Hello and welcome
to this teaching from Skip Heitzig of
Calvary Albuquerque. We pray that God uses this
message to reach people around the world with his love. If this message
encourages you, we'd love to hear about it email
us at mystory@calvaryabq.org. And if you'd like to support
this ministry financially, you can give online securely
at calvaryabq.org/give. What does it take
to steal your joy? To answer honestly,
you must discover what you're passionate about. As we continue our
series, Technicolor Joy, we learn this is important
because things won't always go our way. In the message,
The Happy Prisoner, Skip teaches that we need
the right perspective to deal with unfavorable
circumstances. Now, we invite you
to open your Bible to Philippians, Chapter 1,
as he begins the message, The Happy Prisoner. Father we do pray, and
I do ask, that you will speak to us through your word. These are old and tested
principles of truth. But Lord, they are going to be
new and revolutionary to some and as up to date as
this morning's headlines. I pray, Father, that
in hearing them, we would be not only like the
prophet who said, speak Lord, your servant hears, but
we would have that desire to put into practice those
principles that are revealed. Only that can be
done by your grace, and we ask for it in
Jesus' name, amen. So a guy went to prison. And on his first day, he
heard somebody yell out of one of the cells a number. He said 43. And the whole cell block
broke out in laughter. He thought, that's odd. And a few moments later,
another prisoner yelled out 75. And everybody broke
out in laughter again. And then 56, and everybody
broke out in laughter. So he turned to his cellmate,
who had been there a long time. He goes, I don't get
what's happening. What am I hearing here? He says, well, we've
been here so long. And we've been telling the
same jokes to each other over, and over, and over
again that we've just numbered them all. [LAUGHTER] So now, all we have
to do is yell out a number, we think of that
joke, and we laugh. So the prisoner said,
wow, can I try that? He said, sure. Give it a shot. So he shouted out 12. Dead silence. Again, 12. Dead silence. He says, what's happening? And the guy said, I guess some
guys just can't tell a joke. [LAUGHTER] In Philippians Chapter
1, Verses 12 through 14, I'm giving this a message
title, The Happy Prisoner. Now, that sounds
like an oxymoron. Because you don't associate
happiness, generally, with being in prison. Prison is a place where
usually joy is absent. It's a place where
life is unpleasant. It's a place where
dreams go to die. I found a website for the
criminal justice system, called corrections.com, in
which this statement was on it. "Most prisoners are unhappy. And many of them are
unhappy all the time. Many contemplate or attempt
suicide or self-mutilation. The suicide rate for
American prisoners is between 5 to 15
times greater than it is for the general
American population". I'm sharing that with you to
begin with, because I just want you to keep in
mind that we are reading the letter of a prisoner. Somebody who is incarcerated
for his faith in Christ. Let's look at our
verses this morning, and we'll see what
he has to say. Chapter 1 Verse 12, it's a
new paragraph of thought now. But I want you to
know, brethren, that the things
which happened to me have actually turned out for
the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident
to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that
my chains are in Christ; and most of the
brethren in the Lord, having become
confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak
the word without fear. So Paul is a prisoner. He's a prisoner in Rome. These are not the
best conditions that he has ever been in. This is not the happiest place. Paul is physically bound. And Paul's ministry is
severely restricted. And yet, do you remember what
the theme of this book is? Tell me what it is. Joy. It's a letter oozing with joy. Four chapters, 104 verses, and
one of the major themes is joy. Let's look at a few things. Look at verse 3 of
chapter 1, I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you, always, in every prayer of mine, making
requests for you all with joy. Verse 18, what then? Only that in every way,
whether in pretense or truth, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice,
yes, and I will rejoice. Chapter 2, verse 17, yes,
and if I am being poured out as a drink offering
on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am
glad and rejoice with you all. Chapter 3, Verse 1. Finally my brethren,
rejoice in the Lord. Chapter 4, Verse 4,
rejoice in the Lord. And I say it again, rejoice. So he's a prisoner,
incarcerated in a jail, saying, rejoice, rejoice,
I'm glad, rejoice. Now, either he's a nutcase,
