1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:07,440 Who would be willing to give up their freedom to try and save 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:12,080 other people? That's exactly what Harriet 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,760 Tubman did. Maybe you're familiar with the 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,800 story of Harriet Tubman. She was born into slavery in 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:23,840 1822, and from a young age she saw the horrors of slavery. 6 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,680 She herself was forced into physical manual labor and often 7 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,200 times was beaten even for the slightest mistake. 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:38,880 At the age of 27, she risked her own life for freedom to escape 9 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,280 slavery, and she was able to do so through a network using the 10 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,280 Underground Railroad. And once she reached 11 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,840 Pennsylvania, which was a Free State, she was free. 12 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:56,440 Free from the pain and the torture of slavery, free from 13 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:01,840 all the work and all of the bad conditions there, she was free 14 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,560 to live her own life. So what did Harriet Tubman do 15 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:11,920 with her freedom? She gave her freedom to go back 16 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:17,760 to try to save others. She dedicated her life sensing 17 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,880 the Lord calling her to use her life to save other people. 18 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,920 And a year after escaping, she made her first trip back to the 19 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,480 camp where she was to save her family. 20 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,960 And over the next 10 years, she would make at least 13 trips and 21 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:39,680 save up to 70 slaves for freedom using the Underground Railroad. 22 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,400 Her journey was incredibly dangerous each and every time 23 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,480 she made that decision to go back. 24 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,200 But she gave up her freedom, and she willingly risked her own 25 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:55,680 life to save others. As believers who have placed our 26 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,240 faith and our hope and our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and 27 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:04,280 Savior, we are free. We are free from the power of 28 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,920 sin in our lives. We're free from the power of 29 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:15,200 death over us. Praise God, we are free in 30 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,600 Christ. So what should we do with our 31 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,600 freedom? Should we as as Harriet had the 32 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,160 option of living her life, now her freedom for herself? 33 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,840 Or should we live our lives for a higher calling? 34 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,800 Is there a higher purpose for us to use our freedom? 35 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,680 This morning we're going to see that we are free, but we should 36 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:44,280 use that freedom not for our own pleasure, not for our own 37 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:49,560 satisfaction, but in Christ we are free to serve. 38 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,560 We should strive to use our freedom to serve others. 39 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,000 This is how we live strategically for the sake of 40 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,600 the gospel. If you will, open up your Bibles 41 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:06,000 with me to 1st Corinthians Chapter 9, verses 19 through 27. 42 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,520 First Corinthians chapter 919 through 27. 43 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,800 I'm reading out of the ESV version if you are using your 44 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:19,120 phone or tablet or anything. The past few chapters Paul has 45 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,280 been emphasizing, if you've been with us for a time, you've heard 46 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,800 a few sermons on this text. If you if you've missed these 47 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:25,680 sermons, it'd be great to go back and hear. 48 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:28,600 But over the past few chapters, Paul has been talking about the 49 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,240 freedom that we have in Christ, but how we are to use that 50 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:36,880 freedom for other people. Pastor Jonah talked about how we 51 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:41,600 should be free using our freedom in our knowledge to build others 52 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:43,840 up. Last week, Pastor Jake talked 53 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,440 about how we can use our freedom with our wealth and our 54 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,680 resources and our, the money that we have for the for the to 55 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,880 be generous and to to use it for other people. 56 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,440 And this week we're going to see how Paul instructs us to use our 57 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:03,320 freedom to serve others in order to win souls to Jesus Christ. 58 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,680 This morning we are going to see how we can cultivate a heart for 59 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,680 winning souls. Master the art of winning souls 60 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,800 and chart a plan for winning souls. 61 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,720 So I'll read First Corinthians Chapter 9, verses 19 through 27. 62 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:25,920 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to 63 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:27,920 all that I might win more of them. 64 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,400 To the Jews I became as a Jew in order to win the Jews. 65 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:37,200 To those under the law, I became as one under the law, though not 66 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:42,000 being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law. 67 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:47,000 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law, 68 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,560 not being outside the law of God, but under the law of 69 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:53,760 Christ, that I might win those outside the law. 70 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:58,880 To the weak, I became weak that I might win the weak. 71 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:04,800 I have become all things to all people, that by all means I 72 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:09,200 might save some. I do it all for the sake of the 73 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,120 gospel that I may share with them in its blessings. 74 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,840 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only 75 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:22,400 one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 76 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:27,520 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. 77 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,000 They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an 78 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:36,480 imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly, I do 79 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:41,280 not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and I 80 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:46,040 keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I 81 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:50,960 myself should be disqualified. Let's bow for a word of prayer. 