The Cost Of Loving The Lost

Sitro to come up here and my friends, he is one of my heroes.

! As he's walked in faith, he has a powerful story.

! I wish he, sometimes I'm almost tempted to just let him go ahead and speak and share about his testimony.

But they've asked me to share, so I've asked him to just greet you and share a little bit about his ministry.

Well, I bring greetings from Uganda.

My congregation back home and my wife sends greetings to you all.

And I'm grateful that I'm here this evening, together with the other missionaries.

I'm so grateful to meet them all.

He has told you my names are not easy for me to pronounce in your accent.

But I found a brother here, Bob, so I like calling myself Bob.

So that one is easier.

Well, I am married to one wife, Sarah.

And I'm also a pastor of a church in a Muslim community.

I started it some nine years back.

And God has been gracious to us that we have been able to start more as six churches.

So I oversee seven churches.

And I'm also the leader of the pastors in our district.

We have districts in Uganda.

And each district will have a lead of the pastors, like the pastor of those pastors.

And I look young and my age.

But I am among the few pastors in Uganda that have gone to the seminary.

So because of that, they elected me to be their leader.

And in our district, we have 350 churches.

So those are the pastors I lead.

I also teach in the Bible school.

We have a Bible school where Doug and Sheil teach also.

So I am very grateful to partner with them and to come here and see the people that support Doug and support Sheil to come and do a great work in Uganda.

And I really appreciate you so much.

And may God bless you.

Thank you.

I want to take us to running off of your theme, loving the lost to Christ.

What do you think?

Is that a good theme?

Well, of course, you're in church, right?

The answer is always yes and Jesus, right?

No matter what you ask.

But is that a good theme?

You think so?

Well, sometimes we look at that and we hear messages and we think, okay, it means I must suffer for the Lord, right?

You heard all these missionaries, Brother Tom and Brother Waleed, suffer for the Lord up here, right?

They got up here and said, oh, it's so hard ministering for Christ.

Is that what they said?

Maybe you're sleeping.

I don't know how you could sleep through them up here sharing about the joy of the Lord.

It isn't wonderful.

Look at what God is doing.

This is amazing.

And we're just part of his work in this way.

I mean, is that exciting or what?

Huh?

Seeing God work in Romania to reach out to the world.

It's amazing when people realize Acts chapter 1, right?

Acts 1 · chapter mention

When you receive money like the U.S., then you can be missionaries, right?

When you receive a, you can build a building, then you can be missionaries, right?

Sometimes we've given that message of missions, haven't we?

Okay.

But they're over there just sharing the truth.

When you receive the Holy Spirit.

How many people here have the Holy Spirit?

Some amens.

A few people like this.

Are you afraid?

How many people have the Holy Spirit?

Yeah.

If you're born again, you have the Holy Spirit.

And you're excited about the Lord, I trust, because he's worked greatly in your life.

But now, if you get a message, though, there's joy in the song, Joy in Serving Jesus, right?

Sometimes we sing, there's joy in serving Jesus.

That's not the message you got today, tonight.

There is joy.

Loving the lost to Christ.

Do we really believe that?

It's a good theme.

Good message.

And I'll be the first one to confess that yesterday I didn't.

I felt convicted about that as I prepared the message.

Why?

Because I forgot.

I forgot something.

You know, if you open up 1 Corinthians chapter 9, we have it read there.

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

It's right in your bulletin as well.

You can open up that way.

But, you know, the Corinthian church, Paul is writing to them.

And he, right in the beginning in chapter 1, talks about all that they have and the amazing

truth of being born again in Christ.

What it means to be changed and to start eternal life at the new birth.

And he talks about in chapter 1, starting in verse 4,

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus,

that in every way you were enriched in him, in all speech, in all knowledge,

even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you,

so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ,

who will sustain you to the end.

What an amazing passage truth here as he rehearses what it means to be born again.

You are not only changed individually, but you become part of the family of God,

united and be part of God's work here on earth to be in fellowship with Jesus.

You know, what he has started, he's going to complete in your life.

It's such a wonderful truth.

And then the letter goes on, doesn't it?

About problems in this church.

In fact, I do rejoice in the Corinthians having trouble, having problems.