he's been beat up one too many times so now his
brains are addled, or, number two, he's
lying through his teeth. He's putting on a
good Christian face. Christians are supposed to
act this way, rejoice, smile. Or he's on to something. And we need to find out what
it is that makes him so joyful. And so that leads me to give
you a statement that I think encapsilizes the whole book. And that's this,
spiritual maturity can be measured by what it
takes to steal your joy. Spiritual maturity can
be measured by what it takes to steal your joy. What does it take to end
the experience of joy as a believer to the area
of anger, bitterness, whatever it would be? Spiritual maturity can
be measured by what it takes to steal your joy. The other night my
grandson spent the night. It's always a joy. And we got up in the morning. I was making breakfast
for him, and so he was watching cartoons. And he came and goes, I'm
looking for Winnie the Pooh. We love watching that. And we both love
Winnie the Pooh. So, well, we didn't find it. But that's what we
were looking for. But I've often wondered, if life
were a Winnie the Pooh episode, what character would you be? Would you be, perhaps,
the timid piglet? Would you be Pooh Bear himself,
who likes to eat a lot? Would you be the important
but pushy rabbit? Would you be the
wise but boring owl? I'll tell you who Paul
the Apostle would be. You know who he'd be? He'd be Tigger. Paul the Apostle would be
that exuberant, ebullient, resilient, bouncy tiger
character named Tigger. You see, Paul has every
reason to be Eeyore. He has no outward reason
at all to be joyful. But he is joyful. I found an article I wanted
to put up and have you see it as I read it to you from
Psychology Today that said, quote "people are
unhappy because they view their lives as prisons. Many people feel trapped
by aspects of their life, trapped in an
unhappy relationship, or trapped in an
unfulfilling job. Or they are generally
unhappy with their life despite basic needs being met." end quote. So don't you find it interesting
that this dude is in prison, he is not licking his wounds, he
is not sending out invitations to a pity party, but he's saying
rejoice, rejoice, rejoice? Now to find out why,
we need to follow the progress of his thinking
in these three verses. So I'm glad we only
have three verses. Because we're going to
begin with his passion, move on to his problems, and
end with his perspective. You have to understand his
passions to really understand his problems. Because one led to the other. But then we'll end
with his perspective. And there's enough
information here for me to draw out
three principles. Let me share the first with you,
godly passion is commendable. Godly passion is commendable. Paul had a passion in life. That seems to be a
very popular question, what's your passion in life? Paul had one. He had a master passion. If you know anything at
all about Paul the Apostle, you know he was a
pretty determined guy. He had what we would call a
Type-A personality, highly motivated with a single focus. And generally, people like that
are highly successful people. Because they never quit. They never say die. They never give up. Everyone, including you,
has a master passion. What drives you? What does your mind think
of when it's in neutral and you've got nothing going on? All the activities are gone. What is the one thing
above everything that you want, or
seek for, or want to do more than anything else? For some people it's a career. And for those people who make
that their master passion, everything else
takes a back seat. Sadly, even relationships
will often take a backseat. For other people it's power. For other people it's money. Let me remind you of
what Paul's passion was. Paul's passion can be summed
up by two words, the gospel. The gospel, the message
that changes people's lives was what he lived for. It was his master passion. How much was this on his mind? Well, look at verse 5, for
your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. Now, look at verse 7,
I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my
chains and in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, you are partakers with me of grace. Look at verse 12, I want
you to know brethren, the things which
have happened to me have actually turned out for
the furtherance of the gospel. Verse 17, but the
latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed
for the defense of the gospel. Look at verse 27, only
let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so
that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may
hear of your affairs, that you stand
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together
for the faith of the gospel. Now that is only this chapter. If you were to add up all of the
