Unhindered: Unhindered from Self (Acts 20:17-24)

Series: Unhindered

Sermon: Unhindered from Self

Scripture: Acts 20:17-24

Date: April 14, 2019

 

He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ - with all boldness and without hindrance!  (Acts 28:31, series verse)

LAST WEEK'S WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Look for an opportunity to put someone's feelings or desires ahead of your own.

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church.  And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.  But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  (Acts 20:17-24)

Let's see two truths to help us allow God to unhinder us from self:

1. Death to self
   • Acts 20:24
   • Death to self means giving up control of our lives to Jesus.
   • "If, however, we are to come into this right relationship with Him, the first thing we must learn is that our wills must be broken to His will.  A 'C' is a bent 'I.'"  -Roy Hession
   • Here's the thing: what do I really want out of life, and who can give it to me?
2. Delight in the Savior
   • "People imagine that dying to self makes one miserable.  But it is just the opposite.  It is the refusal to die to self that makes one miserable.  The more we know of death with Him, the more we shall know of His life in us, and so the more of real peace and joy."  -Roy Hession
   • "I don't have a prayer life; I have a praying life."  -Jennifer Kennedy Dean
   • "God doesn't call you to a convenient life - He calls you to an important life.  You weren't meant for self-gratification - You were meant for soul greatness."  -Ann Voskamp