82 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,800 Father, we thank You for Your Word to us this morning, and we 83 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,600 recognize that in our own flesh we cannot understand Your Word 84 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:03,520 and how to apply it to our lives. 85 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,080 And so this morning we ask for the illumination of Your Holy 86 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,000 Spirit to open our eyes to Your Word, that You would give us 87 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,440 ears to hear and eyes to see how we can apply Your Word to our 88 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,320 lives That mean we may walk in it and find the joy that comes 89 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:23,560 with obeying Your Word. Knowing that Your commands are 90 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,960 not burdensome but joyful. That Your yoke is easy and Your 91 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,520 burden is light. Would you turn our hearts to 92 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,960 long to be obedient to You and Your Word? 93 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:40,680 In Jesus name we ask, Amen. As believers who have 94 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,920 experienced the freedom of Christ, the first thing we need 95 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,680 to do is we need to cultivate a heart for winning souls. 96 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,440 So before we can talk about how we can live strategically and 97 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:55,680 intentionally for the sake of the gospel, we first need to 98 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,080 cultivate a heart that wants other people to be saved. 99 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,400 Until we do, until we desire lost people to come to Christ, 100 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,240 we are not going to sacrifice our freedom for them. 101 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,280 In verse 19 of our passage today, Paul says, For though I 102 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:16,560 am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I 103 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,720 might win more of them. Paul and his Jewish tradition 104 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:25,400 had been enslaved to these legalistic Jewish standards, and 105 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:29,640 after having his eyes opened by Jesus, he realized that he had 106 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,920 in his obedience his strict adherence to the law. 107 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:39,840 He had completely missed Jesus. Now, after having his eyes 108 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,880 opened, he was free. He was free in Christ. 109 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:48,080 Free now to live his life for the glory of God, free from all 110 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,040 of that baggage of the old legalistic system. 111 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,800 But instead of using his freedom to do whatever he wanted, he 112 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,200 chose to be a servant. Why? 113 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:03,800 Why would someone willingly give up their freedom in order to 114 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:07,320 serve other people? He tells us it's so that he 115 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,840 could win them to Christ for the sake of the gospel. 116 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:14,920 He knew that those who didn't know Christ were lost. 117 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,400 They were as blind as he was before his conversion. 118 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,440 And so because as he reflected back on his blindness, he had 119 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,680 compassion on those who didn't know Jesus. 120 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,920 They were lost. And so he gave his freedom to 121 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:33,080 serve them in hopes that they too could become free. 122 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:37,840 He recognized that because he had been saved by the darkness 123 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,480 of the by the power of Jesus, he recognized now that he could be 124 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,400 a channel through which God could bring others to Christ. 125 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,200 For this reason, he decided to live his life in a strategic way 126 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,960 so that others could experience the same freedom that he had in 127 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:58,720 Christ. We see an example of Paul living 128 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,320 this out in the book of Acts in chapter 16, we read of Paul when 129 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,320 they go to the city of Philippi and, and while they're there, 130 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,640 while they're on their way to the temple, they come in contact 131 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,080 with a a girl who's possessed by a demon. 132 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:12,320 And he cast the demon out of her. 133 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,160 And her owners are not real happy about that because now 134 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,000 they had earned a lot of money through her fortune telling. 135 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:20,840 And so they have Paul and Silas put in prison. 136 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:26,440 Then we read in Acts chapter 16, about midnight, Paul and Silas 137 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,480 were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were 138 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,320 listening to them. And suddenly there was a great 139 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:34,800 earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were 140 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:37,200 shaken. And immediately all the doors 141 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:41,320 were opened and everyone's bonds were fastened, unfastened. 142 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:46,080 When the jailer woke up and saw. When the jailer woke up and saw 143 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,400 the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to 144 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,600 kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 145 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:54,800 But Paul cried out with a loud voice. 146 00:09:54,960 --> 00:10:00,360 Do not harm yourself, for we are all here now. 147 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,000 If the jailer had killed himself, Paul and Silas would 148 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,160 have been free. They now could have escaped, and 149 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:08,680 they would have been free to go wherever they wanted to go. 150 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,600 But Paul now again risked his own life for the sake of the 151 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,400 gospel. He couldn't stand that this man 152 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,560 would kill himself. And so rather than choosing his 153 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:21,120 own freedom, he chose to be a servant. 154 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:28,720 That night, Paul shared the good news of the gospel with that 155 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,000 jailer so that they could come to faith in Christ. 156 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,280 They believed in the Lord. And that very same night they 157 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,760 were baptized into the family of God. 158 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:42,360 Because Paul put his own freedom on the line for the sake of the 159 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,280 gospel. He was more concerned about 160 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,160 winning souls than his own personal rights and freedoms. 