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Sermon:
Unshackled
by Chris Cumming
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On the 18th of
January of this year (2020),
I presented to you the sermon, “Double-down”
which shared with you a hands-on perspective to repentance. I began
that sermon with this statement:
“Back in July and August of 2014, I gave four sermons as part of a
Holiness series.
You can see all these sermons at the
Las Vegas site.
This sermon is the seventh in that series. Each is a stand-alone sermon
on the same overall subject: Holiness.”
So “Double-down” is part of the
Holiness series
of four (4) sermons. From this one sermon, I have put together fourteen
(14) sermons in what I call the, “Salvation
series.” You
can see these sermon titles and subjects on the
Sermons page
of the
Las Vegas site.
Each sermon has a key verse or two you heard in “Double-down.”
Today is the seventh sermon in this series.
Note:
Any scripture you see with an asterisk (*) is one found in the sermon
“Double-down.”
Let us begin.
The name of this sermon is, “Unshackled.” Let us look at the meaning of
this word:
The base word is “shackle”:
1] a ring or other fastening, as of iron, for securing the wrist, ankle,
etc.; fetter.
…as a verb:
1] to put a shackle or shackles on; confine or restrain by a shackle.
2] to fasten or couple with a shackle.
3] to restrain in action, thought, emotion, or action as by
restrictions; restrict the freedom of.
Could there be anything in our spiritual life that could have us in
shackles? As a firstfruit, could we have moments or periods where we
are restrained in action, thought, emotion or deed? Could we ever be
restricted in a combination of these, such as a restraining emotion that
results in holding us back from good works and our journey to maturity?
The purpose of this sermon is to explore what shackles might be at play
in our lives and how to free ourselves from them.
Unshackle yourself. Get free of all things evil and negative. Manifest
freedom.
Unshackle yourself.
Here is our key verse from the Double Down sermon:
James 1:21*
Wherefore lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity [soo-per-floo-i-tee]
[excessive
amounts] of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able
to save your souls.
The “shackle” in this verse is “naughtiness” or excessive amounts of
naughtiness. “Naughtiness” is an umbrella word for all things negative,
wicked and evil. Notice the definition:
Naughtiness:
--disobedient; mischievous:
--improper, tasteless, indecorous (in-dek-er-uhs),
or indecent:
--wicked; evil [sin].
Double-down Phrases for
James 1:21:
--Lay apart evil
and all things negative and bad…the
shackles.
--Immerse yourself in the Word of God…the way to freedom
Definition for “Immerse”:
Immerse:
to involve deeply; absorb, to embed
I am giving you the solution right up front in this sermon. To unshackle
ourselves from evil and all things negative and bad is to immerse
ourselves into the Word of God. We must continue to involve ourselves
deeply in that Word. We must absorb it. God’s Word must be embedded in
our hearts, minds and souls.
Unshackle
yourself.
Take our key verse
again:
James 1:21*
Wherefore lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity [soo-per-floo-i-tee]
of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is
able to save your souls.
Now let us look at the verses linked to James 1:21.
Acts 13:26
Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among
you feareth God, to you is the word of this
salvation sent. ~emphasis mine
Commentary:
The word of this salvation - The
doctrine that contains the promise of deliverance from sin, and the
means by which it is brought about; all which is founded on Jesus, of
the stock of David, dying and rising again for the salvation of Jews and
Gentiles. ~Adam Clarke
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Commentary:
It is the power of God unto salvation
- The almighty power of God accompanies this preaching to the souls of
them that believe; and the consequence is, they are saved; and what but the power of God can save a fallen [from
law], sinful soul? ~emphasis
mine
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached
unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye
keep in memory what I preached unto you,
unless ye have believed in vain.
~emphasis mine
Commentary:
By
which also ye are saved
-
That is, ye
are now in a salvable state (the
salvation process); and are saved from your Gentilism, and
from your former sins.
If ye keep in memory
-
Your future
salvation, or being brought finally to glory, will now depend on your
faithfulness to the grace that ye have received.
~Adam Clarke
Ephesians 1:13
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Commentary:
The gospel of your salvation
-
The gospel
bringing salvation to you. ~Barnes Notes
2 Timothy 3:15-17
[see
Lesson]
15 And that from a child thou hast known the
holy scriptures, which are able to make
thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect,
throughly furnished unto all good works.
