Ten Marks of a Prevailing Church
Mark #5: Uncommon Methods
1 Corinthians 9:22
July 22, 2001
Intro:
A. God uses many methods to communicate--not only through his Word, his Spirit, and the ministry of Christian friends, but also through more unconventional methods--like burning bushes, talking donkeys, hungry creatures of the sea, visiting angels, or a bright star in the darkened sky.
1. And if God uses unconventional methods, so should his church.
2. If the church is to be a church that will prevail over the gates of hell, then the church is going to have to be willing to use unconventional methods as well.
3. Prevailing churches know that methods are many, principles are few. Methods must change, but principles never do.
4. Prevailing churches know that those principles that must never change are the essential truths of the gospel.
5. Those principles never change, but the methods for communicating those principles must change as we communicate those principles to different people.
6. God changes His methods frequently and so do prevailing churches.
7. (Repeat this with me.) Methods are many, principles are few. Methods must change, but principles never do.
B. So today I want to study a couple of passages of Scripture in 1 Corinthians that will teach us a lot about the uncommon methods that God uses and the uncommon methods that we must use as well.
1. I want to begin in 1 Corinthians 9, where in verse 22 the apostle Paul says I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
2. (Repeat that with me.)
3. So I have broken that down into three phrases that I want us to think seriously about this morning; first…
I. All things
1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
A. Paul says that He has become all things to all people so that by all possible means he might save some.
1. The first part of that statement is that he has become all things.
2. He made himself a slave to everyone.
3. He became like a Jew.
4. He became like a Gentile.
5. He became like the weak.
6. To put those in a little more modern terms: He became like religious people, like nonreligious people, like meticulous moralist, like loose-living moralists, like the defeated, and the demoralized.
B. What does that mean?
1. It means that he sat in church every week and folded his arms and said, "I can’t believe the people in our society now days."
a. "I can’t believe that the don’t believe like I do."
b. "I can’t believe that they don’t just straighten up and get themselves in church like me."
c. "I can’t understand those people."
d. "They’re just don’t understand that if they don’t straighten themselves up, they’re going to wind up in hell."
2. No. That’s clearly NOT what Paul is saying.
3. Paul says that although he’s now in Christ and free from the expectations of men, he has made himself a slave to them so that he might save some.
4. Paul didn’t start living the way they did, but he entered the world of those kinds of people in order to save some.
5. Paul entered their world and learned to understand how they thought.
6. He didn’t agree with many of the things they thought, but he got to know them and tried to understand where they were coming from.
7. He reasoned through his faith and tried to make sense in his own mind of the way he believed as opposed to what they believed.
8. Then he found ways of explaining the gospel to them that they could understand and accept.
9. He developed relationships with them and learned how they lived and how they thought.
10. He was accepted by them because even though he was different, they could tell that he loved them.
11. Because they trusted him, they allowed him into their world.
12. Paul was not content to just talk about seeking and saving the lost, he wanted to be a part of it!
13. Paul did not wait for them to enter the church, Paul entered into their world to seek and save the lost.
14. Paul said that he became all things in order that he might save some.
15. Paul changed himself in order that he might save some.
16. Paul didn’t just talk about evangelism, he actually left the church each week, changed himself (not his beliefs), but he changed himself in order to save some.
C. And prevailing churches know that if they don’t adopt this attitude, the church will eventually grow old and die and have to close its doors.
1. Prevailing church know that they cannot just sit inside their stained glass windows and expect the world to suddenly see the light and start running into the church.
2. Prevailing churches know that if we are going to be serious about seeking and saving the lost, that they have to actually change in order to do that.
3. Prevailing churches know that if they are going to get serious about the lost, they are going to have to leave the 99 and go out into the desert and search for the one that is lost.
4. Prevailing churches know that in order to do more than pay lip service to evangelism, they are going to have to make some drastic changes and become like the lost.
5. Prevailing churches know that the way its always been done is not becoming like the lost.
6. Prevailing churches know that in order to storm the gates of hell, they are going to have to change and become like the lost.
7. Prevailing churches aren’t afraid to change as long as they remain under Christ’s law (as Paul said in verse 21).
8. Prevailing churches aren’t content to continue to play the same games that churches have played for the last hundred years.
9. Prevailing churches are willing to take risks and change in order to overcome the gates of hell and save the lost.
10. Prevailing churches become ALL things in order to reach people for Christ.
II. All people
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
A. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul talks about some of the people who would be considered as those who were "not having the law" as Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:21.
