
into the storm, right In aperfect life.
(05:25):
I would love to say that if wewere in that boat, or if we were
in that maximum security, ifyou will, inner cell, that we
would cry out to God with suchgreat faith.
But that's not always.
If we're honest with oneanother, that's not always how
everyone does it, but that's howwe should do it.
We should call out on the nameof the Lord and be saved.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Absolutely, and I love here in scripture.
If you look at it, it's likethis didn't take Jesus by
surprise, right?
He knew that this was coming,he had told them get in the boat
, and here it even says Jesuswas in the stern sleeping on a
cushion, like he was evencomfortable.
He was sleeping in a cushionright In the boat, and so he is
(06:08):
perfectly in peace in the boat,knows what's going on.
But because of their fear, italmost caused them to get out of
obedience to what God calledthem to do and possibly jump out
of the boat.
And how many times do we look atour circumstances or the waves
and miss who's already on thatboat, with us being Jesus Christ
?
Right?
(06:28):
So, just like with Paul, hedidn't forget who was in jail
with him, and so that's why hewas able to focus so much in
serving the Lord and spreadingthe gospel, even though he was
in chains for Christ.
And so the storm could havecaused the disciples to behave
in a way that could havedestroyed them in a way that
that storm couldn't Just likewith Paul being in jail, you
(06:50):
know, he could have looked athis circumstances and he could
have chosen to maybe sneak outor escape or whatever else in
his flesh he wanted to do, andthat, actually, that choice
could have destroyed him, versuswhat God had called him to do.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Paul and Silas had been beaten with rods and there
had been many blows inflictedupon them.
So here they are they'recharged with disrupting the
peace.
They're charged with not justdisrupting the peace, but how
are they disrupting the peace?
By simply preaching the goodnews, the gospel message.
They wanted to help people andthey're in trouble for it, and
they've done absolutely nothingwrong, right, and so now we've
(07:31):
got to understand that they'renot thinking of themselves,
they're thinking you know what,no matter what type of situation
we're in, we're going to giveGod praise right here, right now
, and I just want to say to thelisteners out there that that's
being a prisoner for the Lord.
No matter where you are, nomatter your circumstance, no
matter what you're faced with orwhat you're going through, you
(07:52):
are going to be obedient to God,to whatever the cost, whatever
the price, no matter the time.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
There was a quote I heard this week and it just
resonated so well with me.
And it said week, and it justresonated so well with me.
And it said seasons of miserycan become seasons God uses for
a life of ministry.
And right here we can see, withPaul and Silas being in prison,
how God used that season intheir life, that season of
misery, for a life of ministryright ahead.
(08:21):
And so storms can sometimes makeus think normally what we
wouldn't think.
It can cause us and tempt us tocontemplate things.
Maybe we wouldn't normally, butwhen you're grounded in the
word, just like Paul and Silaswas right, they knew who was
with them, they knew the word,they knew who Jesus Christ was.
It couldn't shake them.
And they knew, just like withthe disciples, it couldn't shake
(08:44):
them.
And they knew, just like withthe disciples, that Jesus was on
the boat right.
So in every storm, satan wantsus to use it to influence you
and me to make a decision.
No-transcript story with Pauland Silas, they had two options,
right they could walk inobedience or they could choose
(09:08):
to leave or choose to escape,just like we had talked about
before, and that would haveactually brought the destruction
of their ministry and theirtestimony not actually being in
prison.
Prison wasn't what brought themdestruction right.
Their own choosing of selfwould have caused the
destruction.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Fast forwarding just a little bit something Paul
writes in his letter to Timothyduring his imprisonment in Rome.
This letter comes shortlybefore his death in 64 to 65 AD.
And Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2,verse 9, that he has been
suffering for preaching thegospel and has been bound with
(09:48):
chains as a criminal.
But then Paul writes this butthe word of God is not bound.
Amen, hallelujah.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (09:58):
He says I have been suffering for the power of God's
Word inside of me.
You cannot lock up the messageof the gospel that's inside of
(10:23):
me, not lock up the message ofthe gospel that's inside of me.
I will continue to speak thetruth as long as I have breath
in my lungs.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Praise the Lord.
I love that In John 16, 33, itsays in this world you will have
tribulation.
So we know we're going to havetribulation in this world.
Right, we may not look likewe're in prison at some point of
our life, but we're going tohave tribulation.
But victory in our life is notavoidance but it's actually
(10:50):
overcoming.
Because it says in the rest ofJohn 16, 33, but take heart, I
have overcome the world.
So we're not going to avoidtribulation in life, but we can
overcome it with the help ofJesus Christ.
So sometimes, you know, some ofyou guys might be struggling at
(11:11):
home because you're thinking,man, I just feel like I'm not
walking in victory.
