What has you bound? What has grasped you in such a way that it has a significant influence over your thoughts, decisions, and relationships?
Is it money, power, or fame? Is it anger, fear, or an unruly tongue? Is it sex, pride, or loneliness? Is it a fear of failure or a fear of success? Is it social media, sports, or an addiction? What has you bound?
Or is it not a what but a who? Your spouse. Children. Love interest. The opinion of others.
For the Great Apostle Paul, it was The Holy Spirit. Not the Jews. Not the Greeks. Not the success he was having in Ephesus. Not the fear of chains and afflictions that awaited him in Jerusalem.
But he was bound by the Spirit. He had been spiritually arrested by Jesus and the Holy Spirit while on the Damascus Road. Now, regardless of the circumstances and potential consequences, he was committed to the Lord.
And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of God’s grace. (Acts 20:22-24)
Brothers and sisters, as we have studied the book of Acts, I have observed that there is something immensely liberating about being bound by the Spirit. It sets you free from tradition, from what other people might think about you, from the fear of what might happen to you, and from the fear of death.
The day before he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN, Dr. King put it this way.
Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. April 3rd, 1968)
The Great Apostle Paul expresses it this way in his letter to the church in Corinth.
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf. (2 Corinthians 5:14–15)
Okay, Pastor. Sounds good. Sounds super spiritual. But the practical side of me, the self-preservation side of me that wants to watch my kids graduate, get married, and have their own kids, struggles with the thought of losing my life for the gospel's sake. Just keeping it real.
I gotcha. I am still growing in that area myself.
And to get there, I have learned that we must change our view of death. We cannot view death as the end. Instead, it is a transition that will place us in the presence of the Lord we have served and worshipped. (2 Cor 5:6)
I believe that is the mindset Paul expresses to the church in Philippi when he says…
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
Remember, he is writing this letter while under Roman house arrest. But the fear of what might happen to him does not have him bound. He is bound by the Holy Spirit, who sent him to Jerusalem, knowing that chains and afflictions await him.
And that allowed him to encourage the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, and again, I say rejoice. (Philippians 4:4) The liberation from the fear of death allowed Paul to be content in whatever situation he found himself in. He knew how to get along with a little. He knew how to get along with a lot. He could do all things through Christ, who strengthened him. (Philippians 4:12-13)
Brothers and sisters, there is liberty in being bound by the Spirit. Freedom from the rat race. Freedom from the demands of life. Freedom from the opinion of others. Freedom from our sins. Freedom from the Law. Freedom from the fear of death.
And that freedom, that liberty is EMPOWERING.
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