1. Paul lists all of these "wicked" people in chapter 6, and then goes on to say that that is what some of them were.
2. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and he is saying that some of the people in this church in Corinth used to be sexually immoral.
3. He said some of the people in the church used to be idolaters and adulterers and male prostitutes.
4. Paul said some of the people in the church used to be homosexuals.
5. Paul said some of the people in the church used to be thieves.
6. Paul said some of them used to be greedy.
7. Paul said some of them used to be drunks and slanderers and swindlers.
8. Paul said that in their previous condition, they could not have gotten to heaven.
9. But they got saved!
10. Paul said that some of these Christians used to be wicked people, but they were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.
B. Now the question is how did these people get saved?
1. Did they suddenly, unexpectedly run into the church and get saved?
2. Did the church hold a "revival" and bring in a "hell fire and brimstone" preacher and the people in the church invited the "wicked" and heard the truth and got saved?
3. Did church people write "letters to the editor" about the evils of sexual immorality and the "wicked" people read those and came to their senses and got saved?
4. Did the church people go out and know on people’s doors and ask to come in and talk to them about the evils of homosexuality and they got saved?
5. How did these people get saved?
6. No, none of these answers are the reason these people got saved.
7. No, the answer was because Paul entered their world.
8. Paul got to know them and formed relationships with them.
9. Paul changed himself to become like them in order to reach them.
10. How do I know that’s what happened?
11. Because Paul said that’s what happened in 1 Corinthians 9:21, "To those not having the law I became like one not having the law, so as to win those not having the law."
12. Paul said he didn’t give up his beliefs, because he remained under Christ’s law, but he changed himself and became like the "wicked."
13. Paul changed himself and became like the sexually immoral.
14. Paul changed himself and became like the idolaters and the adulterers.
15. Paul changed himself and became like male prostitutes and the homosexuals.
16. Paul changed himself and became like thieves and greedy people.
17. Paul changed himself and became like slanderers and swindlers.
18. Listen again to how he said it, "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." (1 Corinthians 9:19)
19. Paul made himself a SLAVE to ALL kinds of people in order that he might win them!
20. Paul didn’t beat them over the head with religion, he became their SLAVE to win them.
21. He didn’t sacrifice his beliefs, but he made himself a SLAVE to religious and nonreligious people.
22. He didn’t give up his beliefs, but he made himself a SLAVE to strict moralists as well as to loose living people.
23. He didn’t let go of his beliefs, but he made himself a SLAVE to people who were defeated and demoralized.
24. That’s how those "wicked" people in Corinth got saved!
25. Paul gave up his rights and made himself a slave in order that he might save some!
C. Prevailing church do the same thing!
1. Prevailing churches give up their right to be comfortable.
2. Prevailing churches give up their right to keep everything the way it has always been.
3. Prevailing churches give up their right to maintain their personal identity.
4. Prevailing churches give up their rights and change who they are and the way they do things in order to reach the lost.
5. Prevailing churches are willing to give up their rights and make an extraordinary commitment to reach the sexually immoral and the idolaters with the good news of Jesus Christ.
6. Prevailing churches are willing to give up their rights and make extraordinary changes to reach adulterers and male prostitutes and homosexuals with the good news of Jesus Christ.
7. Prevailing churches are willing to give up their rights and give extraordinary love to reach the greedy, the drunks, and the slanderers and swindlers with the good news of Jesus Christ.
8. Prevailing churches don’t just sit in their pews and demand their rights, they get up out of their pews and ignore their rights and change themselves to reach others!
9. Prevailing churches want ALL people to come to know Christ!
10. And they are willing to make the real sacrifices necessary to do it and don’t just sit around and talk about it.
11. Prevailing churches want ALL people to come to know Christ!
III. All possible means
1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
A. Paul spoke about becoming a slave to people already.
1. Now Paul illustrates this by saying that he works as hard at this as a runner does in training.
2. Now Paul says that he works as hard at this as an athlete competes.
3. Now Paul says that he works as hard at this as a boxer fights.
4. Paul puts some action verbs to this: Run! Compete! Fight! Beat!
B. And prevailing churches know that is exactly what they must do!
1. They must RUN to the lost!
2. They must COMPETE against Satan for the souls of men and women and boys and girls.
3. They must FIGHT the forces of darkness.
4. They must BEAT Satan and his demons.
5. Prevailing churches know that if they are going to prevail against the gates of hell they are going to have to use ALL POSSIBLE MEANS!
