Zion Church | Off The Chain Part 2 | Pastor Larry Paige

Devotional

Day 1: Chains used to spread the good news.

When Paul writes from prison, he makes one thing clear: what looks like confinement becomes the very platform for the gospel to advance; your present restrictions can be the microphone God uses so that others see Christ more than your chains, and when you speak the good news boldly you free yourself from hiding and give confidence to others to speak without fear. [11:55]

Philippians 1:12-14 (ESV)
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Reflection: Who in your life needs to hear how God is using your current struggle? Send one message or make one call today to share a short sentence about how God is working through your chains.

Day 2: Called servants; identity frees, not confines.

You are named and sent as a servant of Christ—labels from people or from tight traditions don't define your worth; God’s calling is to lock you in for a purpose, not to box you in, and the “no” you grew up with or the expectations that make you feel unholy were never meant to shame you but to protect a destiny that is off the chain. [05:14]

Philippians 1:1 (ESV)
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Reflection: Name one expectation or label that has made you feel "not good enough." Today, write a truthful counter-statement based on Philippians 1:1 and speak it aloud three times.

Day 3: Serve Jesus now, even while imperfect.

The woman who anointed Jesus didn't wait until she was cleaned up or approved; she gave lavishly while people called her a sinner, and Jesus said her deed would be remembered wherever the gospel is preached—God redeems your story now, so start serving and giving your best even while the world still judges you. [15:50]

Mark 14:6-9 (ESV)
But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want you can do good for them; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."

Reflection: What is one gift, resource, or act of service you’ve been waiting to offer until you “have it together”? Do that thing today—donate, volunteer, or bless one person—even if you feel imperfect.

Day 4: Honest struggle doesn't disqualify service.

Paul's honesty about his failures shows that struggle is not disqualifying; confessing where you are—what you keep doing that you hate—becomes part of the story God redeems, and celebrating progress, however small, shifts the focus from being stuck to moving forward so your journey can help someone else find freedom. [22:35]

Romans 7:15 (ESV)
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Reflection: Take 15 minutes today to write one paragraph about a current struggle, note one way God has already shown up, and identify one practical step you can take today; then share that paragraph with a trusted friend or small group.

Day 5: No condemnation; walk free in Christ.

There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus—this is not a license to hide, but the authority to celebrate progress, connect your chains to Christ, and use what held you down to help set others free; walk like you are already free and let your testimony pull others toward hope. [32:37]

Romans 8:1 (ESV)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Reflection: Choose one "chain" you usually confess with shame (a habit, a loss, a struggle). Today tell one person how Christ is with you in that struggle and offer one concrete way you can support someone else facing the same thing.

Sermon Summary

We stood because Jesus promised life to the full, and I wanted our bodies and our hearts to agree with that expectation. Philippians 1 reminds us that everything that has happened to us—false accusations, tight budgets, hard-headed kids, missed jobs and unexpected opportunities—has actually helped. Not helped us become comfortable, but helped us become unconfined on the inside. God wants us to live “off the chain”—so good that even in hard places people look at our lives and see our God.

One of the ways we get locked up is by labels and expectations. “Holy” can feel like a prison if we think it means “impossible standard” instead of “set apart for a purpose.” Culture and even church traditions can box us in with comparison and performance. But God isn’t trying to lock us down; he’s locking us in—protecting our future with wise boundaries, like keeping creases off fresh white sneakers before the big day. Some things you simply can’t do—not because you lack freedom—but because your future is too valuable to waste.

So how do we live free while still in chains? Use your chains to help somebody else. Communicate the good news until it outweighs the bad news. Paul was in prison, and everybody knew he was in chains because of Christ—because that’s what he kept talking about. Your message moves your mood and your moves. When I remembered who I was—an owner, covered by God—I had the boldness to reclaim what was mine. That’s what the gospel does: it doesn’t just rescue you from hell; it empowers you to take kingdom dominion in any setting.

Then, celebrate progress, not perfection. Paul called it prokopē—progress for the better. He wrote bestsellers in chains. Romans 7 shows honest struggle; Romans 8 shows no condemnation. Stop measuring yourself by outcomes and start thanking God for steps. Parents, drop the comparison. Share the story. I modeled a conversation with my son: not hiding my past, but connecting my chains to Christ so he could see grace in detail, not just headlines. When God saves you, he redeems your story—and your story in His hands sets generations free. So write it down, open your mouth, and let God use it.

