No Restrictions

Acts 8:26-40 Sunday, January 14, 2007

Monday, January 8, 2007 one of the devotions I get in my email referenced the story of Philip & the Ethiopian eunuch that we just read from Acts chapter 8. The author, Rev. Tommy Hays, focused on verses 39-40, especially the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away...Philip found himself at Azotus… Then Rev. Hays prayed, "Philip was so yielded to You that Your Holy Spirit was able to literally snatch him away from one place of ministry and position him instantaneously in another. There are no restrictions of time and space to You. Help me become so yielded to You that there are no restrictions in me."[i] As I read that prayer I had an epiphany—that is the goal of faith…No restrictions! I have often dreamed of being able to travel like Philip did in this text, especially when we are driving from OH to TX with 3 screaming children! As I reflected on this, of course my thoughts went to science-fiction. I couldn’t help thinking this was a divine version of the Molecular transport system they use in the Star Trek Universe. Beam me up, Jesus!

I found others in Scripture who travelled in unique ways:

· In Genesis we read “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more because God took him away.” This comes in a genealogy list and all of the other ones say something like, “so-&-so gave birth to so-&-so junior. So-&-so Junior had many sons and then he died.” But something about Enoch’s departure was different. He walked with God and God took him—somehow Enoch got to leave without dying.
· Then in 2 Kings we read of Elisha walking along with his predecessor & mentor Elijah. And they are talking about the future and suddenly a Chariot of Fire comes and takes Elijah away and “he was no more.” (OK, that was more like getting to ride on the Starship Enterprise than it was like using the transporter…)
· In Ezekiel there are at least two times when Ezekiel is moved from one place to another by the Spirit of the Lord. “The Spirit of the Lord lifted me up” Ezekiel says.
· And then we read of Jesus in Luke 24 walking along the road to Emmaus with two disciples. They get to Emmaus, go into a house to eat, and Luke says, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.”

What does all this mean to you & me? Am I preaching that if we have enough faith we won’t need our cars anymore? No, sorry, I don’t think that I can honestly assert or deny that fact. What I can assert is that many of the obstacles and restrictions we experience in our relationship with God and our service in God’s kingdom are artificial. Too many Christians have been set free by Christ, but then go on acting like we are still slaves and prisoners!

As an apprentice of Jesus I feel it is important to come alongside others on the journey and share what we have found as we spend time in the presence of God individually and corporately. I don't honestly know about instantly travelling from one point to another, but I do know when I have given myself completely in worship and devotion to God I have experienced more unencumbered joy than at any other time. I am reminded of the song by the band Salvador that says, "When the Spirit of the Lord comes upon my heart, I will dance like David danced!" That is the freedom our Lord Jesus Christ spoke in John 8:31-21, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

I want everyone I come in contact with to experience that freedom Jesus spoke of. The quote above from John 8 has been the subject of many sermons, yet sometimes I think we miss the point. Often it is quoted in reference to the printed Bible, specifically a particular English translation that shall remain nameless. As if the printed text has some innate power before it is ennacted in a human heart. What the text actually asserts is that being a disciple (apprentice, student) of Jesus takes disciplined obedience to the teachings of Jesus. I could entrust every single word of Scripture to memory, but if I don't act on those words they remain mere words. There is a little work to be done. The Truth is not the Truth that sets us free until we act on it. And when we do, oh boy! We cannot simply stand on the sidelines and watch other Christians. Christianity is not a spectator sport, it is a lifestyle. We can’t simply say, “Well I haven’t done anything to hurt anyone this week so I must be a good Christian.” No!!! There is more to it than that. Jesus teaches us to do something. Jesus teaches us to be different, look different, and act different than the rest of the world. Read the red-letter parables…read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew…Read where Jesus tells us to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. Read where Jesus says to let your light shine so that others will see your good deeds and praise our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16). We have to work at being disciples!

In the Communion liturgy in the United Methodist Hymnal, the prayer of confession is: Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Free us for joyful obedience…we pray that every time we use that communion liturgy, and I know we have used it when I have been here. I bet something similar has been used many times. By virtue of being Christians we are called to be obedient to God. And yes I realize that this Christian life sounds tough, but the rewards are absolutely incredible. Yes, we are called to be a part of God’s plan, but Jesus already did the heavy lifting when he carried our sins to the cross. The life of faith is a rewarding life, not a dreary life.

Rev. James W. Moore’s book When You're a Christian... the Whole World Is from Missouri: Living the Life of Faith in a "Show Me" World, asserts that just having all the right answers is not enough. I agree. I believe that even after we are converted, we can still be shackled by sin, shame, & shyness. In this book Moore says that just having all the right answers is not enough. We know the right answers. We know the Sunday school answers, don’t we? We’ve got it all together in our minds, but somehow it doesn’t make it down to our hearts. Even after we are converted, we can still allow ourselves to be restricted. Christians in America have this very misguided and theologically incorrect idea that “being saved” solves all of our problems. Folks get mad at God when life doesn’t instantly become easier after they decide to give everything up to God. Which, honestly, very few people actually give everything up to God. There’s this idea that giving up drinkin’ and smokin’ is giving up everything. Giving up a vice is much different than actually giving everything to God. Some people will even end up rejecting God because the theology they’ve been taught is wrong. The fact of the matter is that the conversion moment is the beginning of a new life lived in the power of Christ. The relationship can begin…This is sanctifying grace…we’re growing. It’s a process. And some of you were so young when it happened that you don’t remember—you’ve simply always lived a Christian life! That is wonderful—I hope that’s the story my kids have. Conversion, no matter if it happened as a very young child or if it happened as an adult, doesn’t necessarily immediately make life better—the joy is that now we have hope! Hope because we know who is holding and guiding us. That is why we must stop merely having devotional times and start living devotional lives. That is what the gift of the Holy Spirit is for—freeing us from the sin that is keeping us from “Living the Life of Faith.” John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The only way we can live our Christian life with no restrictions is to be totally sold out to who God is and what God stands for. We must be willing to let God have control of our lives. We can’t be Sunday morning Christians. The person we are on Sunday morning at church and the person we are the rest of the week, even while driving in rush-hour traffic, must be the same Person. We must be 365/24/7 Christians. Our Christian faith must permeate every decision, every moment of our lives. Jesus said it himself, if you want the reward of no restrictions, of total freedom, then you have to live the life.

Let’s pray: Holy God, help us to live lives fully devoted to you and your mission so that we may live with no restrictions. Free us for joyful obedience. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
[i] http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=ZB007BGA&GroupID=CB0071OB