161 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:55,440 Brothers and sisters, you have been saved from slavery to sin. 162 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:59,960 You've been saved from a fear of death through the forgiveness of 163 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:02,240 your sins. You no longer fear death because 164 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,640 you know what is waiting for you on the other side, eternity with 165 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:10,000 Christ. You could choose to live in your 166 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,840 freedom, to keep that freedom to yourself and all those blessings 167 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,800 that you've received from God. You could keep them to yourself 168 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,440 and live in your own freedom. But what you need to recognize 169 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,080 is that you could be the channel through which God could bring 170 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:29,000 others to Christ. You know, people who are lost in 171 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:34,800 their sin, family members, friends, coworkers, they are 172 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,120 slaves to sin and they don't even know it. 173 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:45,040 Do you have a heart for them? Can we say that we truly love 174 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:48,120 those people if we're not concerned for their souls? 175 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:53,000 What is the value of someone's soul? 176 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,920 Listen to what Charles Spurgeon, a preacher in the 1800s, had to 177 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:04,880 say about the value of a soul. You may I am sorry for that. 178 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:11,360 You may tell how serious it is to lose the soul from its 179 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:16,120 intrinsic value. The soul is a thing worth 10,000 180 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:21,200 worlds, in fact, a thing which worlds on worlds heaped together 181 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:24,320 like sand upon the seashore, could not buy. 182 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:29,200 It is more precious than if the ocean had each drop of itself 183 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:35,080 turned into a Golden Globe, for all that wealth could not buy a 184 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,720 soul. Consider the soul is made in the 185 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,640 image of its Maker. God made man, it is said, in his 186 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,840 own image. The soul is an everlasting 187 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,600 thing, like God. God has gifted it with 188 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,840 immortality, and hence it is precious to lose it. 189 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:56,880 Then how fearful? Consider how precious a soul 190 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,880 must be when both God and the devil are after it. 191 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,320 You never heard that the devil was after a Kingdom, did you? 192 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,160 No, he is not so foolish. He knows it would not be worth 193 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,440 His winning. He is never after that, but He 194 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,880 is always after souls. You never heard that God was 195 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,840 seeking after a crown, did you? No, He thinketh little of 196 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,280 dominions, but He is after souls. 197 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:27,000 Every day. His Holy Spirit is seeking His 198 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,280 children, and Christ came to save souls. 199 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:35,800 Do you think that which hell craves for and that which God 200 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:43,600 seeks for is not precious? Do you see the value of souls 201 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,640 around you? Do you think they are worth 202 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:53,760 saving? God could use you to give them 203 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:59,360 freedom from their sin. We need to cultivate a heart 204 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:04,120 that sees the value of souls, the lost around us. 205 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,360 We need to understand that if they die apart from Christ, they 206 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,520 will go to hell. They will be lost for all 207 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:15,600 eternity. But so often we're we're afraid 208 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:17,360 of sharing the good news of the gospel. 209 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,080 We we maybe don't know how to start a conversation or how do 210 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,720 we begin sharing the good news with them. 211 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,800 As we keep going through our passage this morning, Paul is 212 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:30,000 going to show us how we can master the art of winning souls. 213 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,360 Now let me start by saying there there is no magic way to share 214 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,720 the gospel so that people accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 215 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,040 Jesus shares when he shares the parable of the sower. 216 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,360 He talks about this farmer who goes out and scatters seed and, 217 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:49,320 and even when it grows, he says the farmer has no idea how we go 218 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:52,640 out and we sow the seed and we are not the ones who grow it. 219 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,440 It is God who causes that seed to grow. 220 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,760 But we must be faithful to sow the seed. 221 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,680 That's our part. And so Paul gives us a helpful 222 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,600 principle to use in reaching others, which is that we must 223 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:10,760 become like them. Paul became like others so that 224 00:15:10,760 --> 00:15:13,680 he could build a bridge to the gospel. 225 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:16,160 To master the art of winning souls. 226 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,560 The first thing you must do is to become like others to show 227 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,240 them Christ. Look at verse 20 and 21. 228 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:26,640 With me to the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews. 229 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,640 To those under the law, I became as one under the law, though not 230 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:34,560 being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law. 231 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,520 To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law, 232 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,960 not being outside the law of God, but under the law of 233 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,800 Christ, that I might win those outside the law. 234 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:51,240 Paul intentionally became like others so that he could show 235 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,240 them Christ no matter who he was around. 