times in all of Paul's writings that he mentions the
gospel, it's 72 times. The gospel, the gospel-- How are you doing Paul? The gospel. What's up? The gospel. What do you want in life? The gospel. What are you doing? The gospel. That is his master passion. Now, that can be summed
up by two verses, both found in the
book of Romans. The first is Romans 1:15, where
he says, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel
to you who are in Rome also. Did you get that language? As much as is in me, to the
fullest extent of my being, that's what I want. That's my passion. The second is in
Romans 15 verse 20, where he said, for it has
always been my ambition-- you could substitute
the word passion-- it has always been my ambition
to preach the gospel where Christ is not
known, lest I build on another man's foundation. Question, why is
that his passion? Why would that thing,
that at one time he tried with all of his might
to stop, be now his passion? Remember Paul went
around putting out the fire of the gospel,
keeping it from spreading. He went to Damascus
to stop the gospel. Why is this now his passion? Simple to answer that. Because the gospel was the only
thing that could change him. Nothing else could,
nothing else did. On that Damascus road,
when he saw that light, and heard that voice, and
he received that Jesus, his life was never the same. That's important. Because until you've
experienced the gospel's power, you will never have
a gospel passion. It's only people who have
seen, and felt, and experienced the power of the gospel
in their own lives that it becomes
to them a passion. William Booth, who started
the Salvation Army, said, some men's
passion is for gold. Some men's passion is for art. Some men's passion is for fame. He said my passion is for souls. If Paul would have
stood there when Booth said that, he'd have
stuck out his hand and said, put her there. You and I track. Because that was
Paul's passion as well. In fact, Paul said,
Romans chapter 1 verse 16, for I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
to everyone who believes. Paul had seen its power. Now Paul has its passion. Let me just say that a
godly passion like this is commendable. So much so that I
look for it in people. And I've gotten good at
noticing it when I find it. And whenever I find
it I exploit it. If I find some
young person who's got that fire in their
eyes, that sparkle, that real deep desire to
know God, and serve Christ, and learn the Bible,
and preach the gospel. I want to bring that person as
close as I can under my wing and train that person, equip
that person, to get out and do what is their passion. So godly passion is commendable. But that brings up
a second movement. We go from Paul's passion
to Paul's predicament, or his problems. And he mentions
them in verse 12. Before we jump
into the verse, let me just say that one
always brings the other. A godly passion always
invites great problems. Did you hear that? A godly passion always involves,
or invites, great passion. Why is that? Well, because when you're
passionate about souls, you are entering a
battleground on which Satan has been fighting a long time. He's got a lot of experience. So when you say, I am
passionate about the gospel. I want to save souls. You are painting
a bullseye on you. You are a target. Satan will be after you. It's a war he's been engaged in. So the great commission will
always bring great conflict. In fact, Jesus even said
faith can sometimes be fatal. He promised his disciples,
then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and
put you to death, and you will be hated by all
nations for my name's sake. So here is Paul. He's got this passion, the
gospel, the gospel, the gospel, the gospel. But then he says
in verse 12, but I want you to know brethren,
that the things which happened to me-- stop right there. Something happened to Paul. He's mentioning it. Something happened to
this passionate man. What was it? He's in jail again. That's what happened to him. He's been there
many times before. He's been beaten
many times before. He's had hardship
many times before, all because of his
passion for the gospel. That's what happened to him. So now he has a jail
ministry, a prison ministry, but not like he expected. If you have a prison ministry,
you go to the prison. You visit the prisoners. You go home and have a
nice meal with your family. Not Paul. He lived there. That was his prison ministry. It is not what he expected. Now, sitting in a
Roman prison, he does not have the freedom to
go out and plant churches, and share the gospel here,
and train up leaders there. He's stuck. You should know that Paul-- he is in Rome. He always wanted to go to Rome. It was part of his passion. He wrote to the Romans
