1 Corinthians 9:19-27

It's one of my favorite movie scenes.

A tour de force of 80s techno pop new age music

with a driving bass line written by the great composer Vangelis.

Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun.

The screen opens and you see men running along the beach in England

as they appear out of the mist and run across the screen

with the ocean spray spitting up into their faces,

their white running shorts and shirts getting stained with sand.

And so you see the heart of the movie, Chariots of Fire, Oscar winning.

Many of you weren't born when it was made.

It's worth going back to watch because it's a great story.

It is a great story of two men in their pursuit,

their different paths to Olympic gold and to Olympic glory.

Eric Liddell, a missionary kid, local Scottish rugby hero,

active in ministry and campus mission,

preparing to return to China as a missionary.

He says to his sister,

I believe God made me for China,

for a purpose, for China.

But I also know that God made me fast.

And when I run, I feel his pleasure.

And so to live his whole life for the glory of God,

he pursued both this Olympic opportunity

and his career in missions.

The other main character,

Harold Abrams,

from a non-Anglo-Saxon family.

In fact, he was half Jewish,

half Lithuanian, if I remember correctly.

Succeeded at the highest levels

at Cambridge University,

working to be the best runner in the world,

driven by an inner compulsion

to overcome the odds.

And as an outsider,

climb to the top.

Both of these men in their various courses

disciplined their lives.

And this is what you see.

Abrams and Liddell running next to each other,

both members of the Great Britain Olympic team,

training,

disciplining themselves,

training their body through hard work.

And it's fun to watch how they do it differently.

Eric Little's running through the Scottish Highlands,

jumping over rocks.

And Abrams is training methodically

in a modern sports way

that was shocking to the day.

But both of them trained themselves

and focused for this purpose

of being the best runner they could be

as they ran their Olympic race.

They denied themselves.

They even put some of the relationships

that they held most dear on the back burner

in order to follow through

with the purpose that they had set

for themselves,

to win the prize.

Friends, this is a great movie

partly because the Bible uses a picture

of running and running a race

to be a part of the Christian life as well.

And how we are called in a similar way

to live lives of discipline and purpose.

I was struck by how important this is

as I read a news report this week.

Yet another well-known pastor

removed from ministry,

fallen into sin,

graciously being loved by his congregation,

and yet how devastating it is

for him, for his family,

for his church

to not run the race well,

to fail to run to the end,

to fail to have the discipline

and the focus

to keep going.

And so, we asked the question this morning,

what does it look like

to run the race

such as to win the prize?

Maybe you're here visiting

and you're wondering,

what is this Christianity thing all about?

You get a peek in

to what it looks like

as Christians wrestle with

how are we called to live out our life

in following Jesus?

And for those of us,

as we look at

the example of the Apostle Paul

and how he talks about

his own life in ministry,

we will be challenged

to think how we also

ought to live our lives.

Continuing in our series

in 1 Corinthians,

we're in section chapters 8 through 10

that is responding to a question about,

which is one we don't have,

we don't face today,

about food offered to idols.

What do we do with food

offered to idols

in pagan temples?

As Christians,

do we eat it?

Do we not eat it?

Are there context?

How do we wrestle with those things?

And it seems that

for some in the Corinthian church,

they had said,

we know it's just food.

We know that idols

are not really gods at all.

So what's the big deal?

We can do whatever we want.

Paul says,

no, running the race

is more nuanced than that.

We need to be more careful thinkers

about how we respond

to these situations.

And so,

as we come to our passage today,

1 Corinthians chapter 9,

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

starting in verse 19,

page 957 in your pew Bibles.

As we come to this,

we get Paul talking about

how do we run the race

so as to win the prize?

Let's look at that passage

and read it together

and then we'll dive in.

1 Corinthians chapter 9,

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

starting verse 19.

For though I am free from all,

I have made myself a servant to all,

that I might win more of them.

To the Jews,

I became as a Jew

in order to win Jews.

