Breakthrough from Boxes
[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Church Malaysia on 18 May 2014 ]
Did you know that you spend most of your life in a box?
Every day, you sleep in a box (bedroom), bath in a box (bathroom), cook in a box (kitchen, oven/microwave), eat from a box (a takeaway box), relax in front of a box (tv/laptop), take your clothes out of a box (wardrobe), drive in a box (LRT, car, bus), work from a box (office), put your money in a box (bank) and even communicate through a box (mobile phone).
Your life is also determined in a box.
When you were born you were put in a box (incubator), when you are sick you see a doctor in a box (hospital room), when you mess up you are put in a box (prison) and when we come to church we receive preaching from behind a box (pulpit), finally, when we die we will be put back into a box (coffin).
The list is piling! Stumbling with weariness, do you desire a breakthrough from all of the shifting boxes in your life? Our limitless God wants us out today!
When He created the earth and all that is in it, He did not place man in a box but in a beautiful garden called the garden of Eden. The interesting thing is that – what’s most important isn’t the boxes around us but the one within us, in our hearts where the Holy Spirit dwells.
Read | Matthew 4:1-4
When Jesus was hungry in the wilderness, the devil tempted Him to change stones to bread but Jesus declared that “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”.
The devil tried Jesus, but Jesus declared this – that we are already out of the box.
We live in a generation of convenience, a generation of immediate gratification, where we want what is easy even when it may not be right. Satan wants us in that box but God wants to break us from there:
The “now” box
It may be known as the “I am hungry, feed me now” box. Some may even say, “I don’t care if I will be miserable or guilty after, I want this for me now”. By the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer, we can learn to wait on God; to be patient and not seek only what is easy but to wait on God’s best for us.
The “scriptures that please you” box
Do you know that the number one excuse most Christians leave the church is because they don’t feel like they are being fed enough? We love receiving from pastors and even our spiritual leaders but if we want to break out, we need to learn how to feed ourselves spiritually.
The Lord has taught us how to do this. Through the Holy Spirit, He teaches us how to read the Bible and pray so that we may be able to interpret what He has to tell us. We need to learn how to listen, be obedient, not just to the scriptures that we like or those that sound easy but to the whole Word of God.
Read | Matthew 4:5-11
The “we want to know and have everything in place before we do anything” box
When Satan took Jesus up the mountain to see all things, the condition was that Jesus bows down and worships Satan, but Jesus asked Satan to go away!
Satan wants to keep us in the “doubt” box where we do not believe before we see; yet without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Jesus is our Provider. In the wilderness, when God asked the Israelites to take enough manna for today, we do not need to have tomorrow’s security to do His will (Exodus 16:4). We do need to trust the Lord to supply our daily bread because His ways are higher than our ways.
Read | Matthew 28:5-7
Lastly, Jesus was put in the box of death but He came out of it as the risen Jesus! The angel said, “He is not here,” no box could keep Him in. In the same way, we should not live in the box of “it can’t be done” because with God all things are possible.
Some may bow down to pressure, but with God, we can use pressure to rise up.
We can break out of the boxes because we are truly free!
Reflection
___________________
Which box do you relate to the most and how will you break out of the box by relying on Jesus?
#decadeoflegacy2030
Written by Ivy Wambaa
Edited by Hailey Chung
