Choosing Your Chains

As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am get ready for a strange phrase in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord, and they're all the more to proclaim the Gospel without fear. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry. Paul said, not everybody likes me. Touch somebody and say everybody's not

supposed to like you. In fact, look at the person on your other side that you didn't want to look at the first time, and tell them if everybody likes you, you're not doing it right. It's true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here. I really like how he said that I am put here, not by accident, and not even

by the decree of evil humans. So I might have been sentenced to prison by Rome, but I'm put here for the purpose of God, for the defense of the Gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chain. But what does it matter. The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this

I rejoice. Not because everything is going right in my life, not because I got a new car, not because I got a ring, not because my circumstances caused me to have a happy feeling and endorphins. But because of this I rejoice, Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that, through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me

will turn out for my deliverance. And I eagerly expect and hope at Pocara Dokia that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage, so that now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is Gain. I win either way if the situation turns around or if it stays the same. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose, I don't know. I'm torn

between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ. I kind of want to get out of here. I'm an old man now, and I'd like to see Jesus. I got crowns waiting for me. It's better by far, But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again, you're boasting in Christ. Jesus will abound on account of me. That's a whole

lot of versus. Let's get the bread and make the sandwich as we go. Verse thirteen. I am in chains for Christ verse twenty two. Yet what shall I choose? And the title of the message is choosing your chains? Ask the person next to you on your way to your seat, do you want to be free? You may be seated? God bless you. Now. My kids have been saying something to me lately, really just the boys. Abby doesn't say it, and they need to stop saying this to me if they ever want to play Fortnite again.

But they keep saying you sound like an old man, and not just you sound like an old man. I can't even use my phone without being judged by them. They tell me you did that like an old man. You know, all of my extra movements, all of my you know, three swipes when it only takes one, and they tell me that sometimes in my sermons, they tell me the cringiest moments of my sermons, and it kind of hurts my feelings until I remember that I pay for everything, and then I gently remind them, don't let

these few gray hairs in my beard fool you. I am still the coolest person that you know, and even if I'm not, I can disconnect the technology that allows you to communicate with all of your broke friends who think they're cooler than me, I told y'all jet Lag. So I kind of wanted to say that to Paul reading Philippians One. I love the text. I've preached from it a few times. But what struck me the most about Philippians One on this particular voyage was how Paul

sounds sounds like an old man. He sounds like he He has the kind of wisdom theologians call it the weather or construct. He uses it throughout the letter. The letter, which, by the way, he wrote from a prison cell. Four letters that Paul wrote while in captivity, the Captivity Epistles, Colossians, Ephesians, Filemen,

and Philippians. And it's a paradox to begin with that he could write the happiest book in the Bible in a prison cell, and that he is writing about the progress of the Gospel while he himself is on lockdown. Won't that preach? Sometimes it's when you're in the worst situation of your life that God is doing the most through you. It's a true story. Sometimes when you feel completely limited, you know, when you feel like you've completely lost control, that's when God really has you in a

place of surrender. And that's where he can do the deep work and get beyond the superficial cliche Christianity where we know all the right answers and we think that God is all about our parking spaces and trivial things. And sometimes we go through a trial and we get in a situation. Have you ever had God just take the steering wheel from you? And it wasn't Carrie Underwood, it was God, And all of a sudden you found yourself completely out of control. How many control freaks do

I have in the room. I need to see where the control freaks are. There are two things I don't really like in life, and I'm comfortable admitting it now. I don't like babies and I don't like airplanes. And I don't like either because both are things that I can't control. I don't like. I really don't like babies on airplanes. That is my personal hell rapture. And we were on seventy five hours of flights over the last two weeks and Elijah was like, do you have any

tips for getting through the airport? Dad? And I said, oh, you want that old man wisdom now? And I told him what one of my friends told me. He said, just keep saying to yourself over and over again as you walk through the security line. I am not a human. I have no rights. I am not a human. I have no rights. And you'll be set up for success.