2 Corinthians 6.

To those under the law,

I became as one

under the law,

though not being myself

under the law,

that I might win

those under the law.

To those outside the law,

I became as one

outside the law,

not being outside

the law of God,

but under the law of Christ,

that I may win

those outside the law.

To the weak,

I became weak,

that I might win the weak.

I have become all things

to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel

that I may share with them in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run,

but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control

in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run

aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control,

lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. Please pray with me.

Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you that it teaches us, instructs us, and Lord,

more than that, that it changes us. That as we read your word by your spirit, Lord, you are able to

work in our hearts. Lord, to change our attitudes, to motivate us to action, to instruct us in our

belief, and Lord, to encourage our faith and trust in you. God, I pray you would help us this morning.

I pray for your help that my words, Lord, would be useful in your hands, Lord, for all of us.

God, we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

What we see in the Apostle Paul is what God wants for all of us. He wants us to live lives of great

gospel flexibility and great gospel focus. And when we run this race, this is how we will run to win

the prize that he has us. So gospel flexibility and gospel focus is what we have on tap this morning.

Verses 19 through 23 show us about Paul's flexibility and the flexibility that Christians can have.

Verses 24 through 27 talk about the focus. So let's explore those first in order.

So 19 through 23, Paul has just spent, if you were here last week, you remember Pastor Nick preached on this,

but Paul has just spent the greater part of chapter 9 talking about his rights, that as a traveling

religious teacher and as a minister of the gospel in the kingdom of God, for both cultural and theological

reasons, there is a good expectation, even a right that he would have, that the church,

the people that he is teaching and encouraging, that they would support him, that they would take

care of him financially. And so in verses 1 through 14 of chapter 9, Paul says, this is my right as an

apostle for me to ask all of this. And yet, then he says in verses 15 through 18, but I don't take that

right. As a matter of fact, I consciously defer that right. I do not want that obligation to be placed

on you because I do not want the obligation to you that is entailed in that. I want to be free

to proclaim the gospel to you without any burden to you at all so that you would hear the gospel and

respond not because of any obligated relationship that we have, but simply because of the message that

I proclaim. This is what Paul has been saying so far. And he's saying, talking about his ministry in

the context of trying to address this issue of offering meat to idols and how he has shaped his life and

shaped his ministry and shaped his message to live out this calling of preaching the gospel free of charge.

So he says, I have this freedom to avoid obligation. And yet, and yet, look with me at verse 19 again.

Though I am free from all, I'm coming to you and I have no obligation per se based on that.

I have made myself a slave or servant. It's the same word. I've made myself completely obligated. I have

surrendered my freedom and my right. For what? I have made myself a servant of all that I may win

some of them. Recognize friends that this is a different concern that in chapter that he had in

chapter eight. Chapter eight, he was talking about protecting the souls of fellow brothers and sisters

who might stumble by the action of eating meat offered to idols. Here he is extending his vision

even more than that. Yes, we are going to continue to care for them, but his, his vision is greater than

that. He is looking beyond his brothers and sisters and thinking in this world, there are those who

have not yet heard and have not yet received the good news of Jesus Christ. And this is Paul's great

burning desire that the freedom that I have because of Jesus, I would spend fully and completely

that others might also know that great freedom in Christ. This is what it is. Paul says, this is my

life. And I put it forth to you as an example that this is the pattern, not just for ministers

or pastors, but for all believers to follow in my pattern. And what is the pattern? You see it. It's

fascinating to see if you're an English major, did you see that there's a, there's a linguistic pattern

here to the X, I became as Y so that I might win X. Do you see that to the Jews? I became a Jew

to those under the law. I became as under the law to those not under the law. I became as those not

under the law to the week. I became as those under the week. And even the summary statements,

verse 22, the second half, I become all things to all people that by all means I may win,

I may save some. This is the pattern. Paul's saying, because I now have this deeper identity in Christ,

because I now know that regardless of what else I am, I am first and foremost a Christian because of the

gospel work in my life. I have the freedom to be flexible. I have the freedom to go to a person and

meet them in every way I can without compromising the gospel itself so that they might understand it.