Now, today it might be more politically correct to say they had issues, right?

So that you don't have to say problems like troubles.

You have issues, and that's something you just deal with on the side there.

It may be quiet.

But you know what?

God is very honest about even his people have problems.

And this church had problems.

And I am thankful that they had problems when they did,

so Paul could write to them so I could know how to handle my problems.

Because life is full of problems.

Yes, it's wonderful to be born again, to trust in Jesus,

but we know that we still live in a sinful world with a lot of sinful habits,

even in our own life, that we still get tempted and pulled away

and forget about who we are in Christ Jesus.

But as we remember this,

you know, these problems do have a solution.

They do have a way of addressing these problems in Christ Jesus.

And Paul goes through, and I almost see this,

if we want to put it maybe in modern-day terms,

is really Paul is writing here under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

much like the Corinthians got a virus

that was affecting their operating system, my friends.

Now, it sounds like I'm a computer whiz, right?

No, when my computer gets a virus,

and Brother Tom, you talked about your computers,

I think you need to give up on Apple.

Now, some of you might hate me for saying that,

but all that Apple juice, you know?

I'm a PC man,

only because I've never learned how to operate an Apple.

Anyways, I understand a little bit, okay?

You know, for me, when my computer gets a virus,

I seem to help it crash.

I don't know why,

but they have this thing called an antivirus program, right?

Supposedly, the program knows

what the computer's supposed to do,

and it recognizes when it's listening

to the wrong thinking advice or program, right?

That's gone into it.

And it's supposed to take that wrong thinking.

Now you know I'm not a computer whiz, right?

But take that wrong thinking,

and it's supposed to quarantine it.

It keeps telling me that.

It quarantined something.

It got rid of it

so that the computer could operate right, correctly.

Well, you read through Corinthians.

I get that exact message

that they've got this virus.

They've become self-absorbed in themselves.

Like, my situation is so significant,

and what's going on in my life

is all that matters.

And my thinking is all that matters.

And what happened is,

is Paul's correcting their thinking

throughout this whole letter.

He's bringing them into right thinking.

He's trying to isolate the wrong thinking,

the wrong attitude

that has led them to the wrong actions,

to ignore certain things

that they were supposed to pay attention to,

and to bring into focus

the things that they needed to pay attention to,

to get rid of that virus

that is leading them astray,

that is upsetting the whole operating system,

so that the world itself

could not even see Christ in the church.

So the world itself was having a hard time

understanding what it meant

to be born again.

Paul is rehearsing through many, many problems.

By the time we get to chapter 9,

he's still addressing this thinking.

What are you thinking about?

How can I lead you into recognizing

what is the truth?

How can you really, truly function properly

to represent Christ to the world?

What is our whole purpose?

What will bring us satisfaction?

They were trying to satisfy themselves.

They were trying to bring about their own joy

and forgetting the whole purpose

of why God had saved them

and brought them together.

As he talks about this,

he talks about right in verse 1,

that certainly to be born again,

to be in Christ,

means that we are free.

We're freed from sin,

the power of sin in our lives.

We are able to walk now in the Spirit.

We have a freedom to enjoy life

because we are alive.

Unlike anything we've experienced before,

when we come to Christ,

we have been delivered

to be able to start thinking right,

start obeying Christ and following him.

And you know, many times Jesus says,

follow me.

Paul says, follow me.

A little bit later on,

follow me as I follow Christ.

Why?

It's because that's the best thing for us.

We've been made to be into the image of Christ

and to follow him.

I'm free to do that.

In fact, I'm an apostle.

He even has authority in churches.

I'm free,

but by the time we get down to verse 15,

he knows who he is.

He knows what he can do.

But he said,

but my purpose is not to satisfy myself.

If I focus upon that,

I will miss the whole point

of what Christ is doing in my life.

He starts, he says,

but I have made no use

of any of these things

or rights in my life.

Nor am I writing these things

to secure any provision.

I'm not trying to convince you

to do anything for me.

Instead, he wants to lead us

in our thinking.

How can you enjoy life?

What is the prize

of being a believer in Christ?

What is the joy and satisfaction

of being a believer in Christ?

It's fitting into God's purpose

and letting God show you

what true joy is all about.