236 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:58,400 He tried to be like them. Now he's very careful to say 237 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:00,560 that he didn't go into sin to do that. 238 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:04,120 But when he was around Jewish people, even though he believed 239 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,800 that all of the the Old Testament law had now been 240 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:10,520 fulfilled in Christ, he would sort of take on some of those 241 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:12,760 traditions. Not in the sense that he thought 242 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,480 they were accomplish anything, but just so that he could sort 243 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,400 of make himself like these people to in order to have a 244 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,480 bridge to the gospel. When he was around people who 245 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,240 weren't following any law at all, he became like them. 246 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,320 Again, he's careful to say I didn't sin. 247 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:29,920 I was still under the law of Christ. 248 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,440 He's not saying we willingly sin in order to save people. 249 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,440 That's not what he's saying. He's saying I would become like 250 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:40,360 them, those outside the law, in order to win them. 251 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,760 So he's like, I'm going to try to be like a chameleon in a 252 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,920 sense, no matter where I go, in hopes that I will have an 253 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,600 opportunity to share the gospel with them. 254 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,480 Andrew Nacelli says that Christian liberty for Paul is 255 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,480 not I am free to do whatever I want to do. 256 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,280 It is I am free to be flexible for the sake of the gospel. 257 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:10,359 Paul was willing to sacrifice on less important issues. 258 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,760 Hey, I'm not going to argue with you about this small thing so 259 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:16,680 that I can have an opportunity to talk to talk to you about the 260 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:21,280 greatest importance, salvation through Jesus Christ. 261 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,000 The second thing that we must do to master the art of winning 262 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,240 souls is to become like others to grow them in Christ. 263 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,520 In verse 22, he says to the weak, I became weak that I might 264 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,280 win the weak. I have become all things to all 265 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:41,680 people that by all means I might save some. 266 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:45,920 Now as I was studying for this passage, it most commentators 267 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,520 believe that he's not Speaking of those who are lost here when 268 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:51,360 he says the weak. We refer back to chapter 8 where 269 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:55,200 Pastor Jonah was talking about the weaker brother and Paul was 270 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,800 willing to to surrender his own rights for the sake of his 271 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,800 weaker brother. And so here we see a desire in 272 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,040 Paul to say, with my brothers and sisters in Christ who are 273 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:09,280 weaker than me, I'm willing to surrender my rights to help them 274 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:14,080 grow in Christ. That was his desire, so much so 275 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:18,000 that he says in verse 13 of chapter 8, if food makes my 276 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,040 brother stumble, I will never eat meat lest I make my brother 277 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,080 stumble. He was willing to set aside his 278 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,280 freedom to help others grow in Christ. 279 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,880 The third thing we must do to master the art of winning souls 280 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:36,600 is to become like others, to overflow in Christ together. 281 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,160 Look at verse 23. He says, I do it all for the 282 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:44,800 sake of gospel that I may share with them in its blessings. 283 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,560 Paul was willing to become like those that he was ministering to 284 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:53,120 with the hope that they could overflow in the blessings of 285 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:57,200 Christ together. This is because sharing in 286 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,440 something is the fulfillment of the thing that we enjoy. 287 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:03,800 Have you ever thought of that before? 288 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,720 When we when we enjoy something, part of the enjoyment of that 289 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:13,000 thing, actually the completion of that enjoyment of that thing 290 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,520 is going and telling other people and sharing it with them. 291 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,680 I read this amazing book. You have to read it. 292 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,280 It's so good. I watched this new movie. 293 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,680 You, you have to see it. It's so good and even better, 294 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,640 let's watch it together. Have you tried Costco's soft 295 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,680 serve ice cream? It will change your life. 296 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:34,440 Let's go sometime and eat that ice cream together. 297 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,760 When we do things together, that's actually the joy, the 298 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,040 fulfillment of the joy of the thing that we're enjoying. 299 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,280 Paul had received these incredible blessings from God 300 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:47,880 and he says, I don't want to enjoy them all by myself. 301 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,000 I want to share in them with you. 302 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,760 And so he's looking for opportunities to share the 303 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,320 gospel with others so that he can share together in the 304 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:02,560 blessings of God. Growing up, my dad loved to take 305 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:06,400 us fishing. Over the years, he taught us how 306 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,000 to tie a line. He taught us how to bait a hook. 307 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,440 He taught us how to cast and how to reel. 308 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,640 And at this stage of my life I have a very small understanding 309 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,920 of fishing, but I have enough to to do those basic things. 310 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,960 Now, if you're like me, maybe you're tempted to think that 311 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,760 fishing is all about luck. Often times I look at people 312 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:27,960 there. There was a guy in high school. 313 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,480 I, I always remember this guy he had AT shirt and it said there's 314 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,320 a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore or looking 315 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:38,400 like an idiot. And it what that shirt is saying 316 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,560 is like, man, what, what's the difference? 317 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,560 What's the difference in knowing anything about fishing? 318 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,160 No matter what, you just look ridiculous. 