What did this look like? Think about, for instance, Paul says, to the Jews, I became as a Jew. Well,

you know what? Paul was a Jew. Ethnically, he was a Jew. And yet his identity in Christ was so profound

that what he said was, though these are my Jewish brothers and sisters,

what I'm going to do is I'm going to put myself back under following some of the customs, some of the

legal patterns that my Jewish brothers follow that I don't have to follow anymore. That's what he means

by saying to those under the law, though I'm not under the law, I become under the law. He's explaining

that to say, although I know I don't have to do these things in order to be accepted by God,

I do them willingly so that my Jewish brothers and sisters will not be offended.

I will not eat blood with meat in it. I will not travel on the Sabbath. You know, I will not

all sorts of, I will not eat shellfish. You know, there are all sorts of different ways in which Paul

might have embraced these different things. Say, I won't do those things with my brothers because I

don't want to offend them. To those outside the law, to those without law, and for lots of religious

people in the world, that would feel like those like crazy pagans out there, those people who are

off the hook, living it up. So Paul says, look, to those outside the law, I'll become like them. Not

that I'm off the hook with them, right? It's not that I'm embracing everything that they do because I'm still

under the law of Christ. I still have to live a life that reflects what God calls me to. But at the end of

the day, I'm going to become like them in every way that I can so that they might hear the gospel. What did this

look like? Well, it's fascinating to think about some of Paul's examples, right? Here's one of them.

The issue of circumcision. To the Jewish community in the first century, and maybe even today,

circumcision is a big deal, right? It's a sign that you're in the covenant. It's a sign that you're a

part of the people, right? And so, fascinatingly, Paul had one companion, Timothy, who in Acts 16,

Paul had circumcised so that they could continue their ministry among the Jews without

offense. So he had Timothy circumcised because he didn't want that to be offensive to his Jewish

brothers that Timothy had not done that. But then you turn over to Galatians chapter 2 and you find out

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

Titus, another traveling companion, was not compelled to be circumcised

for the same reason. To clarify the gospel among the Jews. Because in the Galatian context,

there were people who were saying, you must follow the Jewish law in order to be a true Christian,

in order to be saved, in order to be accepted by God. And Paul, in his letter to the Galatians,

says, no, the only basis for our salvation is only and exclusively the finished work of Jesus Christ

on the cross. His sufficient death for our sin is the only thing that is necessary. And our faith,

which receives this work that God has done for us, is the only thing that makes us acceptable.

And so, I won't circumcise Titus so that you will understand the gospel clearly.

In the same way that I will circumcise Timothy so that you will hear the gospel clearly and not

be offended by these external things. It's fascinating to watch Paul be flexible like that.

We don't like this. We like things to be neat and clean. Well, should he do it? Should he not do it?

Do I eat with the Gentiles? Do I not eat with the Gentiles? How do I work these things out?

Right? And for Paul, there is this clarity about it. Does it help the gospel become clear?

Does it help the gospel be heard in this circumstance? There are certain places where

if I went to preach in a church and I did not wear a tie, people would not listen to me.

They would wonder what kind of backwater yahoo I am that I couldn't get dressed up enough to actually

honor God but from the pulpit. There are other places where if I wore this, they would look at

me and think, oh wow, I don't know who he is, but he has no idea what my world is like. And they

wouldn't give me the time of day to listen. Right? So there's nothing I can wear that will always

win. There's nothing that a preacher should always wear when he does ministry. It is contextual.

If I'm a woman working in the Middle East sharing the gospel, I will likely wear a head covering.

Unless I learn that that head covering is going to offend, is going to be confused

by the people there as a necessary requirement to be accepted by God. If I don't wear this, I can't be

accepted by God. Then I might not wear it for the sake of clarifying the gospel.