and he said, pray for me that I may come to you with
joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed
together with you. That's not exactly
what happened. Something bad
happened to this man. And here's what happened. After his third
missionary journey, he goes back to Jerusalem. He's in the temple area
with another fellow going through a ceremonial ritual. Some of the leaders
spot Paul there. They start a riot,
and they attack him. A Roman soldier arrests Paul-- not to punish him, but to
protect him from the mob-- takes Paul, is about
to have Paul beaten. Paul pulls his Roman
citizenship card out and says, you can't beat me. I'm a Roman citizen. So he is then taken from
Jerusalem to Caesarea by the sea, where
he spends two years. And he goes through three
trials in two years. He stands before Felix. He stands before Festus. He stands before Herod Agrippa. And after two years, he
finally says, I'm done. This judicial process is crazy. I appeal my case
to Caesar in Rome. Every Roman citizen
had that right. So they put him on a ship. It is not a cruise ship. It's not a Princess Cruise. It is a prison cruise. And they put them on this boat. And they send him to Rome. He almost doesn't
make it to Rome. The ship sinks. He has to swim to shore. But he finally goes to Rome,
where he's put in jail again. All of that is
under this banner, but the things which
happened to me. That's what he is referring to. Now that set of circumstances
is enough to change any Tigger into an Eeyore pretty quickly. You know that incarceration
will always challenge your joy. Restriction of any kind is
a challenge to your joy. Confinement of any sort
will challenge your joy. Some of you feel
chained to a job. It's a tyrant to you. Some of you feel chained
to a relationship or a set of responsibilities
you didn't sign up for. And maybe because of that
your passion is gone. It's dried up. This is not what
you had in mind. You're thinking
back to that moment when you finally said, I
surrender my life to you Jesus. And I don't just mean salvation. Maybe you came to the point
after salvation where you said, now I'm going to get serious. I'm going to really live for
Christ from this day forward. But here you are
today, and you're thinking back to that day. This is not what you
had in mind that day. In fact, could it be, is it
possible, that when you said, Lord I surrender to
your plan, that you said that like the couple
who went to the architect and asked the architect to
design a house for them. But the architect discovered
the couple already designed it for
themselves and just wanted the architect to sanction it. Maybe when you said,
Lord I surrender my life to you, what you meant
is, I surrender my will. I hope it is your will Lord. Here are my plans for my life. I just want your stamp on it. Because you must
want what I want. And now you're going this is not
what I thought I signed up for. Well, Paul is about to say
something very revolutionary. This is where we
really need to listen. So we move from his
passion, to his problems, to his perspective. How does he view all
that has happened to him? Now, as we dive into this
I'm just going to review. What is the theme
of this letter? Joy. 16 times, 16 times in
this letter the word joy, the word rejoice, or
the word rejoicing, are found no less than 16 times. We've already seen the object
of Paul's joy, the gospel. We've seen the
challenge to Paul's joy, the things that happened,
the prison, the beatings, et cetera. Now, let me show you
the reason for his joy. And that can all be summed up
by a single word in verse 12. It's the word furtherance. But I want you to know,
brethren, in verse 12, that the things
which happened to me have actually turned out for
the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident
to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that
my chains are in Christ; and most of the
brethren in the Lord, having become
confident by my chains, are much more able to speak
the word without fear. Now, back to that
word furtherance. You may have a Bible
that doesn't say that. It might say advancement,
or advance, or spread, or progress, those are
all good translations. Mine says furtherance. The Greek word is [GREEK]. And [GREEK] means to
advance or to make progress. But it means something
very, very unique. It means a forward movement
in spite of obstacles. Obstacles are involved. It makes motion forward. But in the midst of obstacles. So the word [GREEK] was used
of pioneers cutting their way through brushwood, cutting
the undergrowth away, so you could go on it. It was also used for soldiers
advancing through obstacles. It was also sometimes used
as a nautical term for ships making headway while
there was a headwind. You get the idea. There's always an
obstacle involved. It's going forward,