319 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,080 You're standing there hoping that a fish is going to bite 320 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,160 your line. And you may be tempted to think, 321 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,040 like me, that it's luck until you fish with someone who knows 322 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,400 what they're doing. OK, everybody has bad days. 323 00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:56,880 But if you know my dad, and if anybody in here has fished with 324 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,480 my dad, you know that he almost always catches more fish than 325 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:02,800 you. Always without fail, it's 326 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:04,440 because he knows what he's doing. 327 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,320 You need to know if you're going to catch a fish. 328 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:11,320 You need to know what types of bait to use, what types of hooks 329 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:13,280 to use. You need to know the fish that 330 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,560 you're trying to catch when you're fishing. 331 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:18,120 You have to set aside your desires. 332 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,360 You know, sometimes I'm sitting there and I'm going, hey, I, I 333 00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:22,040 have this Big Mac that I haven't quite finished yet. 334 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:23,880 Maybe I'll throw that on there. It's like a fish doesn't want to 335 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,840 eat a Big Mac. You have to, I have to set aside 336 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:29,760 my desires and I have to go, what does this fish want to eat? 337 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:33,360 Because when I, when I catch the fish, I have to appeal to the 338 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:36,520 fish and what the fish wants. I have to become one with the 339 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,920 fish and think like a fish if I want to catch the fish. 340 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,200 Well, brothers and sisters, this is exactly what it's like when 341 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:48,120 it comes to the gospel. All of these people that we know 342 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:52,360 who don't know Christ are lost and what our desire is to win 343 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:55,480 them to Christ. And so we need to become like 344 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,080 them. We need to begin to think like 345 00:21:58,080 --> 00:21:59,720 them. What are the things that they 346 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,280 enjoy to talk about? What are the things that they 347 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:06,760 enjoy doing? And how can I become like them 348 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,000 so that I can gain an audience with them, so that I can have a 349 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,000 conversation, so that hopefully I can bridge to the gospel, I 350 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:17,280 can find some point of conversation that will lead us 351 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:21,440 to spiritual things. Because remember, you could be 352 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,640 the channel through whom God could bring others to Christ. 353 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,840 We need to be willing to conform to those around us. 354 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,840 Now, again, remember, Paul doesn't give us a license to 355 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:37,000 sin. We never sin to save people, but 356 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,200 we are willing to be flexible and maybe talk about things that 357 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,400 I don't like to talk about. Maybe you don't know much about 358 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:49,320 hockey or football or some other sport, but you have a family 359 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,200 member who loves the Maple Leafs. 360 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,640 Well, you sacrificing your freedoms would be, I hate 361 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:58,560 hockey, but I'm going to do some research on the Maple Leafs and 362 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,680 find out who the top scorers are so that I can start a 363 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,880 conversation or maybe just ask questions and be interested in 364 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,440 the thing that they're interested about in hopes that I 365 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,040 will have an opportunity to say, hey, actually I was reading this 366 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:12,080 week. Did you know that guy's a 367 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,520 Christian? What, what does Christianity 368 00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:17,120 mean to you? What does that mean to you? 369 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:22,040 Find a bridge to the gospel. Maybe you love talking about 370 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:27,040 politics, but some of you, I know you well and you really 371 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:30,640 like to get to your opinion. You really like to to lay the 372 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,600 hammer down. And we like to really tell them 373 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,080 why we think their political candidate sucks. 374 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:38,280 Brothers and sisters, that's not wise. 375 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:43,400 That's a small issue. And people are turned off by 376 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:47,080 your arrogance and your pride. Set aside that discussion 377 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,400 because guess what, that Prime Minister, that president is 378 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,840 going to be dead in 50 years. Who cares? 379 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,440 Let's set aside that smaller issue to talk about a far 380 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:03,360 greater issue, their salvation. Why don't you ask them about 381 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,400 their political party that they like? 382 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,920 Why do you like them? Hey, I value that too. 383 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:13,600 Find ways to affirm what they believe so that you can get to 384 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,360 the gospel. I'm not saying just a random 385 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,360 conversation. Find things in the conversation 386 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:23,120 that you can tie and connect and bridge to the gospel to begin 387 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:27,920 talking about spiritual things. We need to live intentionally, 388 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,360 strategically, so that we can have conversations with people 389 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:36,720 and become like them so that we have an opportunity to share the 390 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:39,960 gospel with them. Now, we've seen that Paul had a 391 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,720 heart for winning souls to Christ and that he had mastered 392 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,200 the art of becoming like them. Next, we see that Paul was 393 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,520 diligent to chart a path for winning souls. 394 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:54,400 Now, if you want to win at anything, you need to make a 395 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,920 plan and stick to it. You need to chart a path. 396 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,520 You need to create a direction of where you're going and begin 397 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,360 to map it out. And that's exactly what Paul 398 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:08,160 does in this section. He knows what race he's running, 399 00:25:08,640 --> 00:25:11,720 he knows the prize that's up for a grab, and so he lives 400 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,880 intentionally to reach the goal to win the prize. 