In some cases, there's a great illustration one of my seminary professors used where, you know,

he's from Canada, his mother's British, and he ministers in America. In lots of places in America,

he doesn't drink alcohol because he knows that for some people, that's something that could be a real

barrier to them hearing him as a minister of the gospel. Right? And so he doesn't do it in order to

not offend people. But he said, but if I hear someone saying, you must not drink alcohol or you

cannot be a Christian, he will say, well then pass the port and let's drink together for the sake of

clarifying the gospel. Paul's pattern is to be flexible in everything that can be flexible.

Let me give you some categories. How we dress, how we speak, the things that we talk about,

the places that we go. There's some deeper ones that are harder when we get into it. Things like

how time is spent. If you're in a different culture, people might just stop by your house

for the day. In America, that's just unthinkable. In America, you think, I've got a schedule,

well I've got to be at the grocery store in 45 minutes and I've got to, you know, and so on and

so forth. And we live that way, right? But what does it mean for me to become all things to all

people, to my neighbor for whom time works differently than me? How do I do that?

These are some of the ways. Really another funny example. Physical space, right? In some cultures,

physical space is like three to four feet. In other cultures, it's 12 to 18 inches. And if you've ever

been in one of those cultures where it's 12 to 18 inches, we as a Western Americans particularly,

we keep moving backwards in the conversation because we keep finding ourselves invaded.

And our friend that we're trying to have a conversation with, he's trying to build a

relationship with us, keeps moving towards us because they want to connect with us and

they can't figure out why we're so far away. And honestly, it's really uncomfortable to have

a conversation with someone when you're not used to it culturally. But Paul says, I become

all things to all people that I might by all means win some. What are the limits of this?

Well, you know, we can't actually become someone else. Great missionary story I heard about a guy who

went out, he lived with some more primitive tribe in Southeast Asia for 20 years, lived like them,

ate like them, talked like them. He did everything he could to make himself one of them.

And after 20 years, they're sitting around the fire talking and he's thinking, I think I finally

made it. And then someone makes an offhand comment that reveals that, oh no, they know he's an outsider.

They know that he's not a part of them. He, in sadness, asked them, why would you say that?

And they looked at him and they said, well, your feet are big. And it was just one of those things

where it's like in that culture, as a Westerner, he had big white person feet. And that was,

and so we need to recognize there are human limitations. We ought not to have the arrogance

of thinking that we can become exactly like someone else, but we can move towards them in

every way possible. There are also limits of this. Paul does not say to the sinner, I become as a

sinner so that I might win the sinner. Specifically, let's think about what he means in this context.

He's talking about food offered to idols. And what he's going to end up saying in chapter 10 is,

you know what? Go to your friend's house, eat the meat. That's fine. But if he says,

this is meat offered to an idol, then you can't eat it. Because then you are participating with him

in his idolatry. And you are encouraging it by the connection between the meat and the idolatry

that your guest is making. And it seems like this is in an evangelistic context. This is in a context

where someone, you're in a home of a friend. Think about how offensive that might be. Particularly in a

culture where meat was fairly rare. And so you're being served the best food possible.

But Paul says, no. In that case, you have to say, I can't participate with you in that.

We're going to preach on that for the next two weeks and unpack it a little more.

But Paul says, there's a limit there. I cannot participate with them in their sin.

And in this case, in their idolatry.

Even if it's really costly. We might think, well, that's a terrible way to reach someone.

That's really offensive. You walk in their home, they've invited you in, and what do you do?

You just reject their best offering to you. Their most hospitable action.

Paul says, yes, but there are gospel limits.

You don't get drunk with the drunkards.

You don't lie with the liars.

You don't scorn with the scornful.

And you don't ostracize with the in crowd.

You don't get greedy with the greedy.

And you don't worship with others

who worship other gods.