The Corinthian church

needed to hear some of this,

all of this,

but you and I, I think,

need to reflect on this.

Verse 19,

I'm going to skip around here

just for time's sake.

For though I am free from all,

this is what it read for us,

though I have an opportunity

to do many, many things in Christ,

now I am a believer in Christ

and I can live under the law of Christ,

but I can do many, many things.

God has saved me.

He is guaranteed to work in my life,

which, by the way,

means he's guaranteeing

that he's going to convict us of sin.

He's going to make our life miserable,

so we repent if necessary.

He's going to convince us of truth

so that we can live in that truth

and enjoy him,

not only now, but forever,

preparing for us

to be able to be with him forever.

But he says, you know,

I am freed from all,

but I've made myself a servant of all.

Now, there's many things,

if we're honest,

in the scriptures

that if we really read it

for like it is,

does not seem to make sense at first.

I am free to be what?

To be a slave.

How does that work?

Especially in America.

Slave?

You know, Paul is writing

in a Jewish context.

If you go back to Exodus chapter 21,

Exodus 21 · chapter mention

Paul knew very much the Old Testament,

and I think he's drawing

a little bit off of this image here,

okay,

that if you got in debt,

ooh, that covers a lot of us, right?

But if you get in debt

in a way that you cannot pay,

okay,

where you have problems,

you could

basically

be brought into slavery

for six years

as a Jew

to another Jew,

where you had to work

and be a slave

to pay back that debt

that you could not pay

any other way.

But the law of God,

the Mosaic law,

limited just,

it could only be six years

maximum

until the debt was paid

in a maximum of six years

unless,

unless

you loved your master

after six years.

And there's also a passage there

talking about

if the master gives you a wife

and whatnot,

but

it definitely says

if you love your master,

you can choose

to become a permanent slave.

And that,

you might have heard about,

you could take your ear

and

pierce it,

okay,

puncture it.

A lot of people

would be interesting

telling them about that,

right?

Have a punctured ear

means you're a permanent slave.

But

for them,

if you got your ear pierced,

that means

you were dedicating yourself

voluntarily,

submitting

and

choosing

to be a slave

to this master

for the rest of your life.

You could do that,

but it was your choice,

not the master's choice.

And what was it based on?

What did I say

it was based on?

Class?

Love.

Love your master.

You chose

because you loved your master.

Do you see a little parallel here?

What Paul is saying?

I have chosen here

to be a permanent slave.

Okay?

Now,

later on,

he clarifies here

is

a slave of all men

does not mean

that he is

listening to all men

and obeying them,

but he is under the law of Christ.

Okay?

You see that?

We've already read that

in verse 21.

Okay?

It's not that he is

outside the law of God,

but under the law of Christ.

He wants to clarify this.

Whatever he's talking about,

he has,

he's under the law of Christ,

but because he has loved Christ,

he's voluntarily become

a slave of Christ.

He is now

a servant of all men.

Why?

He wants to serve Christ.

We're talking about,

yes,

we are called to

loving the loss to Christ,

but there's going to be

a cost involved

if you really get involved.

Brother Walid

referred to that,

the price that we have to pay.

Everything has a cost, right?

Even in Burger King,

they used to say,

have it your way.

Who paid the bill?

It wasn't Burger King.

Okay?

Everything has a cost.

Now the question is,

Paul,

the Holy Spirit is very honest.

There's a cost involved.

If you really want to be

loving the loss to Christ,

you're going to have to pay a price.

But that's not his focus

upon this passage.

He includes that information in,

as we're going to

just read a little bit later here.

He includes the information in,

but he is asking

not just the price

that needs to be paid,

what he's focused upon is,

what prize is in store for me?

If I serve Christ,

if I voluntarily love my master

to be a slave to him,

the law of Christ,

and serve all mankind,

because Christ loves mankind,

he gave himself for it,

he left heaven above,

he came down,

even while we were yet sinners,

to die in our place,

so that we could be offered

eternal life in him,

we could be made back

into the image of Christ,

which Adam lost in the garden,

as he sinned against God

and lost that pure image of God

that he's created in.

But Christ has offered

to restore that to us,

the image of Christ

to make us into his image,

and now we get to serve him.

What does he want from us?