6. Prevailing churches know that sitting in the pews will not reach the lost or prevail against the gates of hell.
7. Prevailing churches know that just attending Bible studies will not reach the lost or prevail against the gates of hell.
8. Prevailing churches know that there are extraordinary lengths that must be gone to in order to reach the lost.
9. Prevailing churches know that Christ used ALL POSSIBLE MEANS in order to save them and they are compelled to do the same.
10. Prevailing churches know that Christ gave up all of His rights as God, "but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on cross!" (Philippians 2:7-8)
11. You talk about someone given up their rights and becoming ALL things to ALL people so that by ALL possible means He might save same—Jesus certainly modeled than—even better than Paul!
12. And prevailing churches can’t help but do the same!
13. Prevailing churches are compelled to do the same!
14. Prevailing churches cannot be stopped from doing the same!
15. Prevailing churches use creative thinking to find ways to reach the lost.
16. Prevailing churches use unconventional methods to seek the lost.
17. Prevailing churches use ALL POSSIBLE MEANS in order to save some.
18. Prevailing churches use uncommon methods to save the lost.
Conclusion:
A. [Rescuing Those in Peril, Citation: Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 2.]
Roger Storms, pastor of First Christian Church in Chandler, Arizona, tells this story:
"One Sunday, a car had broken down in the alley behind our facilities, and the driver had jacked up the car and crawled underneath to work on the problem.
Suddenly, we heard him scream for help.
The jack had slipped, and the car had come down on top of him.
"Someone shouted, ’Call 9-1-1!’ and a couple of people ran for the phone.
Several of our men gathered around the large car and strained to lift it off the trapped man.
Nurses from our congregation were rounded up and brought to the scene.
Somehow the men were able to ease the car’s weight off the man and he was pulled free.
Our nurses checked him over.
He was scratched up and shaken, but otherwise okay.
"When this man was in peril, people did all they could to help--risking themselves, inconveniencing themselves.
Whatever was necessary to save this man, they were ready to try.
How we need this same attitude when it comes to rescuing those in greatest peril--the danger of losing life eternally!"
B. [The Message, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, p. 352, Eugene H. Peterson, 1993 Navpress, Colorado Springs]
Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I want to be in on it!
C. [Education in the Red-Light District, Citation: Joseph Aldrich, "How to Be a Redemptive Person," Preaching Today, Tape No. 113.]
When my wife and I went to Dallas Seminary, we decided we wouldn’t live in the "cemetery" housing.
Instead, we lived in the high-class, red-light district.
If you want to get an introduction to life itself, that’s the place to be.
We made a commitment to take one non-Christian person, couple or individual, out to dinner once a week.
Did we ever get a liberal education.
But what fun; we had people coming to know the Lord right and left in that place, because we simply loved them.
We opened our home to them.
1. I don’t know what methods God wants to use at Somerset—I just know that He wants to something uncommon—like He did when He used a talking donkey, and a burning bush, and a hungry sea creature, and angels.
2. I don’t know what methods God wants to use through us to communicate His message, I just know that He uses uncommon methods and for too long churches have been unwilling to cooperate.
3. God wants to go to extraordinary lengths to share His love just as He always has, but for too long churches have said that God doesn’t work that way anymore and guess what—He doesn’t.
4. I don’t believe that is because He decided to quit doing that after the Bible was written, I believe it is because we quit believing that He still works in miraculous ways.
5. What methods does God want to use today? I don’t know, but I do believe that it is time for us to take God out of the box of doing things the way they’ve been done in the past 100 years and allow Him to work in new and uncommon ways in the church.
6. I believe we have limited God’s working, by our close-mindedness and being set in our ways.
7. Methods are many; principles are few. Methods must change, but principles never do.
8. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
9. Are you demanding your rights, or are you becoming all things to all people so that by all possible means you might save some?
D. I don’t know how you may need to respond today.
1. I do know that a number of people have not been responding to the invitations because they are not willing to walk down the aisle.
2. I simply want to say that that is Satan telling you that this is not a method that you should use.
3. I believe many need to come and pray for God to work in extraordinary ways here at Somerset.
4. I believe that many need to come and pray about uncommon ways that God can use you in His church.
5. I believe that there are some that realize that God is much bigger than they ever realized and they need to get their life straightened out with Him.
6. There are some that realize they’ve been playing a religious game and need to recommit themselves to Christ.
7. There are some that need to quit playing games with God and ask God to save them once and for all.