Because

what cannot change

is the reality of the gospel.

It can be shaped.

I think Paul shapes his language.

Look at his preaching in Acts 13

of Sidian Antioch.

And his preaching in Acts 17

to the Greeks and Athenians.

Fascinating how different his approach is.

One is through the law

and through the Jewish background

of the believers.

Trying to see Jesus.

Trying to present

how clearly Jesus is the fulfillment

of all the Jewish hopes.

But to the Greeks and Athens,

these aren't the important things.

Instead, the connections

have to do with an unknown God

and the great principles of the world.

But both of them land on

Jesus Christ

who died on the cross

for his sins

and rose from the dead

for your salvation

and for your sanctification.

And when the clarity

of the gospel is threatened,

we cannot be flexible.

So what are the barriers

between you and your neighbors?

Where are the areas

where you

just really don't like

to connect with your

coworkers?

coworkers?

How is it hard for you

when you go

and see your family?

What are the things

in our culture

that you just really wish

weren't true?

And what are you holding on to?

One of the things

that I've realized

as we've looked through this

is that

at the core of our

lack of willingness

to be adaptable

and flexible

the way

Paul is

is

well,

twofold.

One is that

it comes from us

not understanding

our fundamental identity

in Christ

and so we cling

to these secondary things,

these cultural things,

these familial things,

these ethnic things,

these whatever things,

we cling to them

as being more important

than they ought to be.

But even if that's not true,

it's still hard

because we're just

plain selfish.

And by that I mean this,

we just think

we want our lives

to be pretty comfortable

and pretty easy.

We don't want to be stretched

in the places

that we might be stretched

by the people

that God places

in our lives.

We feel inadequate

to know how to do it

really well

and so we never try.

we feel awkward

in reaching out

to someone

who's obviously

different from us

and so we don't.

And Paul says to us,

no,

don't you see,

friends,

the call of the gospel

in our lives

is to love

and it's to love

people who are

different than us

and it's to engage

in the painful,

refining process

of loving them

not selfishly

but sacrificially.

How do I die

to my comfort zone

to reach my friends,

my co-workers,

my family?

Where am I unwilling

to do that?

It's hard.

I'll just say it.

It's hard to do,

right?

Because it is awkward.

It's facing our incapacity.

Here's my one piece

of advice for you,

my practical pastoral advice.

If we are trying

to reach others

with the good news

of the gospel

and we take a stance

of being the answer people,

I have what you need

and I'm going

to bring it to you.

When we face

these cultural barriers

and things,

we see them

as impediments

to a task.

That's why

it feels awkward

and that's why

we're not very good

at it

and why it's not

very love-driven

actually.

But the thing

that I have learned

very imperfectly

is that when I take on

the role of a learner,

when I look at someone

and I say,

you know what?

You are obviously

different from me

and I am different

from you.

And gosh,

I'm sure that

God has done

all sorts of great things

in your life

in His common grace

that there are things

in your ethnicity

and your family

and your background

and your interests

and your personalities

that are totally different

from mine,

totally foreign from mine

and I have no idea

how to connect with them.

But rather than being

afraid of that,

to press into that

and to learn.

tell me about that.

Tell me about football.

Why are there 11 guys

instead of five?

You know?

Why do they keep stopping?

I'm used to watching soccer

where they keep playing.

Why do they keep stopping?

Explore the thing

that you don't understand.

And if you take on

a role of a learner,

it actually frees you

to be the role

of one who loves well

because you get to see them

as they really are.

And you get to see

and God so often

opened doors

for the gospel

through that kind of approach.

And when we learn,

we're not feeling

so defensive.

And when we learn,

we're not feeling

so protective of ourselves.

Paul finishes this section

on adaptability

by saying,

I do it all

for the sake of the gospel.

God's great work in Jesus

that it may go forward,

that people may participate

and know the great blessing

of what it is

that God has done,

that they may receive

this truly good news,

this life-changing news,

and be saved.