And so we're interested to see Paul. He's older now, it's been decades since Jesus knocked him off his horse, made him go blind so he could really see, took away his physical sight so he could show him something spiritual, knocked him down so he could raise him up. And Paul has passed the point now of needing people to like him. In fact, if I was preaching at youth X, I would say Paul has zero left to give what people think about him or say about him. Only one

thing matters to him now, and it's called purpose. Not popularity, purpose not promotion, purpose not prosperity in this physical razzle dazzle bling sense, but purpose. Paul has passed the point of needing people to validate him. And so he says something really cool, And I'm actually going to get a bracelet made off of Verse eighteen. You can look for it. It'll be available at campus resources. You know how we

used to have WWJD bracelets. This one's going to be called wd im and it comes from Philippians one eighteen. This is paul slogan. He says, what does it matter? Do you know how much better you would sleep at night if you had that on your wrist? Do you know how much stress would just disappear if you could get Now, you don't really get this in your thirty or maybe even in your forties. Paul is older now. They've beat him. He's been shipwrecked. They called him a fake,

they called him a fraud. He kept preaching. They threw him in prison. God busted him out. In fact, the first time he went to Philippi, when he was getting the mission started, they threw him in prison. And Paul did what you always do when you're in prison, with your feet in stocks and your back beaten raw, He started singing praises to God at midnight. Because Paul knew something. You can either let your chains break your praise, or

you can let your praise break your chains. Why y'all get quiet while I was gone, y'all used to shout at Elevation Church. And when he praised God at midnight, all of the chains of all of the prisoners came loose. Sometimes God will use your situation to set somebody else free. Can I stay on that for forty five seconds? You have been questioning what you have been going through, and it's not even about you. God is using some of

you to break generational curses off of your children. There are things that you struggled with that your children will not have to struggle with like you struggled with them because you were willing watch this to embrace the chains. Some wisdom God can only give you after you've lived a little while. Some wisdom God can only give you when you've got that old man apostle Paul Swag where he said it doesn't even matter. Hey, Paul, did you hear they've got a fake Facebook account name on it?

And Paul said, right now, I hate to do this, but can can we interrupt the sermon? I need you to pray for me at every location, and I need you to pray for me because I'm not that good at this. I let stuff that doesn't matter weigh me down to the point that I get so distracted. And please pray for me right now. Would you stretch your hands toward this stage and say, Father, I pray for Pastor Stephen that he would stop being so stupid to

let stupid stuff sidetrack him from what really matters. Now, put your hand on the person that's next to you on your right and on your left, and say, God, I pray for this person that they would stop being so petty and letting little things ruin their day, contaminate their joy, poison their spirit, and distract them from their destiny, so that they can get focused on what really matters and realize that half the stuff they're worrying about, you're

already working out, so they don't need to have an ulcer. They can throw up their hands right in the middle of the storm and thank you for being Lord of all in Jesus' name. Amen, what does it matter? What does it matter? That's why you gotta go to your twenty year high school reunion. I just went, and all the people I was so obsessed with impressing I don't

even remember their names. Who are you again? That's why I was preaching to the teenagers at you facts, because if they can get on missing with what really matters, if they can get a sense of what matters, it doesn't matter what they say, It doesn't matter what they think. They don't have a heaven or a hell to put you in. They don't have a crown to crown you with. People can't complete you, only Jesus can. Why would I live for the approval of people who can't complete me?

Sorry Terry Maguire, sorry Renee Sellwegger. Only Jesus can't complete me. It doesn't matter because what matters more. Now here's the key. What matters more. This is your priority. And for Paul, the priority was never a popularity. So some say this, and some say that, and then eh and then man and b ba bah. Paul's like, I'm old. Now I know something, and this is what the old minister told me when I was first getting started. He said, there certain things in your ministry you will go through that

you will question. And I said, well, what would you change if you could change anything? He said, why aren't you getting your elevation pen ready to write down what the old man said? He said, there's a lot of stuff that I wouldn't choose, but there's nothing I would change because now I've been through enough to know that.

It took some of the breaking to get to some of the blessing, and it took some of the betrayals to get to the blessing, and it took some of the conflict to get to the calling, and it took some of the weakness to get to the string. I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't choose it. I thought this was relevant because a lot of us in situations today that we would not choose. Nobody chooses sickness. Nobody choose as a kid who is off doing the opposite of

everything you raised them to do. And you find out what Paul found out, you were never really in control. The more you think you're in control, the younger your kids are. I tell you, if it was my teenager, if it was your teenager, you would be locked in a room with prescription pills. Shut up, jet lag, jet lag, jet la. I'll be nicer next week. We got a lot of guests for it. Rained in Paul's just like what everybody say, what you're going to keep me in

this prison? I got these chains, and I know it looks like I'm chained to these Romans guards, but actually these guards are chained to me. Now, I wouldn't choose these chains. But actually, if it takes my chains to set somebody else free, if it takes my pain. If it takes going through a season of loneliness to really discover joy, I would choose the change. I'd rather have change on my feet and be free in my mind, and free in my spirit, and free in my conscience.

