NIV 1 Corinthians 9:16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it. 19 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.
Stand out from the rest!
Do your duty for the sake of the gospel and
Rebuild Yourself for the sake of others.
Greeting: Fellow men, women and children commissioned by our Lord Jesus to “Preach the Good News to all creation!” The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit all belong to you!
Introduction: Some people seem to have a special fire in their bones that drives them to accomplish the unexpected. We love movies about an ordinary man or women that rises above their circumstances and achieves success, like Mel Gibson in “The Patriot.” WE idolize football players that play games with broken ribs and ankles to lead their teams to victory. Mothers and Fathers that are able to perform superhuman feats when their family is in danger like turning over a flipped vehicle to rescue their children. People stand out from the crowd when they do something above and beyond the call of duty. Our sermon text today is meant to encourage us to excel as God’s people all for the sake of the gospel. IT is my hope and prayer that you. Your family and our church family will Stand out from the rest! Do your duty for the sake of the gospel and Rebuild Yourself for the sake of others.
Part 1) Do your Duty for the sake of the Gospel
Ahhh yes…the congregation in Corinth makes any other congregation look like the first group of Christians at Pentecost. Corinth had its church problems: unchecked sin, disorderly worship, irreverence for the Lord’s Supper and favoritism for certain pastors. In the 9th chapter of his first letter to them he has to defend his apostleship. He begins by stating the Godly principle that a pastor called by the Lord deserves to be compensated. He states: NIV 1 Corinthians 9:9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned?
NIV 1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
It was the right of the apostle Paul to be compensated for preaching the gospel. But it was also then the right of the congregation to receive the gospel message from Paul. Paul had a duty to preach the gospel and the congregation then in turn had the duty to compensate Paul for sharing the gospel message with them.
Paul says that he does his duty for them all for the sake of the Gospel. The same is true then for the Corinthian congregation. They compensated Paul for His preaching the gospel all for the sake of the Gospel. Paul preached the gospel because of the great blessings that he shared from it! And then the Corinthian congregation responded by sharing their physical blessings with Paul because of the great spiritual blessings they received from hearing it! You see with the right of being a forgiven child of God comes a duty of a child of God.
WE have rights. We have the right to remain silent the right to bear arms the right to equal representation the right to vote the right to pursue happiness. Did you know you have rights as a child of God. Yes, you have the right to be assured of forgiveness, the right to be assured of heaven and the right to talk with God about anything at anytime. Along with those rights comes a duty. A duty to God or else Woe. Our duty is to live and act as forgiven children of God. Jesus said once As long as I am in the world. I am the light of the world.” You are the light of the world.” God expects us to his children. AS a forgiven child of God, you have been given the duty to be the light of the world in your words and actions. Go and tell Go and preach the good news to all creation Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Doing your duty is not the most glamorous event is it? You are expected to do your duty. You do your duty right and no one notices you. No one pats you on the back for doing your duty. The only time you get noticed it seems is when you don’t do your duty. Paul knew this too. He writes to them: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.”
Woe is hard to translate but it is definitely not good. Jesus says Woe to the cities in Israel that didn’t believe in him when he gave them His presence, his Word and His miraculous wonders. IT ill be better for Sodom and Gomorrah then them on the last day. Woe Jesus pronounces on the Pharisees that continually tried to trap him. Woe is what comes on people when God is angry because they didn’t do their duty. The writer to the Hebrews puts it this way : NIV Hebrews 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The apostle Paul was personally commissioned commanded ordered by Jesus to preach the gospel. The wrath of God would fall upon him if he refused to share the gospel message. So when Paul went on His missionary journeys he shouldn’t be praised or patted on the back – he was simply doing his duty. He was simply carrying out what God expected of him. This whole preaching and missionary work was not Paul’s idea. This preaching the gospel wasn’t Paul’s voluntary gift to the Lord –this was his duty given to him by the Lord that he was expected to carry out and Woe to him if he refused.
You see sometimes when Paul woke up he didn’t want to preach the gospel. Sometimes he didn’t want to stand up in the Jewish synagogue and argue with them about Jesus being the Son of God. Sometimes he didn’t want to be arrested and appear before Kings and Emperors to preach the gospel. What did he do in those cases when he didn’t feel like preaching the gospel? He remembers His Duty and the Woe! He remember the Law of God that demands perfection and sets high expectations on his people or else Woe!