And I want them

to participate in it

and to receive it

so that we might

rejoice together in it,

so that we might share together

in its blessings.

Paul's Christianity

is never,

I'm in,

I'm good,

I'm done.

Paul is,

God has given me this

and I want you to have it

and I want you to have it

and I want you to have it

because it's the best thing

that's ever happened to me.

It's the best news

in the whole world.

God has done

what we can't do

for ourselves.

Come and see

and believe.

This is the heart

that Paul has.

So having talked about

his gospel flexibility

that's grounded in

his own experience

of the gospel,

shaped by the clarity

of the gospel

and driven by this purpose

of gospel love

for neighbor.

He then goes on

in verse 24,

through 27

to give an extended

metaphor

basically talking about

how focused

his life is.

He uses athletic metaphors

and the Corinthian church

would have understood

the Corinthian,

these metaphors

because the,

just like the Olympic games

happened in other parts

of Greece,

the Isthmian games

happened

in the Isthmus,

which is the little connection

between northern

and southern Greece,

that Corinth was on.

And so this happened

every three years

and they would see

these games

and they would see

the runners

and the wrestlers

and the fighters

and they would understand.

It was a cultural phenomenon

maybe bigger than the Olympics today,

more like the Olympics

was like 25 years ago

for those of you

who were alive back then

when it was a really big deal

and everyone watched.

Nowadays,

I think,

I don't know.

But it's a much,

maybe 600 cable channels

have dulled the impact

of the Olympics.

But the Olympics

were a big deal

and so they are a big deal

to that.

And Paul's basic point is

compete with discipline

so you may win the prize.

He's talking about

a disciplined

or a self-controlled life.

A life that makes

intentional choices

to invest in certain things

because he has

a very clear purpose

and he wants to bend

every resource in his life

towards that purpose.

He says,

don't go like a runner

who doesn't know

which way he's running.

You can't win the race

if you're running

a race that heads this way

and you head off that way.

And don't be like a boxer

who,

rather than landing a punch,

just swings at the air

and never hits anything.

This is not

going to bring success.

This is not going to bring

you to the goal

for which you have

trained yourself.

Paul says,

no,

there is a gospel focus here.

The gospel focus is

that I might win some

and I am going to bend

everything in my life

to that end.

The NBA playoffs

are upon us

for those of you

who are paying attention.

The Golden State Warriors

set a record

for the best record ever

in the regular season

if you haven't noticed.

And if you haven't noticed,

you ought to pay attention

because in about

a month and a half,

the finals will start

and then you'll get to see

the actual championship series.

But in this,

it's fascinating to have read.

I read a great article

on Steph Curry

who's the all-star leader

in many ways

of the Golden State team.

Two years ago,

they thought he was probably

going to be done

in his NBA career

because he had

really bad ankles.

And he found

a new training regimen

that brought in

all sorts of different things

to shape his body differently.

It had to do with diet.

It had to do with

certain kinds of exercises.

It had...

But what he did

is he spent

his whole time

retooling

how his body worked

so that his ankles

would not be so stressed

and so that he would be able

to have more fitness

to do what he's doing,

which is shooting the ball

really, really well.

And he is shooting the ball

really, really well.

Like phenomenally well.

Like better than anyone ever has

in the history of the NBA well.

But his discipline

of his body,

of his diet,

of his time,

he has spent

all of his energy

shaping his body

so that he might be prepared

to do this.

And the question is,

how do we do that?

What does it look like

for us to discipline

our lives?

And here,

discipline means

both saying no

to bad things,

which is kind of

the discipline

we often think about,

but it also means

saying yes

to the good things

that we do

for the purpose

of living out

this calling.

Let me give you

a couple of examples

of people that I've seen

discipline their lives

in this way.

I think of a guy,

when I worked

in campus ministry

at Cornell,

there was a guy

there named Izzy.