401 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,080 So the first thing we have to do when we're charting a path or 402 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,320 making a plan is we have to be able to decide what is it? 403 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:26,200 What race are we trying to run? What are we trying to achieve? 404 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,920 Paul's encouragement to us this morning is run the race of 405 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:33,840 winning souls to Christ. Look at verse 24. 406 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,160 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only 407 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,640 one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 408 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,720 Now Paul uses this analogy of of running a race which would have 409 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,160 been very familiar to the Corinthians. 410 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:51,920 They had the Isthmian games that would happen there every two 411 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,360 years. And we remember that Corinth was 412 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:59,680 a sort of a a hub of activity. It was a cross path of of many 413 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,120 different cities and it was a trade route went through there. 414 00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:04,520 So many different people came together. 415 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,320 So there were a lot of cultures, a lot of gods, a lot of 416 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,560 religions, a lot of different mindsets and activities. 417 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,040 And so with all these people coming in, it was a good 418 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,040 location to have these sorts of games. 419 00:26:15,320 --> 00:26:18,160 And one of the games that they would have are races. 420 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:21,480 Now what Paul is saying that even though there's many 421 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,880 different people who are competing in this race, how many 422 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:29,000 win one? There's one that wins. 423 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,120 And so you have to give it all you got. 424 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,840 Paul knew what race he was running. 425 00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,560 We have to ask the question, what is Paul talking about when 426 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,440 he's talking about a race? What is Paul trying to win? 427 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:44,080 Well, he's been telling us five times over the past few verses. 428 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:48,760 He says to win them, to win them, to win them, to win them. 429 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,200 Paul. Paul's win is people coming to 430 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,920 faith in Christ. That's the race he's running. 431 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:57,640 He wants to win people to Christ. 432 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:00,760 And as I was thinking about it this week, we, we live in a 433 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,640 world where there are so many different cultures, so many 434 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,560 different world views. And how many world views wins at 435 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:11,440 the end of that person's life? One, they choose the thing that 436 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,160 they believe in. So brothers and sisters, we are 437 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:18,560 running a race of world views, of religion, of faith in Christ. 438 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:21,960 So we need to run diligently so that those people who are lost 439 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:27,160 in Christ come to understand who he is and they believe in the 440 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,120 one Savior. The next thing that we need to 441 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:33,320 do when we're charting a path and making a plan is we need to 442 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,360 run the race with an imperishable prize. 443 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,840 Verse 25, Paul says every athlete exercises self-control 444 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,600 in all things. They do it to receive a 445 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:47,840 perishable wreath. But we an imperishable, the 446 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,440 athletes in the Ismian Games, they had to be incredibly self 447 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,720 controlled and disciplined in order to win the prize for that 448 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,840 victory was a wreath. And that wreath, and you know, 449 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:01,960 it started out as being some dry celery that they would, you 450 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,000 know, band together and put on the person's head. 451 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,080 But in the time of the Romans, they made it a a wreath of pine. 452 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:10,160 And that's what we see. But no matter the case, this 453 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:12,400 wreath probably didn't last very long, right? 454 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:14,480 It it faded away. It was perishable. 455 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,440 A runner who wins that race receives a crown that fades. 456 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,080 And guess what? The next time those events come 457 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,280 around, someone else is going to win, and they're going to forget 458 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,360 that you won it the last time. So both the prize and the fact 459 00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:30,520 that you won the race are going to fade away. 460 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,440 They're going to perish. But Paul knew that he was a 461 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:38,160 running a race that had an imperishable prize, he says in 462 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:41,440 his letter to the Philippians. I press on toward the goal for 463 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:45,360 the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 464 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,240 The imperishable prize of being in God's presence through Jesus 465 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:55,760 Christ lasts for eternity. That honor will never fade. 466 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:01,360 Therefore, we ought to run the race with discipline and focus. 467 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,040 In verse 26 and 27, he says so. I do not run aimlessly. 