It's to become a part of his plan.

To do what?

To reach the world.

Part of his plan

to reach,

as we heard,

Columbus, Ohio.

And who knows where,

if we reach Columbus, Ohio,

your ministry here,

you've already heard,

is going international,

is going all around the world,

because you're investing

in God's plan and purposes.

Notice what he's talking about here.

Yeah, there's a cost involved,

but I have made myself

a servant to all,

that,

with the purpose,

I might win

more of them.

I want to be part

of something greater here

than just myself,

than just my comfort.

I appreciate the music here

that's been chosen

for this conference.

Have you gotten some of the,

the words of the music here?

I even wrote some down,

if I could ever find my paper here.

Well, have you noticed

one of the,

the men singing about,

it's not for our comfort.

Have you noticed

how that,

that word comfort,

you're supposed to hold out

a little bit

to gain attention for?

Okay,

it's not about

our comfort level.

Christ is more interested

in our character

than our comfort.

He's more interested

in us being part

of his plan

than him serving us

and making us

comfortable in life.

Paul says,

I have a purpose

in mind here.

I have made myself

a servant to all

that I might win

more of them.

I want to be part

of God's plan.

How?

To the Jews,

I became as a Jew.

Paul knew

that he was free

from the law of Moses,

now being under

the law of Christ,

but he said,

you know,

to the Jew,

I want to gain

a hearing for the Jew.

That was his countrymen.

That was his family,

his extended family.

I don't know about you,

but sometimes

very hard

to reach into my family

with the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

My father and mother

still have not yet

trusted in Christ.

I'm praying for them.

They're in their 80s,

but they still have breath.

They still have hope.

Maybe they'll trust Christ.

Cheryl's parents as well.

I have some brothers

in their family

that need to trust

in Christ,

but man,

they know all about me,

right?

They saw me grow up.

They see my imperfections.

And when I share

the gospel of Jesus Christ

with them,

I know at times

they're thinking

about the past

when I wrestled

my brother to the ground

and beat him to a pulp

because he was smaller than me.

And he's talking

about the love of Christ.

You know,

and some of my,

and families,

sometimes it takes

a lot of work,

doesn't it?

Go back into the old life,

remembering of the old life,

visiting with them,

and you're tempted

to say the same kind of things,

to react the same ways.

Paul says, though,

to the Jew,

I want to go back

into that

to give up my rights

to what?

What does he want to do

for the Jew?

To win them.

To gain them for Christ.

And he says,

to those under the law.

Now that sounds to me

like Jews, right?

But it also sounds like,

and remember,

who were really

promoting the law?

The Pharisees,

the Judaizers.

They were a certain

group of Jews

that really caused

Paul a lot of problems.

If anybody was

his enemies,

that would be those

under the law,

promoting the law,

criticizing,

trying to tear Paul down.

Attacking his character.

What did he say?

To those under the law,

I'll become

as under the law.

I'm going to give up

my rights.

I am going to try

to do all I can

to become

a person

that they could listen to.

I'm going to love them

and try to get involved

in their life.

Why?

Not because he likes

to suffer.

Everywhere Paul went,

where did he go first?

He was a teacher of the law.

He could get a hearing.

It was something

that he was actually

invited to stand up

if they didn't know

he was Paul

or heard about Paul.

They would invite him

to stand up

and share a word,

brother.

Teach us.

Because he was a teacher

of the law

before he came to Christ.

But what happened

every time he went

to the synagogue

and shared

from the word of God

the Old Testament

how Jesus was Messiah,

you know what happened

to him, right?

Right?

They loved him, right?

They said,

oh, this is wonderful.

Please come back.

Yeah.

They served him

kosher food

and welcomed him

into their home,

right?

Because he was

a teacher of the law?

No.

They kept

throwing him

out of town.

He kept

getting in trouble.

You know,

you think the guy

would have learned?

You think, huh?

Don't go

into the synagogue

next time.

You're going

to get

run out of town.

But you know,

it didn't matter

to Paul

whether he got

run out of town

or not.

What he wanted

to do

was gain a hearing

for the gospel

of Christ.

And he trusted

the results

to God.

He went

to the Jews

because that

was his countrymen.

He was connected

with them.