But believe me, if you'refollowing Jesus Christ, you're
doing what his word says, you'repraying, you're in tune with
the Holy Spirit and what he'stelling you to do.
Sometimes walking in victoryisn't always avoidance of
tribulation, because his wordsays we're going to have
tribulation.
But we can walk in thattribulation in victory by
(11:32):
overcoming.
And what does the word say?
We overcome by the word of ourtestimony.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Yes, by the blood of the lamb and the word of our
testimony.
I think a lot of people, erica,think that, and we've met
people like this throughout ouryears of doing ministry.
Praise God, we've been doingministry for a long time
together and a lot of people wehave met throughout the years
think that victory only comesduring good times.
They think that good timesmeans victory, and really that's
(11:58):
not.
We go back to the story thatyou brought up, with Jesus on
the boat, with the disciples,and they have victory in the
midst of the storm, becauseJesus Christ speaks to the wind
and to the rain and he calls itto be still, to be silent, to be
calm, and there's victory rightthere, right there.
(12:19):
But if they don't end up in thestorm, then they don't get the
victory.
You know, in order to havevictory, you've got to have
something that you becomevictorious over.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Right and so.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
So trials when we have trials, when we have storms
, then we have opportunities tohave victory and we've got to
realize that, going into heavythings, sometimes going into
dark times, we've got to realizethat the light of Christ always
shines through us as believersand we can have victory, whether
(12:52):
we're at the top of themountain or down at the bottom
in the valley.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Praise the Lord, talking about someone with
victory.
I did want to bring this up aswell.
I love the story of Shadrach,meshach and Abednego and Daniel.
And here we go we have threemen right here who are obeying
the Lord.
Right, they refused to bow downto idols, they refused to bow
down to the idol of KingNebuchadnezzar, and they get
(13:16):
thrown into the fiery furnace.
But if you read in verse 16, itsays we don't need to defend
ourselves before you in thismatter.
16, it says we don't need todefend ourselves before you in
this matter.
If we're thrown into theblazing furnace, the God we
serve is able to save us from itand he will rescue us from your
hands, o king.
But even if he does not, wewant you to know, o king, that
(13:36):
we will not serve your gods orworship the image of your gold
you have set up.
And then we all know the storyof what happens, right, and I
won't go into that.
It's one of my favorite stories,but I do want to go through at
the end, when, in verse 28, itsays then Nebuchadnezzar said
praise be to the God of Shadrach, meshach and Abednego, who has
(14:05):
sent his angel and rescued hisservants.
They trusted in him and defiedthe king's commands.
That word trusted there in theHebrew.
That is the only time in theOld Testament that it's used,
and it actually means to bathe,wash self and take refuge in.
And the only way you and I canbe so prisoners right for the
(14:26):
Lord, we literally have to batheourselves in his word, in
prayer and in praise, and takerefuge in him when things get
hard, and so I love that.
That's just another example ofmen being obedient and going
through tribulation and nomatter and just being okay with
no matter what the circumstances.
At the end they're trustingcompletely in what the Lord has
(14:50):
for them.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Yeah, I love back to the Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego piece.
I love when the response to theking is even if God doesn't
rescue us from this, you know,even if God doesn't rescue us
from this, and and you know, we,we pray for miracles, we pray
for healings for certain people,and sometimes we've seen it
take place, sometimes we havenot seen it take place, and and
(15:11):
and I love it when someone hasthe faith that they can say,
just like, just like those threebefore the fiery furnace, even
if God doesn't rescue me fromthis, I know that I have victory
when all of this is said anddone.
I know that I have victory whenall of this is said and done.
Yeah, even if it looks like tothe outward person that you know
me dying here on this earthmeans I lost a battle.
(15:32):
No, it doesn't mean you lost.
You actually won.
Even in death on this earth, wewin because Christ defeated
death.
We defeat death and in our lastbreath here, our next breath is
with our Father in glory.
And so, as Christians, we havethat victory.
And they knew that, those threeHebrew boys.
They knew that, going into thefiery furnace, this will not be
(15:55):
the end of us, this will not bethe end of us, even if God
doesn't save us here.
This will not be the end of usand God will give us victory.
And it may not look likevictory to the king's eyes, but
we know that it's victory in theeyes of god.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah and until that answer is no, I just I just
asked that you listeners justRead the word and trust in what
it says, because some of you outthere right now are listening
and you're going through majorstorms and wondering where is
god in all of this.
Listening and you're goingthrough major storms and
wondering where is God in all ofthis, and I'm here to tell you
don't behave in a way that coulddestroy you when that storm
(16:29):
can't.
God is with you in the boat.