I know you don’t feel like coming to church every Sunday. I know you don’t feel like talking about God’s Word in public sometimes. I know you don’t feel like reading your children a story from the bible sometimes. I know you don’t feel like having a bible story after supper with your family sometimes or feel like praying out loud with your spouse or telling your neighbor about the free forgiveness he can have from Jesus Christ. I know I have those same feeling s at times. Remember your duty. If you have been give children from our Lord it is your duty to raise them up in the instruction and training of the Lord. If you have been given a spouse it is your duty to see to it their faith is healthy and they make into heaven. If you have been given family, friends neighbors and a voice you have been commissioned to preach the good news to all creation. You have been personally commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to “Go and Tell. Go and make disciples of all nations! It is true that Woe will come upon us if we do not do our duty as God’s forgiven people!
Woe will definitely come upon us if we do not carry out our duty as God’s forgiven children. Woe to our families if we do not bring them to church. Woe to our country if the gospel does not remain among us. Woe to myself if I don’t continually use the Word of God to strengthen my faith. Woe to us all if we don not du our duty and preach the good news of forgiveness.
At the time of great catastrophes, preachers are apt to cry Woe on our country for specific sins like drugs, sex outside of marriage and homosexuality. It is true their our consequences to our sins –so are obviously connected others maybe not some obvious. But can you think of a greater catastrophe to yourself, your family and your country than losing the right to be assured of forgiveness the right to be in heaven and even the right to be a child of God? Because the Woe that comes upon us when we don’t preach the gospel is losing those rights. Woe on us if we don’t preach the gospel. Do your duty for the sake of the gospel, please! Rebuild yourself for the sake of others!
2) Rebuild yourself for the sake of others.
The apostle Paul was a great apostle for the Lord. Doing a bible class at Our Savior just after New Year’s on these last few verses. The argument was made that the Lord doesn’t need us to accomplish his mission; he is all-powerful. The argument was that Paul was nothing special so we don’t need to be either. In once sense they are right, but we must be careful to not to go too far. Give credit were credit is due! The power of God to sve sinners is found in one source and one source alone: the Word of God. His Word breaks hard hearts and makes them soft. His Word converts the unbeliever to trust in Jesus’ Christ’s life and death as payment of His sins. His Word creates faith in our hearts to love God and each other looking forward to heaven as our future certain home. That is all the work of God. But who speaks that message –who carries that message to the people in the inner cities of our country? Who travels over seas across deserts over mountains to the people of this world – His children – believers like you and me. Give credit where credit is due. The apostle Paul was a great man because of his ability to Rebuild Himself for the sake of the Gospel and for others.
Paul the man was a Jew of Jews. But he was also a free Christian from the ceremonial laws of the OT. He was also a Roman citizen. He was a Pharisee, a scholar of the bible among scholars; he studied under the great scholar Gamaliel. All these building blocks of Paul’s life stacked up to make the child of God that is Paul. Along with all those blocks in His life came rights! Rights as a Roman citizen Rights a free Christian free from the laws of the Jews. Rights as an honored scholar among the Pharisees. Yet Paul allowed those blocks to be torn down. He gave up his rights at times. All of his rights that is except one; the rights of a child of God. NIV 2 Corinthians 11: I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
When Paul would go to a Jewish synagofe to preach he would strip down his life blocks and he would become a Jew. When he went to Athens he would strip down his life blocks and become a Greek philosopher in order to preach the gospel to them. That is what made Paul so great in my eyes and so successful as a preacher of the gospel. Call it what you want sacrifices, adaptations, changes. He continually allowed himself to be rebuilt for the sake of others. “Become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” That was to the praise of the apostle. That is what made Paul stand out among the rest. He went above and beyond the call of duty to preach the gospel. He rebuilt himself for the sake of others.
Think for a minute about your own life building blocks. What rests at the top that is easily taken down and replaced? Would you give up your love for the Spurs in order to preach the good news to your neighbor? Would you give up your occupation in order to preach the gospel to neighbor? Would you give up $100 for your neighbors to hear the gospel? Would you give up 30 minutes of your schedule in order to read your bible at night to your family? Would you allow yourself to be stripped down to nothing except your Christianity in order to preach the gospel?
Stand out from the rest! Do your duty for the sake of the gospel and rebuild yourself for the sake of others!