He became

as a Jew.

I

tell you the truth,

I would rather

play a sport

than watch it

on TV.

I hate sitting

down kind of

watching something

but, you know,

for some reason

when my father

and mother,

when my father

retired,

they got involved

in watching sports.

So I had,

I still to this day

have to

look to see

what the Red Sox

are doing.

I have no interest

in it.

You're not going

to tell them,

are you?

Well, they know

really I'm not

a big fan

in that way

but if I want

to talk to my

dad and mom,

if it's baseball

season,

you find out

what the Red Sox

are doing

because that's

what they want

to start

talking about.

And I think

about this passage,

to the Jew,

I become as a Jew.

You know,

someone had asked

me,

what fan

are you?

What football?

You know I'm

talking about

American football,

brother.

What football team

do you root for?

And I say,

whatever living room

I'm in,

that's what fan

I'm about.

I love watching

the fans,

by the way.

I love going

to a house

where someone's

excited about

their team

and watching

them play.

But,

you know,

if I have

to learn about

what they're

interested in,

why?

So I can gain

a relationship

with them.

but the purpose

is not to

enjoy football.

The purpose

is not to

enjoy baseball.

The purpose

is I want

to be interested

in what

they're interested

in so that

I might have

an opportunity

to have that

relationship

continue to

what?

I don't have

the cost

even really

in my vision.

The cost

is something

I pay

in order

to get

the prize,

gain a hearing

for the gospel

of Christ.

He says

to those

who are not

under the law,

you know,

those we have,

the Jews,

they are like

family to him.

They are his

countrymen.

That is who he,

he's been placed

there by God

so he's going

to accept that

he has an

opportunity here

to become like

them,

not to violate

the law of Christ,

not to do

whatever they're

doing.

You know,

this doesn't

mean if my,

if my family

members have

a gathering

and everybody

gets drunk,

I need to get

drunk so I can

witness to them

about Jesus Christ.

Some people

interpret this

this way.

He says,

no,

I'm under

the law

of Christ,

but I do

what I can

to have that

relationship,

build that

relationship.

There's a cost

involved.

I have to

give of myself.

I have to

put aside

my rights,

the things

that I want

to do,

so what?

Because there's

a prize

involved.

I might

win some

to the Lord.

He doesn't,

he knows it's

not guaranteed

that his

investment is

always going

to produce

my family

members coming

to Christ,

my enemies

stopping attacking

me and coming

to Christ.

In fact,

actually,

if we love

our enemies,

there's just

as much chance

they take

advantage and

attack us all

the more.

But what

is that?

And what's

the worst thing

that can do

happen if your

enemies attack

you?

What's the

worst thing,

Waleed?

Not the worst

thing, he

wouldn't say

the worst

thing.

What we

would think

in the flesh,

what would

be the worst

thing to do?

They'd kill

him.

What would

that do?

Promote

him to

heaven?

Boy, you

poor thing.

Huh?

Do you

think he's

worried about

going to the

presence of

Christ?

His wife's

going to miss

him.

But really,

are we

focused

properly?

I do

what I

can.

Why?

Because there's

a prize involved

to serve

Christ and

the worst

thing they

can do

in their

minds is

bring me the

greatest prize

is to be

with Christ.

What costs

are we really

involved here?

A minor

investment so

that God

might use

that.

But now he

talks about

those outside

the law is

he must as

well extend

himself to

strangers.

Now Paul was

a trained

Jewish teacher.

He was a

Pharisee of the

Pharisees.

This was a

big stretch for

Paul.

Even though we

think of him

as the apostle

to the Gentiles,

Paul had to

make a lot of

adjustments here

to go and

to even talk

to the Gentiles.

He was trained

that that was

just not

something you

did to be

religious.

But he knew

there was a

cost if he

really wanted

to love the

lost of

Christ.

To those

that are

outside the

law, he

became as

one outside

the law.

He ate the

things he had

to eat in

order to

gain a

hearing for

opportunity to

share the

gospel of

Christ with

those that

were outside

the law,

the Gentiles.

He had to

do what was

uncomfortable.

He had to

do what was

stretching him.

He had to

go into the

unknown.

And from

what I see,

this is a

very loving

church and I

praise God

for that.