468 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:11,680 I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body 469 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,520 and keep it under control. The word that he uses there for 470 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:17,240 discipline is actually a word that's associated with a black 471 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,120 eye. It's like I'm willing to to 472 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:23,160 actually force myself to harm myself, to keep myself 473 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:25,840 disciplined. That's how intentionally he 474 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:28,880 lives. And it's because the the value 475 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:32,800 of the prize is so great that he's willing to sacrifice and 476 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:36,560 discipline himself. Think of the athletes in the 477 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:40,720 Games, how disciplined they were, and what do they get out 478 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,600 of it? A leafy crown in the honor of 479 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:46,080 having won the race, right? At least for that year. 480 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:50,160 But we know there is a far greater prize in heaven than 481 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,120 anything on earth. Eternity in heaven with our 482 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,880 Savior. How much more should we 483 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:04,240 discipline ourselves for that prize so that others can receive 484 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:08,360 that prize? Since eternity is at stake, we 485 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,840 must be disciplined and focused as we seek to win souls to 486 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,760 Christ. Now, this past summer, the 487 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:18,120 Olympics were held in Paris. I was very thankful for a really 488 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:20,760 easy illustration. Like man, obviously I'm going to 489 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:25,160 talk about the Olympics. Over 10,000 athletes from 32 490 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:29,720 different countries competed in front of billions of viewers 491 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,200 worldwide. All for what? 492 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:36,000 The hope of winning gold. Now as I was talking with a 493 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,520 friend about the Olympics this week, he he told me this and I 494 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,160 actually didn't know this, but he said, did you know that the 495 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:43,160 gold medal is not made of pure gold? 496 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:45,520 I mean, maybe you knew that I didn't know that. 497 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,440 I was a bit surprised by that. It's actually made-up of 95, 498 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:56,320 about 95% silver and 6 grams of gold. 499 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:02,560 Now that interestingly that it used to be made out of pure 500 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:06,480 gold, that was the last time a pure gold medal was handed out 501 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:11,000 was in 1912. Now a solid gold medal today 502 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:16,280 would be worth $40,000, but since the medals that were given 503 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:20,120 out this year only had about 6 grams of gold, they were worth 504 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:23,960 only about $1000. Now I want you to think about 505 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,640 that $1000, OK? Now I know the athletes are not, 506 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:29,680 they're not doing it necessarily for the gold medal, they're 507 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:31,840 doing it for what it is. But let's just look at the gold 508 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:33,920 medal. It's worth $1000, OK? 509 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,520 Think of all of the countless hours of disciplined training, 510 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:41,400 of disciplined eating, forcing themselves out of bed in the 511 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:45,440 morning to go train, to go work. Think of all the times they said 512 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:48,880 no to family and friends because they needed to go to the gym or 513 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,240 they needed to go run more and and exercise and train. 514 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,440 Think of all the money that they had to invest in the best 515 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:58,440 trainers, the the healthiest food and the best gym. 516 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,440 They're willing to sacrifice and discipline themselves in all of 517 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:05,600 those areas for what, $1000 medal? 518 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,280 Now again, as I said, I know it's not just about the medal, 519 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,000 it's about what the medal represents, that you're the 520 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:18,280 greatest in the world for now because in a few years someone 521 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:20,800 else is going to win and then no one remembers that you won it. 522 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:26,640 The prize and the medal, they fade, Brothers and sisters, 523 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:31,400 souls are worth more than gold and metal. 524 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:37,680 Peter says that a believer's genuine faith is more precious 525 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:41,280 than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire. 526 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,800 Through our faith, we are running a race for which we will 527 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:50,040 receive a prize that will never fade away. 528 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:56,480 We will be with God in heaven forever, perfect, spotless, 529 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:00,920 blameless, righteous before him, enjoying all the goodness of 530 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,040 God. He has saved us from the 531 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:06,600 corruption of the world and giving us the hope that we will 532 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:09,960 be divine beings ourselves, Peter says. 533 00:33:10,920 --> 00:33:14,440 But God has not saved us to keep this to ourselves. 534 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,120 There are those around us who don't know what Christ has done 535 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,200 for them. God has called us to share the 536 00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:24,680 good news with them. Paul, in his second letter to 537 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:29,320 the Corinthians, says all this is from God, who through Christ 538 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:33,680 reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of 539 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:36,720 reconciliation. That is in Christ. 540 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:41,080 God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their 541 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,880 trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the ministry of 542 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:49,800 reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors 543 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:54,440 for Christ, God making his appeal through us. 544 00:33:55,600 --> 00:34:01,040 We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 545 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:06,160 As ambassadors for Christ, we must live intentionally. 546 00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,520 We must chart a path for winning souls. 547 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:12,280 It's not going to happen by accident. 548 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:15,400 You need to be thinking of the people that you come into 549 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,719 contact with on a regular basis and come up with a plan of how 550 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:22,400 you can begin to start conversations. 551 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,080 How can I start to become like them? 552 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:28,560 Maybe stop finding out their interests, things that they 553 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:31,000 enjoy so that I can live intentionally. 554 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:32,719 This is what I'm going to do. Tomorrow at break. 