Key Takeaways

1. Tie your chains to Christ. Freedom doesn’t start when the circumstances change; it starts when you change the association. When you connect your hardship to Jesus’ purpose, your chains become assignments. Talk more about Christ than about confinement, and authority will rise in your spirit. [15:50]
2. Let the good news dominate. Your message shapes your mood and your moves. Stop receiving, believing, and repeating bad news—crowd it out with the kingdom announcement that Jesus empowers you to take holy ground anywhere. Speak it until your environment has to adjust to your confession. [11:55]
3. Celebrate progress, not perfection. God’s word calls this prokopē—forward movement that counts even when you’re still in process. Paul wrote powerfully while restricted, proving that steps are sacred. Thanksgiving for small advances builds durable faith in tight seasons. [22:35]
4. Practice holy self-discipline for destiny. Some “no’s” aren’t punishment; they’re protection for a future that’s too valuable to risk. You have freedom to say no so you can be free for the life God is preparing. Choose boundaries now to guard what God is birthing next. [08:34]
5. Use your story to set others free. Don’t just say you made it; tell how you made it—honestly, and connected to Jesus. Details dismantle shame and provide a map for someone else’s exit. When your chains meet Christ, your testimony becomes a key that unlocks generations. [29:17]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:58] - Confidence rises in confinement
[05:14] - The prison of labels and expectations
[08:34] - Holy self-discipline protects destiny
[11:55] - Let the good news break out
[15:50] - Chains linked to Jesus’ name
[19:13] - Identity that moves you to action
[22:35] - Prokopē: celebrate progress over perfection
[25:49] - Drop comparison; parent with grace
[29:17] - Tell the whole story, not the headline
[32:37] - Altar call: courage to share your struggle

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
Philippians 1:12–14
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Observation questions (read the passage aloud first)

In verse 12 Paul says “what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” What specific events or hard things did the pastor list from his life that he said “helped” him? [01:58]
The pastor described how labels and expectations can feel like a prison (religious rules, family rules, social media pressure). What examples did he give of those labels, and how do they make people feel “locked up”? [05:14]
Verse 13 says people knew Paul was in chains “because of Christ.” How did the pastor show that Paul made his chains known as linked to Jesus (what did Paul talk about more than his chains)? [11:55]
The preacher introduced the Greek word prokopē (progress for the better). How did he use that word to explain Paul’s life in prison? What evidence from the message supports celebrating progress over perfection? [22:35]

Interpretation questions (third-person, specific)

How does tying one’s chains to Christ change the meaning of suffering — from punishment to assignment — in a person’s daily choices and speech? Refer to the pastor’s point about connecting chains to Jesus’ name. [15:50]
When the pastor says “let the good news dominate,” what mechanisms did he describe that let bad news gain power (receive → believe → repeat)? How would shifting that cycle affect a person’s mood and actions? [11:55]
The speaker argued that some “no’s” are not punishment but protection for destiny. How should a believer evaluate which things to say no to, and what criteria did the sermon suggest for making that choice? [08:34]
The message claimed that sharing the full details of one’s story (not just the headline) dismantles shame and maps a way out for others. Why might detail matter more than a short testimony, and what risks or benefits follow from being that honest? [29:17]

Application questions (personal and practical)

Identify one current “chain” you are experiencing (hard relationship, job loss, reputation issue, illness, past mistake). How will you “tie that chain to Christ” this week by saying out loud one gospel truth about it and who you are in Jesus? Be specific about the sentence you will say. [15:50]
Name one label or expectation (from family, church, culture, or social media) that makes you feel locked up. What is one concrete boundary you will set this month to protect the future God may be preparing for you? (Example: stop one social account, decline a repeated invitation, cancel a credit card.) [05:14]
Think of a piece of bad news or complaint you have been repeating to others (online or in conversation). What is one gospel statement you can start repeating instead? Plan the exact words you’ll use the next time the bad news comes up. [11:55]
List one small step of progress from the last 30 days (a changed habit, a short prayer answered, a better conversation with a child). Share it with the group and write a short “thank you” note to God about it—then commit to thanking God for one more small step each week. [22:35]
Who in your life needs to hear a detailed, honest story of how God used your chains to help you? Identify that person and plan a specific time this week to tell them one concrete part of your story (not the whole sermon—pick one detail that will help them). [29:17]
If you are a parent: recall a time you used fear or high expectations to try to shape your child. How will you reframe one of those conversations this week to connect your past mistakes to Christ and show grace while still guiding them? Give the exact words you’ll start with. [25:49]
Choose one practice that is stealing your confidence (keeping up with others, scrolling certain feeds, hiding a struggle). Commit to stopping it for 30 days and name what positive habit will replace it (e.g., journaling one prokopē each day, calling a mentor once a week). Share that commitment with a partner who will check in. [05:14]