It seems like

people that

come in here,

you greet

them well.

But I

talked to

some people

even in our

home church

and they

watch,

especially my

wife, a new

person comes

in and I

have to watch

it.

She wants to

be outside

the pew.

If I'm on

the outside

and she's on

the inside,

I just,

after the

service of

the amen,

I just

kind of

sometimes go

like this

so she can

shoot out

to meet

all the

people.

Or otherwise

she'd knock

me over.

She would.

Okay?

She just,

now,

she didn't

necessarily

do that all

the time.

She had to

learn how to

do that,

to be friendly.

And I

had some

men and

ladies come

up to me

and say,

how does

Cheryl do

that?

I wish they

had said,

how does

Doug do

that?

But they

said,

how does

Cheryl do

that?

How does

that?

She has a

prize in

mind.

Go see what

God will do

as she

reaches out

and welcomes

people in

and loves

them and

just shows

them that

they are

welcomed here

and they

want to

come back

and be

under the

preaching of

the gospel

and to

find out

if they're

saved.

And she's

amazing how

to find out

from people

all this

information.

She's

wonderful at

that.

Those

outside the

law,

strangers.

How do we

treat strangers?

Are we really

willing to

learn about

them?

And it's

necessary to

learn about

them.

You know,

I was

thinking about

we're coming

up to a

four-way stop

here and

for some

reason,

one person

in that

car went

like this

and I

knew where

I was.

I'm in

Columbus,

Ohio,

so I

knew that

meant,

okay,

we were

to go

first,

right?

When I

grew up

just outside

of Boston,

Massachusetts,

and you

know,

if you

drive in

a certain

part of

town,

especially

Irish town

or even

Chinatown,

if you

come to a

four-way stop

and someone

goes like

this to

you,

what that

really means

is step

on the

gas if you

want to

go because

I'm on

my way,

okay?

And if you

don't go

fast,

they'll be

honking their

horn at you

and going

around you.

It means a

little bit

different,

doesn't it?

You've got to

get to know

the rules in

Boston,

too.

You come to

a light,

if it's just

about to turn,

if you

look over

here and

you see

people coming

that way,

that means

you're responsible

to miss

them,

okay?

Literally,

it's the

rules of

the road,

okay?

There was

two men

that had

an accident

and a

policeman

came.

I was in

back,

so I had

to wait

for him.

I'm

listening to

him.

And this

one person

said,

he had

a red

light.

So that

means he's

guilty,

right?

He's the

one that ran

the red

light and he

caused the

accident,

right?

Oh,

you don't

think so?

No?

Well,

the other

man was

saying,

but he

saw me

coming.

And the

police officer

said,

is that

true?

He said,

well,

yeah,

I looked

over and

he said,

well,

why did

you go?

He said,

he had

a red

light.

I had

a green

light,

but you

saw him

coming.

This is

the police

officer.

You saw

him coming

and you

still went

to the

intersection?

You got

to learn

the rules

of the road,

by the way,

in Boston,

okay?

You got to

learn what is

accepted,

what isn't.

How do you

talk to people

there outside

the law?

Paul said,

I had to

invest in

learning how

to talk to

a Gentile.

It's different

than talking

to a Jew.

Why?

Not because he

wanted to,

not because he

was proud of

being cross-culturally

sensitive,

it's because he

had a purpose

in mind,

a goal in

mind.

I want to

pay the

price so

that I

might win

the prize

of being

part of

God's

plan to

build a

family of

God here

upon earth

and eventually

we're going

to all be

together as

the bride of

Christ in

heaven rejoicing

together and I

want brothers and

sisters there

that I've been

involved in their

life, that I've

had a part,

that I've shared

the gospel with

them, that I

could have the

joy of seeing

a new birth

in people, that I

might win, even

the weak.

Who are the

weak?

If you look in

scripture, the

weak are always

the people who

have some kind

of limitations.

It doesn't mean

necessarily that

they're immature

or young believers

or even foolish

believers.

Think about even

Daniel.

He had to make

a choice to

limit himself not

to eat

certain foods

and it never

says because it

would lead him

into sin or

it would be

sinful, it's just

because he didn't

know if he had

sinned or not by

eating the king's

food, so he

limited himself.

