Take a stroll down memory lane with me for brief minute. I want you to think back to your childhood and all the toys you played with as a little girl or a little boy. Maybe you had an Etch N Sketch or a Simon Says. My favorite was Lego’s. I loved building things. But there is one toy that comes to mind that has probably stood the test of time. And until recently I did not know that it was still in production. Even if you didn’t have one you knew someone who did. It’s the famous and historical Jack-n-the-Box. And just in case you have no earthly idea what a Jack-n-the-Box is let me describe it for you. It is a Jack in a box. It is a colorful, tin box shaped toy with a handle on one side. Stuffed inside the box was a clown like figure, usually with a painted face and a jester’s hat. The idea of the toy was to get the Jack who was stuffed, squeezed and crammed into this little biddy box out. This was done by winding the handle on the side which played a circus tone that went something like this. (sing tone) The fun was in the element of surprise because as you were winding the handle and the music was playing, you didn’t know when the Jack would suddenly pop out and make its appearance. Although I experienced the excitement of this toy as child I see now that it demonstrates an alarming reality in many of our lives. Often times we are like this Jack in the box, pressured, influenced and sometimes forced by the circumstances of life or the people around us into a box that was never made for us. Have you ever been in a place where you said “this is just not me, I don’t seem to fit.” Maybe you have put yourself in that box by limiting God and what he wants to do in and through your life. What do we do when that happens? How do we break out of the box people try to place us in? Well, Jesus presents a great example for us in the gospel of Luke. I want us to see what he did and hopefully his example will encourage us when we experience the pressure to meet everyone’s expectations.
The story begins with Jesus entering the city of Capernaum, a city central to the ministry of Jesus. He is teaching in the synagogue. The people respond in amazement at the authority with which teaches and cast out demons. Before long the news about him begins to spread throughout the city and by sunset the people are bringing all the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus to be healed. And although he does heal those that were brought to him and demons are cast by now there is this building expectation of Jesus to continue to heal more and perform more exorcisms. The people are amazed but they lack true knowledge of who he is. They have yet to realize that he is the Messiah, the Anointed one of God, the one sent as the Savior of the world. And all their limited eyes can see at this point is a man who has miraculous power to heal and cast demons. An accurate view of God will always lead us to an accurate response in the midst of life’s circumstances. What is your view of God? So what does Jesus do as the pressure starts to build from the people to heal more and more of the sick? What does he do when the people expect him to do the miraculous? How does he respond to the Jack in the box syndrome?
The first response we see from Jesus is that he connects with the Father. He spends intimate time alone with the one who sent him. Read verse 42a. The parallel passage in Mark 1 makes it clear that his purpose for leaving early in the morning and leaving the crowd behind was to pray. His purpose was to commune with his Father. It is very significant that we find Jesus in prayer at this particular time. It is early on in his ministry and how he responds here in this situation will set the precedence for similar encounters. It also demonstrates that he is not operating independent of the Father. His source of authority, strength and power come from God alone. I believe it would be safe to say that his time alone in prayer with the father included interceding for those whom he had just healed and for the disciples that were with him at the time. But not only that, this prayer also included seeking the Father for wisdom, direction and guidance. I believe he received fresh revelation and reminder of his purpose, his ministry, what he was sent to do. By the time Jesus got off his knees he was clear about his mission, he was sure of his purpose and there was no doubt as to what the Father sent him to do. If we are ever going to break out of the box, move past the pressure to conform and release the limits that have held us bound there first must be an intimate connection we have with the Father. This is a personal relationship that you have as a result of the work of Christ Jesus. Because of Christ death on the cross we now have direct access to the Father. We can come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace and mercy to help in the time of need. As important as it is that we can come together corporately to agree on certain things and intercede for one another, to receive vision and revelation from God as it pertains to entire body, there are times when you must enter into your own prayer closet to have intimate fellowship with the Father. Prayer should be a spiritual discipline that we cultivate in our lives on a daily basis. In his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney outlines several disciplines that should be cultivated by believers on a daily basis for the purpose of godliness. He places prayer as one of those disciplines second only to the intake of the Word of God. We see it in Jesus throughout his ministry. He breaks away from the crowd and the multitude that was competing for his attention and connects with the Father. Whether you do it in the morning, in the afternoon, or in the evening there should be time spent alone with the prayer. You cannot take it for granted. As a matter of fact it is a privilege that we have to come before the Father. He wants us in communion with him. During the 1980’s, more than 17,000 members of a major evangelical denomination were surveyed about their prayer habits while attending seminars on prayer for spiritual awakening. Because they attended this kind of seminar, we can assume these people are above average in their interest in prayer. And yet, the surveys revealed that they prayed an average of less than 5 minutes each day. There were 2,000 pastors and wives at these same seminars. By their own admission, they prayed less than 7 minutes a day. Our prayers have got to be more than simply “now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” It is in these solitary, alone times, away from the pressure of people, away from weight of expectation, away from the demands to conform that we receive understanding and clarity as to our call. God grants us wisdom and guidance for our lives. We become sure of our purpose. We have a certainty about what ministry to move into, about what profession to pursue. What are you connected with? Who are you connected to? This connection with the Father that Jesus had is the first part of breaking out of that box.