forward, forward but in the midst of obstacle. So what Paul wants them to know,
is I want you to know brethren, that all that has happened
to me the incarcerations, the beatings, the mistrials,
the further incarceration, none of that has stopped the
advance of the gospel. In fact, it cleared the way. It actually furthered it. It made progress in it. I want you to see that. So look at verse 13. He's going to give you three
ways the gospel is furthered. Number one, it is furthered
for Roman soldiers. God's plan has been
furthered for Roman soldiers. Verse 13, so it has
become evident-- now watch this-- to
the whole palace guard. The word is praetorian. We get the word
praetorium from that. And the Praetorian Guard was
the elite personal soldiers for the emperor. There was about 10,000 of
them in the Roman Empire. They were the bodyguards
of the emperor. Now Paul is
incarcerated in Rome. So he is somehow
attached to the palace. Now he's not in the palace. He's in a rented home,
the Book of Acts tells us. He's chained to a guard 24
hours a day in a rented house. But the people chained to
him are the Praetorian Guard. That would be like being
chained to the Secret Service or to the CIA, that elite. Now let me just
stop for a second. I believe, and I'm guessing,
that somebody in the Church of Rome-- maybe when they got
together for a prayer meeting of some kind-- they got together. And one of the prayers was
something like this, Lord, you're doing such a
great work here in Rome. But, man, if there is any way
possible that the praetorian elite guards of the emperor
himself in Caesar's household could somehow hear the gospel-- they are unreachable. I don't know how we could
ever get the gospel to them. And God said, OK, I'll
answer that prayer. How? By Paul's chains. Now Paul's chained to them. Now think of what it was
like to be chained to Paul the Apostle for six hours. That's how it worked. There are 24 hours a day. 4 soldiers chained six
hours at a time to Paul. So Paul couldn't eat
without being chained. He couldn't sleep
without being chained. Everything he did 24 hours
was chained to a guard. Now we often think,
oh, Paul was in chains. But think of it the other way. So was the soldier. [LAUGHTER] Can you imagine what it's
like to listen to Paul? What do you think Paul brought
up during that six hours? The gospel, the gospel,
the gospel, the gospel, the gospel, that's his passion. You couldn't shut him up. Have you ever
shared with somebody in a conversation-- you
bring up the gospel. They don't like what
you have to say. So they walk away. They can't walk away. Talk about a captive audience. [LAUGHTER] FB Meyer tries to paint the
picture what it would be like. He said, and I quote, "at
times the hired room would be thronged with people, to
whom the Apostle spoke words of life; and after they
withdrew the sentry would sit beside him, filled
with many questionings as to the meaning
of the words which this strange prisoner spoke. At other times,
especially at night, the soldiers and the apostle
would be left to talk. And in those dark,
lonely hours the Apostle would tell soldier after soldier
about his own proud career and early life,
of his opposition to Christ, his
ultimate conversion, and would make it clear that
he was there as a prisoner, not for any crime,
not because he raised a rebellion or a revolt,
but because he believed that He whom the Roman soldiers
had crucified, under Pilate, was the Son of God and
the Savior of men." Now what is the result of all
of this chained to a Roman guard mean? It means some of them got saved. I know that to be
a fact because when he closes this letter,
Philippians, in chapter 4 verse 22, almost
tongue-in-cheek he says, all the Saints
send you greetings, especially those who belong
to Caesar's household. Wink wink. Isn't that great? Some of those soldiers who
were unreachable got reached. And there's only
one way they could by being chained to a Christian. So the incarceration,
the suffering that Paul experienced,
it furthered God's plan for Roman soldiers. But there is a second
I want you to notice. It furthered God's plan
for Roman citizens. Go back to verse 13, so
that it has become evident to the whole palace guard,
comma and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ. Paul didn't just write
words without meaning. He didn't say, oh, I just
need to fill that sentence in, so I'll just put
to all the rest. It means something. He was chained to soldiers. But it's become evident to
not only them but to the rest. What does that mean? Here's what it means. Paul was under house arrest,
we are told in Acts 28. House arrest meant that
there were certain freedoms the prisoner had. He lived in a house but
chained to a soldier 24/7. He could not leave the house. But people could