Because Paul said to me, the important thing is, the important thing is now. It's very important what you put next. This is verse eighteen. Guys in the production room. The important thing is whatever you put next will determine what your joy is chained to. Whatever you put after, the important thing is your joy will move up and down with that thing. So whatever you choose to change your joy to whatever priority if for you. No matter what you would say, because we would all say that Jesus

is the head of our lives. You don't get up and come out here to a place like this if you're not going to say the right answer. But I'm talking about reflected in your choices. If the important thing is that people like you, then when people like you, you will like you. If the important thing is that God loves you, then when people don't like you, you you

still like you, because I'm accepted in the beloved. If the important thing is comfort, than when everything is just right, and when the climate is seventy two point four fahrenheit. You will be happy about the climate or the environment. But if the important thing to you is not comfort but calling, you can be in a miserable situation and turn it into a ministry. I'm looking for somebody today who is no longer concerned about popular opinion or personal preference.

But you've come to the place in your life where you say, I want to know him. I want to make him know. I want real joy, joy that the world didn't give and the world can't snatch it back. I missed you. Let me preach like I want to preach, so you won't be tossed to and fro and yanked back and forth by the affairs of life. Paul says, my my feet are locked and my hands are chained,

but my mind is free. I'm here, but the mission is moving forward, and the important thing is The important thing is you get to choose what comes next, what is your priority. And you can't have God's peace without God's priorities. You can pray for it. But if you tie your joy to how your husband treats you or how the crazy girl in the cubicle next to you, you knew she was crazy. Her eyes were crazy. You're gonna put your joy on crazy girl. I can't hook

my joy to that. I can't. I can't hook my joy to what the boss decides or what his boss decides. My joy is not connected to my job. So I gotta find something else. And for Paul, it was purpose, not preference, not popularity. Someone say this, Some say that wd im wwjd WWI don't care www dot, who cares? Dot com? Www dot? Jesus Christ is my boss? Dot com? Www is If he says I'm blessed, I'm blessed and there's not a thing you can do to curse me dot com. Www dot, I'm blessed with a car without

a car. Www dot. I don't need a watch to be blessed. Www dot. If you break up with me, it's your loss because God has something special in me. What does it matter? And this is your choice. One scholar said Paul must be going senile. He maybe took one too many to the head because he's in chains talking about a choice. I don't know if I want to live or die, Paul. They didn't ask you. I love it when people say I didn't like that song Ya saying, Sunday, we didn't ask you when he put

it as a choice, He's saying, I can't. I can't choose how long these chains stay on me. I'm still waiting, But I get to make a choice, not about what happens, but about my response. And I choose since God hasn't removed these chains, since God hasn't fixed the situation, since God hasn't fixed the relationship, since God hasn't given me the breakthrough yet, since I'm still dealing with the addiction, since it won't just go away like they told me it would. And I prayed that one time, and I

still went home addicted. And they told me that if I prayed this that the change would fall off. But the chains are still there. And since and since God won't remove the chains, I'm gonna ask him to use the chains. That's my choice. What shall I choose? You have a choice. To me, you always do the greatest gift God can give you as a choice, He said, I'm in chains for Christ. Christ didn't put these chains on me, But now that these chains are on me,

