Without Hindrance

Acts 28:30-31

“Then he stayed two whole years in his own rented house.  And he welcomed all who visited him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with full boldness and without hindrance.”

The reason why Paul was in that house in Rome was because he had been arrested in Jerusalem and during the legal proceedings that followed, he appealed to Caesar (Acts 25:11).  That is the irony I want to point out here: through a long, complicated journey as a prisoner, he arrived at a place of greater freedom.

Callings based on the kingdom can truly exceed conventional expectations.  And they can definitely overcome the limitations of the carnal mind.

Acts 28:17-22 records Paul’s conversation with the Jewish leaders in Rome upon his arrival.  Their reply to him was this:

“We haven’t received any letters about you from Judea; none of the brothers has come and reported or spoken anything evil about you…”

It strikes me that the authorities that defined Paul’s experience in Judea were hardly a thought in this conversation in Rome.  My point here is that the mindset of your neighborhood, which seems to have such all-consuming authority in your neighborhood, means precisely squat to the wider world and to the kingdom of God.  Man, that’s freedom.  God is so big.

I recently shared my spiritual testimony.  One theme I emphasized was that I feel like God has taken me out of a room, and then I could see that room from the outside, and I would think, “I didn’t know I was in that room.  I didn’t know that room was like that.”  Then, God led me out of a house, and then I could see it from the outside, and say, “I didn’t know I was in that house.  I didn’t know it was that small or that dark…”

And so that process of gaining new vision continues.