~emphasis mine
Titus 2:11
[see
Lesson]
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
Note:
This “grace” is the salvation process. The salvation process
brings salvation.
Hebrews 2:3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the
first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them
that heard him;
Commentary:
And was confirmed unto us ...
-
They who
heard him preach, that is, the apostles, were witnesses of what he said,
and certified us of its truth. When the apostle here says “us,” he means
the church at large. Christians were assured of the truth of what the
Lord Jesus spake by the testimony of the apostles; or the apostles
communicated it to those who had not heard him in such a manner as to
leave no room for doubt. ~Barnes Notes
1 Peter 1:9
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your
souls.
Let us, once again, go
back to our key verse of James 1:21 and do more immersion.
James 1:21*
Wherefore lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity [soo-per-floo-i-tee]
of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is
able to save your souls.
I want to discuss the word, “filthiness” and the phrase, “and
receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your
souls.”
Commentary:
All filthiness
- This word signifies any impurity that cleaves to the body; but applied
to the mind, it implies all impure and unholy affections, such as those
spoken of James 1:15, which pollute the soul; in this sense it is used
by the best Greek writers.
~Adam Clarke
Note:
See how the word, “filthiness” is the word representing “any impurity”
and “implies all impure and unholy affections.
Quoted verse:
James 1:15
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it
is finished, bringeth forth death.
Note:
James 1:15 is a negative process that ends in the second death. The
salvation process is one that ends in eternal life. Both cannot reside
continually in the soul of a firstfruit. Surely there are moments when
even a firstfruit will experience the first part of this process…the
lust, the conception of a negative action and then the sin. But notice
an especially important phrase: “when it is finished.” A forward-moving
firstfruit will not let this negative process continually reside in
their soul. “when it is finished” is a situation where repentance is
not being manifested. This phrase is G658 and means to “complete
entirely, that is, consummate.” Firstfruits will continually fight to
insure this negative process never consummates. The definition of
“consummate” is, “to bring to a state of perfection.” Firstfruits will
not allow this negative process to perfect itself in our lives.
Superfluity of naughtiness
- The overflowing of wickedness. Perhaps there is an allusion here to
the part cut off in circumcision, which was the emblem of impure desire;
and to lessen that propensity, God, in his mercy, enacted this rite. Put
all these evil dispositions aside, for they blind the soul, and render
it incapable of receiving any good, even from that ingrafted word of God
which otherwise would have saved their souls.
~Adam Clarke
Note:
At the beginning of this sermon, I told you that the word “naughtiness”
was a shackle and meant
excessive amounts of naughtiness. I told you it is an umbrella word for
all things negative, wicked, and evil.
Notice the commentary has the same conclusion we just discussed. That
is, wickedness and sin can “blind the soul and render it incapable of
receiving any good.” It then says that the Word of God is the element
that saves souls
The ingrafted word
- That doctrine which has
already been planted among you, which has brought forth fruit in all
them that have
meekly and humbly received it
(firstfruits
now), and is as
powerful to save your souls.
~Adam Clarke
What does the commentary mean when it says that the ingrafted word can
save your souls. The answer is simple. The Word of God is God. It is
the mind of Jesus Christ. It is the mind of God the Father. No human
can separate the Word of God from God or Christ. I suppose that one
could say, God uses the Bible as an instrument in His hands to save
people. This is fine as long as they understand that the Word of God is
the mind of God. Indeed, Jesus is the Word of God.
Revelation
19:13
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is
called The Word of God.
So the Word of God or the ingrafted word has power. When God calls
someone and gives him/her the Holy Spirit, that Word is planted in one’s
heart. If it remains there, it will constantly destroy the shackles
Satan and the world desire to put on you.
Unshackle yourself.
If you have the text of this sermon, you notice that in the commentary
on, “the ingrafted word” I mark some text in bold and blue letters:
that have
meekly and humbly received it.