Stay in obedience to what andwhere he has called you.
If you're in a health crisis,proclaim Isaiah 53, five.
By his wounds we are healed.
Do you have a wayward child?
Proverbs 22,.
22, 6.
Train a child in the way heshould go, and when he is old,
he will not turn from it.
Is your marriage struggling?
(16:50):
Mark 10, 9.
What, therefore?
God has joined together.
Let man not separate.
Whatever waves are coming atyou right now, stay in the boat
with jesus.
Don't give up.
Press.
Press forward and remembervictory is not avoidance, it is
overcoming, and I love thescripture.
2 Timothy 4, 7,.
I have fought the good fight, Ihave finished the race and I
(17:12):
have kept the faith.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
Yeah, paul writes something so powerful in 2
Timothy 2, verse 10.
He writes therefore I endureeverything for the sake of the
elect that they also may obtainthe salvation that is in Christ
Jesus, with eternal glory.
Think about that.
Paul was willing to take whatcame his way with these
imprisonments.
He's willing to take whatevercomes, because he knows that
(17:38):
even in these imprisonments he'sgoing to be ministering the
gospel, whether he's on theoutside of the prison or the
inside of the prison, the nameof Jesus is coming from his
heart and coming from his mouth.
Out of the overflow, out of theabundance of our heart.
The mouth speaks and Paul.
Paul has Jesus in his life andPaul is proclaiming and
preaching Jesus, no matter wherehe is, and that, my friends, is
(18:00):
being a true prisoner of thefaith.
That's a prisoner of the gospel.
That's a prisoner of the gospel.
That's a prisoner of JesusChrist, that, no matter where we
find ourselves, we areproclaiming Jesus as the way,
the truth and the life.
And so he's not going to stoppreaching just because preaching
got him into trouble.
And maybe you've been therebefore as a Christian,
unfortunately, Maybe you've donesomething at work or out in
(18:22):
public that calls people to lookat you funny, or maybe got you
a warning in the office at thejob.
But I just want to tell youkeep being who Christ has called
you to be, Keep being whoChrist has called you to be,
Keep shining the light of Christwithin your life.
So again I'm going to say Pauldid not stop preaching just
because it was the preachingthat got him into trouble.
(18:45):
He knew these people needed tobe set free themselves.
These people that were next tohim in jail, that were watching
him, these guards.
Paul knew that they needed tobe set free.
He knew that they neededsalvation.
The people at your job that maylook at you sideways or they
may look at you funny.
They need salvation, they needJesus.
(19:12):
And so here Paul is again,locked up again for preaching
the gospel again.
And some people may say thisman hasn't learned his lesson.
He's still preaching the wordand that gets him into trouble
time and time again.
Why doesn't he just take hisfaith and be quiet, my friends,
when you have truly fallen inlove with Jesus, you cannot be
quiet when you realize it'sChrist that has saved your life
and has rescued you, redeemedyou, healed you, delivered you.
(19:33):
You can't be silent about thattype of salvation.
You can't be quiet about thatkind of rescuing.
So here we've got Paul locked upagain for preaching the gospel
again, and he's got more freedomsitting inside of those prison
walls than most people walkingaround on the outside of the
prison.
And think about that.
(19:54):
More freedom on the inside ofthe jail than most people have
walking around outside the jail.
And it's because Paul saw thatbeing a true prisoner for Christ
means you are truly set free,and set free indeed.
And they may be able to shacklehim, Erica, from the outside,
but they're not going to shacklehim and chain him up.
(20:15):
They will not have him as acaptive on the inside.
Paul was a prisoner of the LordJesus Christ, and because he
was, he was a free man.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Yes, I love that.
I just want to thank you somuch for having me on this
podcast today and I just enjoydoing ministry with you.
I enjoy doing life with you.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
It's been a long time .
Speaker 2 (20:39):
And what a privilege it is to be able to speak to
these listeners, and I wouldlove to be able to end us in
prayer, if that's okay with youAbsolutely Go right ahead, baby.
Dear Heavenly Father, lord, Ijust thank you for today.
I thank you for every singlelistener that is listening right
now, lord, and I just pray youwould be with them right now in
a mighty way.
Lord, that you would meet themright where they're at, whether
(20:59):
they're going through a storm orwhether they're going through
just a peaceful time on theirboat, whatever it may be, lord,
that you would meet them rightwhere they are.
God, that they would beobedient to whatever you've
called them to do, whatever costthat it may cost them.
And, lord, what a privilege itis to follow you all of the days
of our life.
We thank you, we praise you inJesus name, amen.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Amen and amen, and until next time on Beyond Sunday
.
God bless you and remember.
Remember, serve the Lord withall your heart.
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