Observation, interpretation, and application questions are meant to help the group move from listening (what does the text/speech say?) to thinking (what does it mean?) to doing (what will I change?), so encourage honest sharing and concrete next steps.

Sermon Clips

Everything that's happened to you is to help you—the court case, the false accusation, the parent who was there and the parent who was not, the money you lost and the money you got, the job you wanted and the job you didn't get, the kid that's hard-headed and the one that makes you smile—everything that's happened to you has helped you. It has helped you live a life that's off the chain. That means that God has set you up and locked you in so that your life will be off the chain whether it's shining or whether it's cloudy, whether it's good or whether it's bad. [00:03:25] (62 seconds) #ShapedByMyStory

Here's the good news: it's all good. Everything that's happened to you, even the bad parts, it's all good. And I need you to start celebrating the progress, celebrating your—I'm talking about all progress. Don't you wait until you finally got it right to start giving God thanks. God, I thank you right now. I'm celebrating not where I am, but Lord, when I look back over my life and I think things over, I got a testimony. [00:10:57] (29 seconds) #CelebrateProgress

God, I can serve you, God, I can celebrate you while I'm still locked up. I can pin my bestseller because sometimes you restrict me to bring the best out of me. Lord, I don't want to get focused on getting out, I want to focus on what you're trying to get in. Oh God, what are you trying to work in me? Some of y'all are so focused on getting free that you're discounting your journey. It's how you got out that's most helpful, not the fact that you got out. [00:24:46] (37 seconds) #RefinedInChains

If we learn how to start celebrating the process, we can set generations free. We as parents keep secrets that will save us counseling money, generations locked up. I want to model what it sounds like to have the conversation that some of us need to go get and some of us need to receive. First of all, son, I want to apologize because I'm quick to point out your faults but I'm slow to appreciate your progress. I want the best for you. [00:26:48] (52 seconds) #BreakTheCycle

I tried using fear to motivate you to live for me, but Jesus accepted me while I was dirty, gave me freedom to fail, and taught me how to love him by trusting his hand. I'm confident that if he was able to clean up your father, then he's gonna take care of you. I love you, son. And this seems real inconsequential, but your story with the details is a freedom pass so that when he grows up, he don't have on him the confusion you had on you. [00:28:47] (46 seconds) #FreedomPass

The only way you don't get to share your struggle is if God didn't deliver you out of something, but when God saved your life, he redeemed your story, and if we share our story, they will free generations. I don't want to know just that you made it, I want to know how you made it. I want to hear the good and I want to hear the bad, and if you ever get to a place where you get cute and you forget who it was that set you free, oh God don't have no problem locking you up again. [00:30:18] (32 seconds) #ShareYourRedemption

Your life story should be a thank you, God, for the thing that got you locked up. Thank you, God, that I couldn't get out of that situation. Thank you, God, that I'm not locked up anymore. Thank you, God, for my anger. Why? Because now I can help somebody dealing with anger. Thank you, God, for the child I lost. As painful as it is, there's a whole group of people who've lost children who need somebody who can show that you can still live even after you lost. [00:31:08] (28 seconds) #GratefulForTheJourney

Thank you, God, that I'm not well. Why? Because God says I can reach more people in your sickness than I can in your healing. The healing is when you open your mouth and roll your wheelchair up to the bedside of somebody who's gone through the same thing you're going through, that you can show them how to be free when you got chains on you. And if you learn how to give God thanks while you're locked up, when you call on the name of Jesus, the more you share your story, God will use it. [00:31:36] (31 seconds) #MinistryInMyWeakness

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