come and visit him. So Acts 28 tells us that Jewish
leaders came to visit him. Christian leaders
came to visit him. Citizens of Rome
came to visit him. Acts 28 says, for
two whole years Paul stayed there in
his own rented house and welcomed all
who came to see him. Now listen to these words. Boldly and without hindrance,
he preached the Kingdom of God and taught about the
Lord Jesus Christ. Amazing. Here's the principle. Don't miss this principle. The longest period of
Paul's incarceration was the greatest period
of Paul's impact. Staggering. The longest period of
Paul's incarceration was the greatest period
of Paul's impact. In other words,
Paul's confinement was God's assignment. That prison became his pulpit. Oh, and by the way,
just a little FYI, Paul wasn't just being
chained to a soldier and giving Bible
studies to people. He spent a lot of
time writing books. The very book you
are reading was written during that
time, Ephesians written during that time,
Philippians during that time, Colossians during this prison
stay, Philemon written. Those four prison epistles
all written during this time. And he's having Bible studies
at the expense of the Roman government. How cool is that. There was never
an issue back then with the separation
of church and state. They paid for it
and he preached. [LAUGHTER] Now here's what I'm
wondering, the next time you are tempted to think,
man, I'm stuck with this job. I hate it, but I'm stuck here. Or you think, I am
shackled to this desk or I am imprisoned
by this person, you could see it
as an opportunity. Not an incarceration,
an opportunity if, and only if, your
passion is the gospel. I'll guarantee you, if your
passion is not the gospel, it's just an
inconvenience to you. It's just a horrible bitter
experience of suffering. Why would God allow it? Unless you see it
as an opportunity. If you see it as an
opportunity, and it's your passion to
preach the gospel, you'll see it as a pulpit. You'll see it as a way
to get the gospel out. So Paul's suffering,
his jail sentence, was an opportunity for the
furtherance of God's plan for Roman soldiers. It furthered God's plan
for Roman citizens. And finally, we'll
close with this, it furthered God's plan,
listen, for reluctant saints. I find there's a lot
of reluctant saints. I find them all over the
place, just a little ashamed of the gospel, a little
reluctant to say anything that they believe. So verse 14 is about that. And most of the
brethren in the Lord, those are fellow believers,
having become confident by my chains, my
imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the
word without fear. Now, you know what
that tells me? That tells me that people
in Rome, Christians in Rome, were scared to say anything. They were timid. They were frightened to announce
I'm following Jesus Christ. He's my Lord and Savior. Here's my testimony. They were afraid
and understandably. Paul ended up in jail. They could too. But in watching and hearing
about Paul being so bold and unhindered to soldiers
and to people who visit him, the citizens of Rome. They started
thinking differently. They started having
thoughts like, if God can use Paul in
jail, God can certainly use me out of jail. So they became a
little more bold. And so they're not in prison. Paul is. They're citizens that
live out there in Rome. Live in that house, this
house, the Roman forum, work in that market. So now these citizens,
who can go out, are emboldened by Paul,
who is stuck in prison. And now they're reaching
the kind of people that Paul couldn't reach. So it furthered God's plan
for these reluctant saints. So think of it. Instead of seeing those
prison guards as a nuisance, or those prison
chains as a hindrance, Paul saw them all
as a furtherance. What a prospective. I'm sure that I'm speaking
to people right now who are feeling chained to something. I'm going to give
you an example. You may be a mother. You've given up a career. You went to college
for that career. You quit your career. Now you are devoted to
raising children at home. All of that investment
is not being used. And you may feel, like many
do, I'm in prison here. Let me encourage you with the
example of Susanna Wesley. Susanna Wesley had 19 children. Do you think she
ever felt confined? 19 kids. Last week on the
platform we had a mom who had 8 children, another
one who had 10 children, Susanna Wesley had 19 kids. She was often feeling
very constricted. But she had two sons, John
Wesley and Charles Wesley, who shook the British
Isles with the gospel. One is a preacher. One is a hymn writer. By her imprisonment she
furthered the gospel. Maybe you feel chained
to a job or a career. Now, it could be that you're
even successful in your job, successful in your career. In fact, the more