After spending intimate time with the Father in prayer, the second response we get from Jesus is that he allows his mission to dictate his movement. In other words he is driven by his purpose and not the expectations of the people. Read verse 42b-44. The verb “sought” is the word “epezetoun” in the Greek. It carries the meaning to seek after. But this was not simply a casual search. The picture is of one who is being hunted down as a hunter would hunt his prey. Jesus is being hunted by this crowd of people. The second word is “kateichon” translated to “hold” or “withhold.” The idea here is the restraint of something or someone. In other words not only is Jesus being hunted by the crowd but when they find him they attempt to restrain him as one being arrested is restrained by handcuffs. They did not want Jesus to leave because they simply wanted more of the show. They wanted more of the miracle man to show up and do his thing. They wanted to keep Jesus around for their own benefit. Even the disciples that were with him at the time got caught up in the hype. I’m sure they figured we had good day of ministry let’s keep this thing going. We can have a concert, do more healings, and give some goodies away. But Jesus was not moved by their attempts to keep him stationary. He was not going to be defined simply as a miracle man or a demon chaser. He came out of the village to find seclusion to prepare himself through prayer to go out on his mission to preach the Kingdom of God, to declare the good news of the Gospel. He was not distracted by even the apparent success that he just had. His mission is what pushed him into action. In order to get past a jack in the box syndrome there must be a drive in you that is governed by your purpose and not by people or the problems around you. You cannot let the expectations of others define who you will be. Don’t let them pressure you into a box that was never designed for you. Don’t let the problems and circumstances of your life limit you in becoming all God wants you to be. If your assignment is to work with underprivileged kids in the heart of the inner city don’t be influenced to simply teach elementary school in a nice, comfortable, safe suburban area. If your ministry is to lead worship in a multicultural, multiracial church don’t be pressured to stay in the comfortable bubble of your own ethnic makeup. If your mission is to journey across seas to Africa, Asia or China to proclaim the gospel don’t let your friends or family talk you into remaining in the United States simply because of convenience. If God has called you to impact the medical field through research, or the business world through your ingenuity, don’t let anyone force you into the role of a senior Pastor. Your unique assignment and particular purpose is God-given and it serves to benefit the Kingdom of God. It’s not by accident. That is why it is so critical that we are positioned where God has designed us and not necessarily where we feel we are successful. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers game as factor for how well you are doing in ministry. But success in ministry or in any area of life is not determined by how people respond to you but rather how you respond to what God has called you to do; whether you complete the assignment God sent you to do. There must a response from you that says despite the influence from parents, the pressure from my peers and church family; I am motivated by the call of God on my life and what he has sent me to do. I’m not going to be a Jack in the box. I’m going to be driven by my purpose.
You cannot live your life for other people. You cannot live your life always fighting the problems in your life. If you try the pressure will be too great, the demands will be too heavy and the expectations will always be too high. You will be like an orange in a juicer in which all the juice is squeezed out until the orange is dry. You will be so preoccupied with pleasing others and wanting to look successful in their eyes that the pressure squeezes everything out you. Physically, mentally and spiritually you are drained. And when you want to do what God has called you to do, you want to fulfill your purpose but you are so empty that you have nothing left to give. I don’t want this to happen to you. A Jack in the box is never designed to stay in the box otherwise it would be no fun. We were never designed to be in box made by people otherwise we would never move into our God-given ministry. So when you feel trapped by the expectations of those around you, when you feel the pressure to conform, or you feel the weight of your circumstances pulling you back, follow the example of Jesus. Connect with the Father, develop an intimacy through prayer and then be driven by your purpose, be motivated by what God has called you to do. Don’t remain a Jack in the box, be a Jack out of the box.
