UNHINDERED
UNHINDERED
Week 1 - Unhindered
Introduction
Who here has ever felt hindered or held back in some fashion or circumstance? You have these grand plans and motives but there seems like there is something inside of you that holds you back.
What is holding you back today? As a church, what’s holding us back? What more does God have for us to experience in our faith?
As you roll those questions around, I’m excited to share with you that today we’re beginning a new series called UNHINDERED. Using the book of Acts as our starting point, we’re going to unpack several of the ways we are called and released to live “UNHINDERED” lives of faith.
Main Teaching
First of all, there’s something very special about the book of Acts.
“Historically, the book serves as a vital link between the Gospels and the epistles. It bridges the gap between the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith.
In the Gospels, Jesus is preaching; in the epistles, Jesus is being preached. The book of Acts explains how the messenger became the center of the message.
So as you go through the book of Acts it's important to remember that everything points to Christ and His church. It’s story after miraculous story of God’s provision, power, and protection of His Church.
The book of Acts is not a list of attributes to memorize or bullet points to fit into a spreadsheet. It tells the story of the birth of Christianity and the very beginnings of the spread of the Gospel.
And when you’re going through the book of Acts there’s one specific word that brings it all together, actually it’s the very last word of the book, UNHINDERED.
Let’s skip to the end…
Acts 28:30-31 NASB
“Paul stayed two full years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things about the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, UNHINDERED.
What’s going on in this passage? Let’s go through it together…
“Now Paul stayed two full years in his own rented lodging and welcomed all who came to him…”
● Paul was sent by Agrippa and Festus to Rome where he waited 2 years to be seen by Ceasar.
● Paul is sitting under house arrest.
● He rents his own space, theoretically funded by other church members, and he welcomed anyone and everyone who came to him.
“...preaching the kingdom of God and teaching things about the Lord Jesus Christ …”
● He was preaching and teaching… Just like Jesus did,
● He was obeying the Great Commission
“...with all openness, unhindered…”
● Paul had openness, boldness, and confidence.
● He did this UNHINDERED, the very last word in the book of Acts.
● The very last word that bridges the gospels with the epistles.
● Paul wasn’t just preaching and teaching those who came to him, he was writing letters from jail as well.
Most of Paul’s writings were written over a span of 15 years. In AD 60, he arrived in Rome and was imprisoned later that year. For the next two years, Paul would live under house arrest in Rome, but during this time, he continued to minister to those who visited and encouraged local churches via letters he wrote from prison. Paul’s four “Prison Epistles,” as they are called, were written during this time. These four letters are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
In these letters we see further glimpses of Paul’s UNHINDERED message and constant encouragement to other believers.
Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT
15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.-
It seems to me that this is some sage advice from somebody that is in prison for his faith.
Philippians 1:21 New Living Translation
21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
Philippians 3:7-9 New Living Translation
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
These are the words of a man at peace. Content in his identity, Paul is a free man.
Colossians 1:13-14New Living Translation
13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
Colossians 1:21-22 New Living Translation
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
God has brought those who were far off near through Christ. There is no obstruction or hindrance to the grace of God. Jesus is for everyone, and Jesus is for everywhere.
Look at the variety of writing coming from Paul as he sits in house arrest. This is not a hindered man with an obstructed faith! He is UNHINDERED. Luke, the author of Acts, rightly identifies this as he describes 2 years of Paul’s life in Rome with just 2 verses of scripture, Acts 28:30 and 31, and what better word to end the story than the word he chose?
The very last word of Acts could very well be the first word of faith for all those who believe.
The word UNHINDERED here in the Greek means “freedom, unreservedness, fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, assurance.”
There are so many ways the UNHINDERED freedom of faith impacts our experience as we follow Jesus. Over the next few weeks we’ll talk about it means to be UNHINDERED.
Things changed when Jesus showed up. We know this from the many gospel accounts of His life, ministry, and miraculous workings in and amongst the Jewish community. He was different from the Messiah that many were looking for.
Jesus is our high priest and because of Him we can experience eternal salvation and redemption. As modern-day believers, under the new covenant of Christ, we are UNHINDERED by the rules and regulations of the law.
Galatians 5:1NLT
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”
Simply put, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free—John 8:36 NLT
And what specifically are you freed from? The Power of Sin and death, or as Paul says it, the dominion of darkness. In the Kingdom of God we are UNHINDERED by darkness, we are no longer slaves to sin.
Romans 7:21-25 New Living Translation
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am!
How many of you have felt like this? It seems like you are always failing or not living up to your expectations. So you ask…
Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord…
We are saved BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH.
Because of JESUS CHRIST we have
UNHINDERED freedom to believe that God can and will act on behalf of others.
UNHINDERED freedom to live as beloved sons and daughters no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in.
UNHINDERED freedom to enjoy the lives that God has given us.
UNHINDERED freedom to count everything else as loss compared to the greatness of knowing Christ.
With all that said, the unfortunate truth is that many of us become disillusioned with our faith, we lose the wonder of God. We lose sight of our first love…A lot of us put the chains of our former lives back on…
Galatians 4:8-9 NKJV
8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
Obviously no one here wants to return to an enslaved life of sin and death.
But the reality is that we do often become disillusioned, we do get our feelings hurt when God doesn’t answer our prayers the way that we want Him to. We can lose our awe and wonder of God. We can become hindered by our hurt and unmet expectations.
We are no longer buried under the rules of the law but liberated by the grace of God as received through Jesus.
HOW?
So if you are like me, you have a head knowledge of this. You have been taught this and yet we still struggle. How do become UNHINDERED?
Look what Jesus says here,
Matthew 6:33-34 New King James Version
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Why say first? When we focus on putting God first, He adds the rest in order.
Psalm 37:23-24 New Living Translation
23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
” So we don’t have to worry. Worry can be a HUGE hinderance.
And one of my favorite scriptures is found in John 15 (NKJV). To summarize, Jesus says “5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
He talks about this for the first 10 verses and then he says this, which blew my mind.
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
JOY?? This was freeing for me.
Knowing this makes me feel UNHINDERED.
Now we know that happiness comes from what is happening to you, while joy comes from who lives in you.
But our joy seems to leak out. Or at least for me it does. Why?
As a Christian, when you sin, you don’t lose your salvation but you lose the “joy of your salvation”. Remember when King David committed murder and adultery? Those are some pretty heavy sins. It’s interesting that in his repentance David never said LORD restore to me my salvation. He said this:
Psalm 51: 12 NKJV
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Basically, forgetting our first love. Let’s be honest, we all struggle with something. And in our fight we can be worn down, fail and lose our joy.
Now I have never seen this before, but we are talking about being UNHINDERED and I want UNHINDERED joy. Look at what David says before verse 12.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
So where do we find UNHINDERED joy?
Psalm 16:11English Standard Version
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy…
What obstacles are hindering your faith?
Are you running free?
Hebrews 12: 1-3 NLT
1 … So, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
Remember, the beauty of being set free, and the glory of being loved, is that we are always welcome to return to Christ.
So HOW DO WE BECOME UNHINDERED IN OUR FAITH?
Hebrews 4:16 New King James Version
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Here is that same Greek word used in Acts, UNHINDERED.
I believe that you need to know that Christ died not that you can become a better person, not that you can a great life, but that you can freely, with unreservedness, with fearless confidence, with cheerful courage, with boldness, with assurance, approach the throne of grace to receive the joy of salvation.
Maybe for the 1st time, maybe for the thousandth time, or maybe just as a good reminder…
And when we do….
Matthew 19:26 New King James Version
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
In other words, UNHINDERED.