successful you get, you're feeling more imprisoned. You're stuck there. You know you have to produce
more and more and more. And so you think
thoughts like, well, I'd love to do more for Christ. But I'm stuck here and
I'm very successful, and I got to keep this
going, I have employees, and I have responsibilities. Let me encourage you with
the story of JC Penny, who made an enormous amount of
money in his corporation, still does even though he's long gone. JC Penny, a Christian
businessman, who felt imprisoned by what he
did, but decided well, he could give the money
away to gospel work. So get this, 90% of his
income he gave away. He kept and lived on 10%. Now, most Christians
give away 10%. That's their tithe. They live on 90%. He decided I'll reverse it. I can live happily. I make a lot of money. I can live on 10%. I'll give 90% away to those
people preaching the gospel. He used that confinement, so to
speak, to get the gospel out. Maybe you feel
chained to a sick bed. You're not here,
but you're going to hear this message
in a hospital or a convalescent home. You feel chained to a bed,
imprisoned within those four walls. Let me encourage you with the
story of Charlotte Elliott, who was an invalid. Charlotte Elliot, as an
invalid, wrote 150 hymns. Some have become very famous. The most famous one was sung at
all the Billy Graham Crusades. Just as I am without one
plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou
bidst me come to Thee, oh Lamb of God, I come, I come. Written while Charlotte
Elliott was an invalid and couldn't get out. And perhaps this
message is going to be heard by a prisoner. I mean a real prisoner
in a prison cell. We get letters from all
over the country, where prisoners will tune into
the radio broadcast, and they'll write. Let me encourage you. Maybe you came to
faith in Christ. If you're a prisoner and
you're hearing this message, you came to faith in Christ
while you were in prison, understand this Martin Luther
translated the Bible in jail, in the Wartburg
prison in Germany. Then there's the
story of John Bunyan. John Bunyan was a
preacher in England. And he was fiery, and
he saw great results. And so they arrested him and
put him in the Bedford jail. He didn't stop preaching there. He shouted so loud
that his voice could be heard over the walls. And people would gather outside
the walls to listen to him. And so thought I
can't have this. And they put him in
solitary confinement deep below in the dungeon. And so he decided to write. And he wrote Pilgrim's
Progress there. Millions of people,
millions of people have been inspired by that book. I like to read it at
least once a year. So let me conclude with this. Maybe, just maybe, you
could be a happy prisoner. I can't do anything for
your shackles, health. Circumstances may restrict you. They do all of us at some point. But maybe you could
become a happy prisoner. Not a sappy prisoner. Not woe is me, life's a bummer. Not a scrappy prisoner, where
you're fighting and lashing out at people. But a happy prisoner. It worked for Paul. And I daresay, this larger
than life figure named Paul the Apostle had it far
worse than I've ever had it. And I've had loss in my life. You have had loss in your life. I'm feeling restrictions of
all kinds as my age increases. And one day, it will
increase to the point where I won't be able
to do what I did. But like Paul wrote to Timothy,
he said, I'm in these chains, but the word of
God is not chained. There's always a way if, and
only if, that's your passion. Father we want to end there. We know that your passion is
the gospel and was the gospel. For God so loved the world that
he sent his only begotten son. You were willing to go
through the sacrifice of the death of your son. Jesus, you were willing
to go to the cross and shed your blood to
buy people back to God. I pray that what my brothers
and sisters, may be experiencing in their little prison
experiences due to health, or due to employment
or unemployment, to relationship or
lack of relationship, that the prison they
feel would become an opportunity, a fulcrum,
if that is their passion. And if not I pray that
you would make it so. Because there's nothing
quite as thrilling as leading another person
to faith in Christ, or telling that story,
or giving our testimony. So use us Lord, no matter
where we find ourselves. Again, we ask it for
your glory and your honor that Jesus' name would
be great and more famous than it is, amen. Though Paul was stuck
in a prison cell, he still had the joy of Christ. Does this encourage you to
share your joy with others? Let us know. Email mystory@calvaryabq.org. And just a reminder, you can
give financially to this work at calvaryabq.org/give. Thank you for listening
to this message from Skip Heitzig of
Calvary Albuquerque.