Izzy showed up

on campus,

fairly new believer,

wanting to grow

in Christ,

wanting to,

and his freshman year

he kind of got involved

in our campus fellowship

and he was growing a lot

and it was really exciting

to see him

understanding the faith more,

learning to study

the Bible more deeply,

and those sorts of things.

But Izzy was

always restless

because he thought,

I'm on a campus

with 15,000 people

and I'm spending

all my time

with Christians

and I'm never interacting

with people

who don't know Jesus.

So at the end

of the year,

he'd said,

I think I'm going

to pledge a fraternity.

And we sat down,

we talked about

what that would mean.

We talked about

some of the boundaries

he would have to set,

some of the limits,

some of the prior commitments

he would have to make

so that he could

be a part of a fraternity

without engaging

in some of their

pretty well-worn

traditional sinful practices.

And then he'd have to do

some of those things

up front

to make sure

that that would be

all right.

And he did that

and he was accepted.

And for the next

three years,

he was never a part

of our campus fellowship

as much

as many people

wished he would

because they saw

his maturity,

they wanted to grow

by being around him.

And you know why?

Because he was disciplined

to spend time

with his brothers

in the fraternity house.

He made it a priority

to make sure

that his Christian activities

didn't pull him away

completely

completely

from being

involved in the community

that he was a part of.

And he did it

for the sake of the gospel.

And I can think

of one of the guys

who he knew

was one of his

fraternity brothers.

I got the privilege

of seeing him

ten years later.

And he's

a Christian now.

He wasn't a Christian

back then,

but he's a Christian now.

It's the fruit

of Izzy's commitment,

his discipline

to say,

I'm going to choose

to invest

my life

in a significant way

at a cost

of not doing

other good things

so that I might

be able to

invest in these

relationships

and walk with Christ.

And it was costly

in the fraternity

for him to do it

in a way

that the gospel

was clear.

That he wasn't

simply participating

with them

in everything they did,

but that he was

living for Christ

among them.

Friends,

we have

other great examples

even in

our own church.

I can think

of a young Yale

undergrad

who said,

how can we

live out our

calling

to reach this city

if we're not

getting outside

the bubble

and somehow,

someway,

beginning to reach

the urban poor

in our city?

And so the

ministry from

Trinity Baptist

Church to

Columbus House

was started

a long time

ago.

Greg said,

I don't know

what I'm doing

but I'm going

to do it

anyway and

figure it

out as I

go along.

And so many

lives have been

changed by him

and by many

who have

followed after.

there.

There's a guy

in our church

right now

who goes to

the sauna

in the gym

every week.

They call it

chapel

because he

has taken

the time

to invest

in the

relationships

he's developed.

Some of his

friends are here

today.

Good to see

you guys.

Good to see

you guys.

Might not have

taken that

time in his

busy schedule

otherwise.

But for the

sake of the

gospel he

said,

I want to

be here.

I want to

be present

with these

guys and

see what

God might

do.

It might be

picking a

particular

playground for

you to take

your kids to.

Maybe it's not

your favorite

one but it's

the one where

you know that

there are

people who

go every

week at

the same

time to

reach your

neighbors.

It might be

thinking about

how you

balance your

extracurricular

activities in

college so

that they're

not all

Christian but

that you're

actually investing

in somewhere

else.

Not just to

build your

resume but to

reach the

lost.

It might mean

thinking about

your family and

being more

intentional to

call them and

to connect with

them and to

be with them on

holidays.

there's so

many different

ways that this

could look.

I want to

finish by

quoting from

Hudson Taylor.

Hudson Taylor is

one of my

heroes.

He was a

missionary to

China back

in the

1800s and

he was a

pioneer in

thinking about

how to reach

people.

Before he

went,

missionaries

from Europe

would go to

China.

they would

establish a

walled

compound where

they would

dress in

European clothing,

speak in

European languages

and invite the

Chinese in.

It was about

the opposite of

becoming all

things to all

men so that I

might win

some.