Paul said, I am

weak.

Why?

In the flesh, he

was limited.

He had certain

illnesses that

limited him, okay,

in certain ways.

We don't know what

the thorn in the

flesh was.

We don't know,

did that mean he

couldn't preach for

three hours?

Like in, well, it

wasn't Sudan, it

was Egypt.

But we don't

know exactly what

it was.

He must have been

able to preach,

right?

They fell asleep

on him and fell

out the window.

He preached a

long time.

But there were

some limitations

that he said,

I'm weak.

So he said, but

to those that

have certain

limitations, I'll

abide by those

limitations.

I'll become weak.

He talks about

food offered to

idols.

I'd rather not

eat anything,

any meat,

than has my

brother to

stumble.

There's a cost

if we really

want to love the

loss to Christ.

But you know,

Paul said,

what's the cost?

It's a minor thing

to pay because of

the goal in mind.

You know, he

didn't even, I

don't read anything

about sacrifice

here.

Instead, he

talks about

comparing to

running the

race.

Okay, he

talks about the

boxer.

You know, I've

never met a

runner that is

a good runner

that loves to

run, that

stays home

watching TV,

eating popcorn.

Huh?

What do they

do?

They run.

They get

involved.

Because, I

don't know,

for some reason,

sometimes they

say, practice

brings them

joy.

I don't know

how it brings

them joy, but

it does.

And I've

watched some

people go from

to all of a

sudden, a

little bit of

practice, a

little giving up

certain other

things, saying

no to certain

things, what?

So they could

say yes to

getting in shape

so they could

run and feel

the exhilaration

of running, of

training.

Why?

To win a

prize.

He said, he's

talking here to

Corinth, the

Corinthians, and

they had the

Isthmus games, and

they knew what it

was to have

runners run and

get the prize.

And I don't know

what exactly, they

got this pine

wreath, and that

probably was not as

exciting.

Who knows, maybe

they got, you

know, the pay to

advertise for the

chariot builders, or

you know, maybe they

got free meat at the

market or something,

because they were the

fastest runner in

the world.

But as far as

they were concerned,

they won the race, and

only won one.

One person could

win.

They didn't even have

the silver and the

bronze medal.

They just had the

prize.

And these people would

compete.

But their prize was

just for six months

until the next games

came, or a year, and

then someone else would

be there to beat them,

right?

You know, he says, but

they are motivated, why?

To win a prize.

They don't worry about

the cost.

Do you hear anything

about sacrifice in this

passage?

No?

No, but they have a

cost involved.

What?

Because they think it's

going to be worth it.

They have a focus in

mind.

And Paul says, you

know, he had talked

about all these problems

the Corinthian church

was having.

Why?

Because they became so

self-absorbed in

themselves.

They were worrying

about what mattered

to them.

What could make

themselves more

comfortable.

They got content.

They got, no, they

really weren't content.

They were just

satisfied with where

they were.

Okay, we're saved.

Ah.

Without realizing, hey,

we're saved.

Now we have an

opportunity to become

a part of a greater

plan than just us.

Collectively together

we can come and we

can see God use us

and become part of

something greater than

just me.

God's plan to win the

world to Christ.

To get to know

people.

To be involved in

their life.

It's going to take

work.

It's going to take a

cost.

Become as a Jew.

To become as a

Gentile.

It took work for

Paul.

It didn't just

happen.

He had to be

purposeful.

But as he did,

that some might

come.

I become all

things to all

people that by all

means I might see

some saved.

God work in and

through me.

Do you remember

the last time God

did that?

Worked in your

life?

There is nothing

like, you know,

just this week,

Cheryl had the

privilege to lead

a new gal to

Christ.

Cheryl said

actually it was

like she was

holding the basket

waiting for the

apple to drop.

God had already

prepared this gal

and she was

just there to

deliver the

message.

That's what we're

always doing.

We're just there

to deliver the

message.

God opens the

eyes.

He saves people

but he uses us

for some reason.

He's decided he

wants to use us.

Sometimes I, in my

limited thinking, I

think, God, why

didn't you just, as

soon as you saved

me, you take me up

to heaven.

I was perfect,

right, in Christ.