555 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:34,480 I'm going to have this conversation with them. 556 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,040 You need to put those plans in place and have ask someone else 557 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,719 to keep you accountable. We need to be intentional so 558 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,280 that we can have an opportunity to share the good news of what 559 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:47,840 Christ has done with those who don't know. 560 00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:53,400 You could be the channel through which God could bring others to 561 00:34:53,400 --> 00:35:00,520 Christ. In 1731, Anthony Ulrich, who was 562 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:05,040 a former slave, pleaded with the Moravian Church to send 563 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:08,680 missionaries to Saint Thomas. This is where he had been 564 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,520 enslaved. And he told them that that in 565 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:15,440 order to reach those slaves, the person who goes is going to have 566 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:19,120 to become a slave himself. Because the slaves were forced 567 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,280 to work all day long, and at the end of the day they wouldn't be 568 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:25,520 able to leave the camp or wherever they were staying. 569 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:29,600 And so the only way to get in to preach to the slaves was to 570 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:32,120 become a slave. Or at least so they thought. 571 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:38,520 Jenner, John Leonard Dober, and David Nichman were ready for the 572 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,400 call. They were willing to give up 573 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,320 their freedom. They said we would be willing to 574 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:48,560 be sold into slavery, to willingly go into slavery to 575 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:51,000 reach those people with the gospel. 576 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,640 We would be willing to become like slaves in order to win 577 00:35:55,640 --> 00:36:00,320 their souls. As it turned out, the law of the 578 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:01,960 land determined that it was illegal. 579 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:05,000 They, they couldn't actually legally sell themselves into 580 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,600 slavery, so they had to find another way. 581 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:10,320 And they did. They went through much 582 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,880 opposition, through much persecution. 583 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:15,560 People told them they what all the struggles and all the 584 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,760 persecutions and all the trials they were going to face. 585 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:21,920 You're never going to make it. But as they got into the boat 586 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:25,240 and as they left, as the story goes, they shouted from the 587 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:30,120 boat, may the lamb that was slain receive the reward of this 588 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:33,360 suffering. And that's exactly what 589 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,400 happened. Because of their willingness to 590 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:40,560 surrender their own freedom to become like others, God 591 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:44,480 eventually saved thousands of souls on that island through the 592 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:48,920 spread of the gospel. Brothers and sisters, this is 593 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:53,840 just how Jesus loved us. He willingly set aside his own 594 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:58,280 freedom to come to live the perfect life of righteousness 595 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:02,480 that you and I could never live to die is the sacrifice that 596 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:06,840 that we didn't deserve to die the death that we did deserve. 597 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,120 He was raised from the grave on the third day and ascended into 598 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:14,600 heaven where he now sits and pleads for those who are His 599 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:19,360 children. One day Jesus is going to return 600 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:23,360 and take those who have trusted in His sacrifice and give them 601 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:26,800 an eternal reward for their faith and their trust in Him. 602 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:32,440 Have you placed your faith in God's Son as your Saviour? 603 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:36,520 What is stopping you from doing that today? 604 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,880 No one has seen a greater love than that. 605 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:44,320 We would love to talk with you about what that means for you to 606 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:45,840 place your faith in Jesus Christ. 607 00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:48,520 We will be here, I'll be here. I would love to talk with you 608 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,760 about what that means to have all of your sins forgiven and to 609 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:57,360 have peace in Christ. But if you have put your faith 610 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,680 in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you are free from the 611 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:06,320 power of sin and death. Brothers and sisters, use your 612 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:10,960 freedom to serve others, to become like them in hopes that 613 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:15,240 you can share the good news of Jesus Christ with them in order 614 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:18,280 to win their souls to Christ. Let's pray. 615 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:25,560 Father, we thank you for your incredible grace in our lives. 616 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:31,440 We thank you for saving us and Lord, if we're honest, if 617 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:34,920 anybody in this room is is like me, then it when it comes to 618 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:39,680 sharing the gospel with people, we are terrified or we are so 619 00:38:39,680 --> 00:38:42,640 afraid of what people will think of us, what they will save us. 620 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:46,320 Lord, in our honesty, that's how we feel. 621 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:50,960 But we pray that you would give us a boldness and a courage that 622 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:55,040 when we see others and and we hesitate to to inconvenience 623 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:58,040 them with a conversation about spiritual things. 624 00:38:58,160 --> 00:39:03,280 Would you help us to know the value of salvation, the value of 625 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,800 the reward and the promises that we have in Christ and think, how 626 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:10,680 could we not share something of such incredible value and worth? 627 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:15,960 Give us boldness and wisdom to become like others so that we 628 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:17,840 can share Your good news with them. 629 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:21,760 Or we know that it is only You that can save. 630 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:25,200 And so we pray that as we have conversations, that you would 631 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:29,880 work in and through our words, in and through us to save others 632 00:39:29,880 --> 00:39:33,080 and bring them to Christ, that You would strengthen our faith 633 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:37,440 and give us the joy of seeing our faith in action, of seeing 634 00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:39,640 You working in and through our obedience. 635 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:44,440 And may the Lamb receive all the glory, all the praise, and all 636 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:46,840 the honor. In His name we ask and pray. 637 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:47,600 Amen.