Suffering Shame in the name of any person simply means that you have given your life to that person in order to suffer shame.
We think of the negative aspect of suffering shame.
I can think of an abusive husband who continually humiliates his wife. She is shamed by it but continues to stand by him.
A child that is constantly at the hands of an abusive parent but the child will run right back to the mothers arms who had just recently beat the child unmercifully.
Here in these passages we se a shame that out shines any that we can ever imagine.
John Maxwell said if it is not worth dying for it is not worth doing.
The first aspect of suffering shame in the name is in verse 20.
1. Life
a. This word life shows us the very ministry of Jesus.
i. This is summed up in John 6:35 Jesus said, “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst”
ii. He is the bread of life
b. We further see in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when we accept Jesus Christ we have a new life
i. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
ii. Life in Christ will cause us to live differently
1. One may ask how will I live differently? Colossians 1:27 is a great picture of living different To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
2. We have a life that is beyond our daily walk while here on earth.
3. Paul and James and king David put it quite well saying life on earth is short.. It is as David put it like a vapor.
2. Our Prison
a. Often we are in a prison of our own making
i. What is your prison
1. Family
2. Security
3. Drugs
4. Alcohol
5. Your job
ii. We often live in a prison that we are unwilling to break free from.
1. We are happy to be on the death row in the present course of life.
George Whitefield
All I can say is I look for perpetual conflicts and struggles in this life, and I hope for no other peace, only a cross, while on this side of eternity.
b. We can be in prison with Jesus Christ
i. Verse 17 shows us that the apostles were put in prison because the priest were jealous
ii. The priest were jealous because they were in their own prison of pride.
c. When we are suffering in the name of Jesus Christ a prison built and maintained by man cannot hold Christ living in us down.
3. Suffering Shame in the Name will set you free
a. Verse 19 We get a picture of the freedom that Jesus Christ gives us.
1. Paul describes this freedom as prisoner set free.
2. James calls us bondservants or slaves imprisoned by Christ.
3. Christly imprisonment will lead to a more abundant life.
b. When you are set captivated by Christ and suffer in His name Others will wander what is going on in your life. Verse 24 “They wandered what the outcome would be”
i. The guards feared what their bosses would think
ii. In our daily walk with Jesus Christ it my cause us to leave our job and seek the one that will allow us to serve Him the best.
c. Following Christ and suffering for Him will have an affect on even those who are not followers of Jesus.
i. Would you say that this great escape had an affect on the guards?
d. Being set free to suffer in the name will always cause you to be like a plumb bob… Centering on Christ Verses 25-26
i. They went back to teaching where they were forbidden to teach
ii. They did this with a sense of Godly guidance Verse 26 They went without force.
1. There is a line that we must not cross as Christians. Sometimes we do not force the issue.
2. These guys did not force instead they allowed themselves to be forced.
e. Suffering Shame in the name Always obey God and not men Verse 29
f. Being set free and suffering in the name you will always have a constant story to go back to Verse 30-32
g. Note - The council had to think about Jesus.
h. Why would these men continue to force the issue?
i. Have they not had enough?