Just wanted to
point out that a forward-moving firstfruit realizes that all the
goodness in his/her life, to include daily blessings, knowledge, wisdom,
understanding, healing and many miracles and interventions are all
accomplished and experienced by the power of God or Christ working in
and through us. Our seeing this on a minute-by-minute and day-by-day
basis results in us being meek and humble. We stand in awe to what God
is doing in our lives and we realize that the meekness and humbleness in
our mind and heart is, itself, fruit of the Spirit of God.
Since we are discussing the Word of God as the hammer that breaks and
destroys all shackles, I want to share with you some text from my
definitive sermon on the Word of God, “Full
Immersion.”
The
Word of God or exactly how to unshackle yourself
There is much in the Bible and in the
statements of men to show the totality of God’s Word. The totality of
its depth, its power and its nature.
Let us take a look at some of these.
Ephesians 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The Word of God is Spirit and the Spirit of
God is alive. Notice…
1 Peter 1:22-23*
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in
obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the
brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever.
The Word of God is alive. That is because it
is Spirit. Spirit abides forever. God’s Word is Spirit. Anything made
of Spirit abides forever.
Now Hebrews 4:12…
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Word of God is a descerner of thoughts and
our intents. So we find not only God’s will but our own in the Word of
God.
Now turn to Psalm 119 and beginning in verse
33…
Psalm 119:33-40
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes;
and I shall keep it unto the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy
law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
35 Make me to go in the path of thy
commandments; for therein do I delight.
36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and
not to covetousness.
37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity;
and quicken thou me in thy way.
38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is
devoted to thy fear.
39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy
judgments are good.
40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts:
quicken me in thy righteousness.
This whole passage speaks of total commitment.
He is giving his whole heart to the Word of
God. He is talking about the Word of God as if it were active and
alive; which it is. He is describing full immersion.
Notice the attitude we must have toward the
word…
Isaiah 66:1-2
1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my
throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build
unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
2 For all those things hath mine hand made,
and those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my
word.
Isaiah 66:5
Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at
his word; your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's
sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy,
and they shall be ashamed.
Now listen to this from the fly leaf of the
Bible published by the D. L. Moody Institute:
The Bible…This book contains the mind of God,
the state of man, the way of life, the doom of sinners, the happiness of
believers. Read it to be wise. Believe it to be safe. Practice it to
be holy.
It gives light to direct you, food to support
you and comfort to cheer you.
It is the traveler’s map, the soldier’s sword,
the Christian’s chart.
It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and
guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully.
It involves the highest responsibility,
rewards the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with it.
All of these verses and all of these
statements together show the fullness and totality that the Word of God
is.
Isn’t this true regarding everything about God?
He
owns everything.
He
wants to give us everything
He
demands 100% obedience
He
demands your life….TOTAL COMMITMENT
He wants total commitment to Him and
His Word. ~unquote from the
sermon
Here is a small list of things that act as shackles in our lives. Find
more from you own life to add to the list.
Shackles List:
1] Sin.
2] Hate.
3] Shifting the blame.
4] Lies.
5] False doctrines.
6] Undefined goals.
7] Neglecting your health.
8] Self-doubt.
9] Inaction/not taking action.
10] Lack of discipline.
11] Distractions: TV, Internet, Social media, Games, YouTube, Twitter,
E-mail, Daydreaming, etc..
12] Negative habits.
13] Negative emotions.
14] Putting yourself down.
15] Lack of sleep.
16] Poor diet.
17] Staying in your comfort zone.
18] Waiting for the right time due to fear.
19] Lack of focus.
20] Lack of fervency, diligence, zeal and perseverance.
21] Not asking questions.
22] Not educating yourself.
23] Ignorance, including neglect of the Word of God.
24] Not apologizing for mistakes.
25] Being consumed by failure.
26] Fear.
27] Comparing yourself to others.
28] Expecting instant results.
29] Over involvement in politics.
30] Being fearful of the news, the future and/or prophecy.
31] Naughtiness (James 1:21).
32] Filthiness (James 1:21).
Let us end with a couple of shackle quotes I found:
“There is little
hope for us until we become tough-minded enough to break loose from the
shackles of prejudice, half-truths, and down-right ignorance.”
“There is nothing evil
save that which perverts the mind and shackles the conscience.”
So go now and
Unshackle yourself.
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