I'm gonna let him use them. He didn't bring the disease, He didn't bring the divorce. I wouldn't choose it. But if I can't change it, God, will you use these chains to change me, change others, make me an example of your grace. That's your choice, and God's not the only one who gives you a choice. This is what I was trying to explain to the youth, and I really think I was talking to my sixteen year old self. That's where I made the choice to follow Christ. Well,

actually he made the choice. He chose me. I didn't choose him theologically speaking, but it was the moment that I became aware of his prevenient grace in my life and surrendered to what he was already doing. Yeah, that's how's better. And I was trying to get them to see how you know, over five hundred of them gave their lives to Christ during your fects most important choice

they'll ever make. But the moment they come to that choice, the devil comes with little choices because the enemy sees their potential, and sometimes the enemy believes in your potential more than you do. And so you get around some friends and you're young, thirteen, fourteen, and they're looking at porn. It's just a little porn it's just one time porn, and they're calling you gay and weird if you don't look at it. So you look at it. It's just

a choice. And they're drinking, they're smoking, they're vaping. So choice, it's not going to send you to hell. God's grace has got you covered. But it's just a choice. What you don't know until you know is that choices don't stay choices. They become habits. It's just one choice, just a little you turn up one time and then it's like, well maybe I'll do it again. And I lied to my parents one time. So you know, y'all think this

is a youth sermon. If somebody would have preached this to a lot of us earlier, we could have seen the choice for what it was. But we didn't know what mattered. Then. We couldn't know what mattered then, you know. So it's just a little thing. But then it becomes a habit, and now you kind of you keep doing it and it doesn't quite hit It doesn't quite get you as high as it did the last time. You can do more of it. Now it takes a little more. It takes a little more. It takes you can handle

us good. Then it becomes a habit, and now you know it's not just a glass of wine to relax. And oh, by the way, I always get scared when I do this part because it's not just sex and drinking that I'm talking about. Some of us gossip so bad. It would be better off if we were alcoholics. I mean, the damage we do with our mouths is way worse than what a bottle can do. Okay, So I'm not just talking about whatever specific sin you don't happen to struggle with. Some of us are so angry, just mad ah,

And we used to get mad with good reason. It was a choice, but then it became a habit, and now it's automatic. You don't even choose anymore. Now it's the default setting. Now it's just what you do to get your way, and you hate yourself after you do it, but it got you what you wanted, so you do it again. And it's kind of like one time Paul was saying, I don't do what I want to do, I do what I want don't want to do. Who will deliver me from this body of death? And he

wasn't saying this before he met Christ. He was saying this as a christ follower, I made some choices. The choice became a habit. I didn't know it was a big deal. At the time, it didn't seem like a big deal. I didn't forgive one person, and I let the bitterness get a hold of me. And then the bitterness was no longer just one person. I started getting mad at everybody, and I started blaming everybody. And now

it's my habit. And now when something doesn't go my way, my first response is to blame all the people who weren't there for me, or if they would have, or if she would have. I started complaining. I made the choice to complain. And I used to just complain when things were really bad. But now now it's instead of Instead of his praise will continually be on my mouth. Now it's complaint is continually on myself. It's a habit. It's automatic. It's my first instinct. I can't even see

what's right. I walk in the room and all I see is what's wrong. It's automatic, and before long it's not just what I do. It becomes my identity. Now it's who I am. I'm a slave to fear, I'm a child of God. But I feel like a slave to sin. I made a choice, became a habit became automatic. That's what the Bible says when it says, don't walk in the flesh the habits of the old life, the patterns of your perspective pre Christ, and just keep doing it. It's pulling on you. This pulls you back into it.

You don't tell your e group about that stuff. You can't these these these these chains aren't the kind of change that you wear around your neck. These changes, the choices that become habits. Now it's automatic. You didn't even want to do it anymore, but you think it's who you are because your nature. You see that. I'm trying

to show you. And I hope that you'll discuss this with your kids after church, and I hope that you'll discuss this with some people in your life that you can trust about the choices that became habits, that became automatic. I'm just offended all the time. Now. I made the choice to be offended. The person hurt me, and I chose to let that hurt on the inside, and I

didn't let it heal. And now I'm pushing good people away because of who hurt me back then and I want you to see how today's choices come, tomorrow's chains come here Nick, Jake. It's crazy, it's crazy, how young this happens. Because Jake has a calling. Jake has a purpose, I said, Nick, because that's his dad. His dad is mcguiver.

He fixes everything. Jake is a worshiper. The enemy knows that, so he wants to come to Jake early in life with a choice, certain friends, certain things, certain outlooks, and what he wants you to do. He wants to get you locked up, good and tight while you're young, because he knows what God put inside of you. H he knows that this young man could be a chain breaker in his generation. The enemy knows his purpose. So what he wants to do while you're young. Now, he's clever.