Hudson Taylor

said that can't

be the pattern.

He wrote

later in a

discussion about

how to do

this well.

He said this,

we wish to

see Christian

Chinese,

true Christians

but with all

true Chinese

in every sense

of the word.

We wish to

see churches

and Christian

Chinese presided

over by pastors

and officers of

their own

countrymen

worshiping the

true God in

the land of

their fathers,

in the costumes

of their father,

in their own

tongue wherein

they were born

and in the

edifices of a

thoroughly Chinese

style of

architecture.

If we really

desire, and

this was

groundbreaking

because they

would build

western style

cathedrals and

then expect

people to come

and understand

what it was

all about.

He goes on,

if we really

desire to see

the Chinese

such as we

have described,

let us as

far as possible

set before them

a correct

example.

Let us in

everything

unsinful become

Chinese,

that by all

things we may

save some.

Let us adopt

their costume,

which for him

meant shaving

the front of

his head and

wearing a

really long

ponytail.

It was very

un-European.

Their costume,

acquiring their

language, he

spoke four

different dialects,

studying to

imitate their

habits and

approximate to

their diet as

far as health

and constitution

will allow.

Let us live in

their houses,

making no

unnecessary

alterations in

external

appearance and

only so far

modifying internal

arrangements as

attention to

health and

efficiency for

work absolutely

require.

Let the love

of Christ

constrain you

to seek to

commend yourself

and your

message to the

Chinese.

As becomes the

follower of such

a master, let

there be no

reservation.

Give yourselves

up fully and

wholly to him

whose you are

and whom you

wish to serve

in this work

and there can

be no

disappointment.

The Apostle

Paul sets

before us a

picture of

reaching Christ,

reaching his

world for

Christ.

Hudson Taylor

followed in

that saying,

by all things

we might win

some.

And of course

friends, the

reason why Paul

could do this

and the reason

why Hudson Taylor

could do this

is because this

is what our

Savior has

done.

Because this

isn't just a

task to be

more strategic

in how we

reach people.

It's not just

learning the

rules of what

we can do

and not do

so we can try

to get through

by the skin

of our teeth.

But it's

following the

pattern of

our Savior

who did not

come to be

served but to

serve and to

give his life

a ransom

for many.

He who did

not count

equality with

God something

to be grasped

but humbled

himself and

taking on human

form made

himself a

servant and

he submitted

himself even to

death on the

cross.

He deferred in

love the rights

of the Godhead

so that he

might win us

by his

identification

with us in

every way yet

without sin so

that he might be

our substitute

and our

sacrifice.

He identified

with us, he

suffered for us

and he died in

our place so

we might be

raised with

him to new

life for all

who believe in

him.

Friends, this is

the gospel reward

and this is the

hope and this is

the prize that

Paul was pressing

on to.

not just his

own salvation

but that this

great savior

Jesus would be

known and that

many, many more

would come to

know the blessing

of salvation in

him.

So friends,

I leave you with

the questions.

What is it going

to look like for

you to run your

race?

Where are the

places and the

people that God

wants to stretch

you to be

disciplined?

to reach those

who don't yet

know Christ?

How will you

reshape your

life to follow

in the footsteps

of Paul and

follow in the

footsteps of our

savior?

Let's pray.

Jesus, we love

you.

You have done so

much for us.

Lord, you have

left us not only

a model to

follow but Lord,

you have given

us the very life

that we need to

live it out.

Lord, help us,

we pray.

Lord, help us

to have your

heart for those

who don't yet

know you.

Lord, help us

to be willing

to sacrificially

and in a

costly manner

embrace a

pattern of life

that is driven

by a desire

to reach many,

to win some.

Lord, we know

that ultimately

you're the only

one who can save

us but Lord,

we want to be

useful to you

and so we ask

that you would

help us.

We pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

We have the joy

of celebrating

this with a

baptism this

morning.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.