Do What You Have To Do Series

DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO

I Corinthians 9:15-27

S: Ministry

C: Methods in Ministry

Th: Live the Difference

Pr: WE MUST DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO BE HEARD.

?: How? How do we do it?

KW: Methods

TS: We will find in our study of I Corinthians 9:15-27 three methods that enable us to be heard.

The _____ method…

I. BE PROCLAIMING (15-18)

II. BE PERSONAL (19-23)

III. BE PASSIONATE (24-27)

PA: How is the change to be observed?

Version: ESV

RMBC 04 July 04 AM

INTRODUCTION:

Well, let’s review some lessons from Green Eggs and Ham:

First…

1. We need people that are persistent, like “Sam-I-Am.”

We can tell that “Sam-I-Am” really believed in his message.

He thought green eggs and ham were worth trying.

So, he does not give up.

He comes up with every alternative he can think of to persuade his friend.

Simply, he did not give up.

He lived the conviction that his friend was missing something that was worth having.

I hope the application is obvious enough to you.

Do you have something that is so worth knowing that you will not give up in telling about it?

This certainly was the apostle Paul’s attitude when it came to the gospel.

Let me switch gears for a moment and let me bring out a corresponding theme from the book that you may not have noticed from the time with the children.

It is…

2. We need people that are willing to change.

You know, sometimes I think those of us in the church have become like Sam’s friend who won’t eat green eggs and ham.

We are so afraid to try something new that we end up missing on something that is great.

We are afraid to explore outside of our comfort zones that we miss exciting things God has in store for us.

Well, having made mention of these two principles from Dr. Suess, let us consider our text today.

TRANSITION:

We have been studying Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth.

And throughout this year, we have been challenged to “live the difference.”

1. We are to “live the difference” that Jesus makes in us.

When we recognize Jesus as our Savior and Lord, and He comes into our lives, there are dramatic changes.

We live in ways that are decidedly different than before.

Our priorities are different.

We are no longer living for self.

In fact, we have been freed from that, and we are now to live lives that are Christlike and holy.

When we begin to live this way…

2. We have special opportunity to do ministry.

When we begin to live this life of faith, it is so real and so special, we can’t keep it to ourselves.

We want others to know.

We want others to experience the wonderful blessing of God’s grace, just as we have.

Because we have loved and embraced the change that God has made in us, we want others to also know God’s love.

But you know what we find out in the process?

We find out that people don’t want to embrace the same change we did.

It strikes us as odd at first.

And for many of us, as soon as the opposition comes, we close up shop.

We feel it is not worth the effort.

After all, who wants to be rejected?

There’s no doubt that the culture of our day is increasingly becoming more difficult to penetrate.

It is hard to get the message heard, and rejection is the norm.

But let us not forget this…

Today’s culture is the culture that you and I have been placed in.

This is our mission field.

When you leave out those doors today, you will once again read the sign, “You are now entering the mission field.”

But the question is, though you are entering it, will you engage it?

Will you really tell the truth?

Will you tell the truth about Jesus?

You see, it is my belief that…

3. WE MUST DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO BE HEARD.

Before we figure out how we are to do this, let’s recognize our situation.

Because there is a problem!

People are staying away from church in record numbers.

Several years ago, in a Southern city with a Bible-belt reputation sent out a survey asking “Why don’t you attend church?”

Of those that responded, 74% felt there was no value to attending church.

Along with that, 34% felt the church had no relevance to the way they lived.

You see, in our culture today, the church appears narcissistic and self-serving.

Unfortunately, too often they are right.

We are so enamored with the god of success, that we look for formulas for our Christian life and for the church.