The enemy is crafty, So he's not gonna He's not gonna come at Jake with the chain because if he comes it Jake with a chain, Jake's gonna run right. So he comes I'm helping somebody today. I feel it in my bones. With a choice. He wants to lock you in to thinking, believing, and insecurities early. So now later in your life, when you decide to pursue a mission. Go ahead, try to pursue a mission A Nope, Because

I got you. And later in life, let's say he plants a sexual addiction in your mind at an early age, and then you get a wife, and now you want to love your wife and be a good man and be intimate with your wife in the way that God intended. But see you move toward intimacy. But I got you with a choice that became a habit, that became automatic. And now you can't treat a woman like a woman. You treat her like an object because I got you

in chains. Jake, you're being real dramatic. You don't have to jerk that hard, just say yeah, they stand right there. He's got in these chains. So you want to make a change in your life later. But he got you in chains so early. And some of us spend decades being dragged around by the devil, being dragged around by decisions that we made in our past. That I got news for you are already covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. And I read in my Bible whom the

sun sets free is free. Indeed, it means I don't have to spend the rest of my life being dragged around by the decisions of my past. I don't have to stay in these chains. I know a name that will break everything. I think we need to shout on this word, because some of us are chain to mindsets, and shame to scarcity, and same to pa and same to our imaginations, and shame to memories. But I read in John that whom the sun sets free is free indeed,

And if you believe that, sound like you're free. Paul said, I've found another chain. This chain is called Grace. So let the devil know. I'm not chained to these Roman guards. I'm saying to Grace. That means I've found the love that will not let me go. Even if I try to get away. Go ahead, try to get away, Try to get away. He won't let me go. Even if I try to run, Try to run, he won't let me go. Pull as hard as you want to pull,

take you pooh. I might be all, but I lived, and as long as I got to in my grip, you're not going anywhere. Full in the sun sets free is prase. Indeed, God is folling me closer. I'm changed to Grace. I'm no longer a slave to fear. I'm a China God, and I choose everything I've been through, even my shame, God's gonna use it to tell a greater story of grace. God's gonna use my chains to break somebody else's. My son won't have to go through what I went through. God's gonna use my chains to

set somebody free. And He's got you. You get to make a choice today. Everybody in here is serving something. What do you want to serve? Who do you want to serve? Paul identified himself as a servant of Christ Jesus. What he meant was Grace is a bigger chain than said And no matter what my decisions might say about me or indicate otherwise, I am a child of God. I'm gonna wander sometimes, go I wander off, wander off, wonder off. Come on, try hard. I got you. I

got you. Grace is stronger the don't assume me. If I break his wrist, it's for a good cause. I got you. I see in the spirit. God pull it on you today. You didn't even want to come to church today. Look at you right here in church. You made so many dumb decisions, and today you're standing in the presence of a chain breaking God. So so is your choice, worshiper, what will you choose? Paul made his choice. He said, I'm gonna let God use these chains to

declare his grace. And for everybody who's stuck in a situation that you can't change right now, and sometimes that situation is yourself, I want you to make a decision, a choice, because choices, choices become habits. Yeah, you choose to trust God in this season of your life. And you know what, if you trust God a few times, guess what, it becomes automatic. And now you find yourself leaning not on your own understanding, but in all your ways,

acknowledging Him. When you realize the devil has been lying to me this whole time. I'm not a slave to what they said. I'm not a slave to what they did. I am a child of God. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old and the new has come. If you believe God is a chain breaker, I want you to stand on your feet right now and give him a midnight praise, a praise that breaks shames and chases anxiety away. Come on, you have to do better than that. If you are a serpent of

the Most High God. And you know all power is in his hand and he got to prevent grave with all authority. Release the praise right now, all the free. He will lift your hands. You don't have to feel free to be free. It's the same breaking power. And then ah, my God is in this place power. She loves well. I hope you enjoyed the podcast today. If you did, there are just a couple things I'd love for you to do. Number One, subscribe to our show. That way, the most recent episode will always be in

your feed, waiting for you ready when you are. And Secondly, if this ministry has impacted you and you'd like to help us continue to reach others, you can click the link in the description and you can give now and I'll see you next time on the Elevation Podcast