I confessed my

sin.

I confessed myself a

sinner.

Christ made me

perfect in him.

Nope.

He had other

plans in mind.

He wanted to let

me become involved

in his plan of

winning others to

the Lord, of

serving others, of

teaching others, of

showing them the

truth that God

has had, that God

has shared with us.

Excuse me.

I become all

things to all men,

all people, that by

all means, I might

save some.

Now, Paul knew it

was God's work, but

he also knew that

God wanted to

involve him in his

work.

Wow.

God wants to use

you in his work.

As we love God, we

will love our

neighbor.

Is that not the

two greatest

commandments?

Love God, Matthew

22, Jesus answered.

What's the greatest

commandment?

Love God.

And in like manner,

love our neighbor as

ourself.

Why?

Because God loves

your neighbor.

Are we willing to

pay a small price,

give up our rights,

say, okay, Jesus,

you already, you gave

up yours, you came

down from heaven, you

died in my place, you

became sin for me,

that I might receive

your righteousness, you

have made me a new

creature in Christ.

Now, why would we not

invest in eternity?

Now, think about that.

If I offered you an

investment that I

guaranteed you, okay,

if you invest some

money right now, okay,

and you have to leave

that in for 10 years,

now, I'm not a

financial wizard, so

forgive me if I use

the wrong terms, but

you're going to give me

investment, I guarantee

you in one or two years,

it's going to gain lots

of money, you're going

to feel really great,

but you can't touch it

for 10 years because I

know at 10 years, it's

going to disappear.

All the money is going

to be gone, it's going

to fail.

Now, how many people

would give me money for

that kind of investment?

Huh?

But how about if I

offered you instead an

investment for 10 years

that you won't see

results maybe right

away, but I guarantee

you, and I will show

you that I have the

money in the bank, I

guarantee you that in

10 years, it will

multiply 10 times over.

Now, you may not see it

right away, but in 10

years, if it doesn't do

that, I will give you the

money personally.

In 10 years, it will be

10 times as much or more.

Which would you choose?

A?

Well, if you are willing

for A, I'll take it right

now, okay?

I'll sign any paper you

want, all right?

How about B?

And you know, that's what

Paul's talking about is

an investment in B.

He said, I'm willing to

invest in eternity.

To give up my rights for

right now because I know

there's an eternity waiting

for me.

That if I give up certain

rights right now, God's

going to use me in his

plan.

So I get joy right now of

seeing someone come to

Christ.

I started talking about

Cheryl this week leading

a gal to Christ.

She came home and, you

know, she's a beautiful

woman, but boy, the joy in

her face just made her

even prettier.

She was just glowing.

We have a new sister in

Christ.

I hope we never lose that

awe of the new birth.

Okay?

A new sister in Christ.

A prize for Christ.

We get to be part of

enjoying it.

Paul says, I become all

things.

all people.

Still under the law of

Christ, but that by all

means, I might win some.

Guaranteed, God's going to

work if we use his word,

his way.

Now, the runner invests in

running and ends up learning

to enjoy running.

Somehow, the boxer learns to

enjoy being beat up by

somebody else and beating up

on him.

They do that.

He says, isn't that a

wonderful illustration of

disciplining yourself to

say, it's worth it, what I'm

going to do, and so I'm

going to continue on for

Christ's sake.

There's a cost to loving the

lost to Christ.

What Paul emphasizes is, don't

focus on the cost.

Think about the prize.

Think about the prize.

Even your enemies.

And what can they really do

to you?

Even the stranger.

Will you go up?

Will you get to know them?

With the opportunity to share

Christ?

Even the weak, who you might

first say, I just don't

understand them.

Well, it'll take some work.

Start to understand them so

that you might come alongside

them and share Christ, that

they too might know the

freedom that you have in

Christ Jesus to walk in the

spirit.

Just for myself, that I too

might, at the end, hear, well

done, thou good and faithful

servant.

There's a cost to serve

Christ.

But you know, some people have

actually said to Cheryl and I,

thank you for sacrificing for

Christ to go to Africa.

I really don't understand that.

It's no sacrifice.

God has called me to this

ministry.

And I'll tell you, I struggle

with, do I pray for an empty

seat next to me in the plane or