JUST DO IT!
I Corinthians 9.19-27
S: Evangelism
C: Meeting people where they are
Th: Plan to Win!
Pr: GO ALL OUT TO WIN!
?: How?
KW: Approaches
TS: We will find in I Corinthians 9.19-27 three approaches that we must have to win people to follow Jesus.
Type: Propositional
The ____ approach we must have to win is…
I. BE FLEXIBLE
II. BE PASSIONATE
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Change methods, but not the message
• Aim to accurately communicate
• Get going – run all out – eternity is at stake
Version: ESV
RMBC 27 January 08 AM
1. Are you a competitor?
ILL Personal
I have always loved sports. I have always loved competition. I have always loved to win. And even when I have not won, I usually have had a great time.
Growing up, my first great love was baseball. I dreamed of being Mickey Mantle or Willy Mays and Sandy Koufax and Bill Gibson (showing my age, aren’t I?). But these were my first childhood idols.
I have played on many church softball teams through the years. One time, at my first church in Little Falls, NY, I had gotten on first base, and the next batter hit the ball to the shortstop that could easily be a double play ball. So, I slid into second hard to try to break it up. Unfortunately, though, the shortstop’s knee hit me in the head and knocked me clean out. I was just lying there.
From what they tell me, because I don’t remember a thing, that as the ambulance arrived, I started to come to. I asked where I was, and they said I was in Little Falls. And I then asked, what am I doing there? And they said playing softball. And I said, “Oh, I can play!”
That is being a competitor!
2. When it comes to your life, are you “running to win” (I Corinthians 9.24, MSG)?
Some of you might recognize that picture.
That is our own Laura Buetow, and her picture was in the Buffalo News yesterday, leading the Canisius team with 14 points.
The article talked about her competitiveness.
Which correlates to what Paul says…
You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win.
[That’s from The Message translation.]
The simplicity of that translation strikes me.
Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win.
I believe that challenges us to fulfill this very simple propostion…
3. GO ALL OUT TO WIN!
What does it mean to win?
As we look at our passage today, it will be obvious to us.
To win, is to win people to Jesus.
You see, God has a passion for His creation.
He has a passion for people.
So Paul is encouraging us to reach as many people as we can, from all walks of life so that some can embrace the gospel of Jesus.
So how do we do that?
Well, we will find in I Corinthians 9.19-27 two approaches that we must have to win people to Jesus.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first approach we must have to win is BE FLEXIBLE (19-23).
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
The practical question here is how?
How do we become all things to all people?
ILL Drama
Cast
Christian – “Chris” (Long sleeve t-shirt, zip up hoodie, bandana, Bible, I-pod, headphones)
Bookworm (Sweater worn over the shoulders, scarf, book)
Athlete (short sleeve t-shirt, basket ball)
DJ ( hoodie, bandana worn down over forehead, I-pod, headphones)
Drama
Chris is wearing jacket open, bandana and I-pod are out of sight. Chris wanders across stage, sees Bookworm and adjusts her jacket to wear over shoulders, pulls out bandana and ties around neck and goes to talk to Bookworm. Bookworm is reading.
Chris: “Good morning, that looks like an intriguing book. What is it?
Bookworm: “Oh this, the latest top seller, but it’s not that stimulating.”
Chris: “Really, What type of books do you prefer?”
Bookworm: “I like exciting books, full of action, history, mystery, even romance, as long as it’s interesting.”
Chris: “I’m reading a fantastic book and I think you would like it too. Its called the Bible.” (Gives Bible to Bookworm.)
Bookworm: (hesitantly) “I’ve never read this one, it looks rather . . .old and . . long.”
Chris: “It can be a little overwhelming, but it is really many books bound together, a series, like Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings. What if you read one book, lets say Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, and then we will get together and talk about it.”
Bookworm: (getting excited) “You mean like our own little book club? That would be fun!”
Chris: “Great I’ll see you back here next week. Bye.”
Bookworm leaves looking into the Bible. Athlete enters other side of stage. Chris sees him and takes off jacket and bandana, pushes up sleeves. Jogs over to Athlete.
Chris: “Hey, what’s up?”
Athlete: “Just hanging around waiting for my boys.”
Chris: “Want to play until your friends get here?”
Athlete: “Sure, why not.”
Chris: “Cool, basketball is a great work out.”
Athlete: “Is fitness important to you?”
Chris: “You bet, God demands us to take good care of our bodies.”
Athlete: “God? God is concerned with your fitness level? I thought he was only interested in your soul.”
Chris: “God is interested in all areas of your life. God warns us about too much alcohol and other things that are unhealthy. He says that our bodies are His temple and we should honor God with it.”
Athlete: “Wow, what else does God say?”
Chris: “I’m glad you asked. Hey, here comes your friends, why don’t we get together after your game and I’ll tell you more.”
Athlete: “Great, see you then.”
Athlete gives Chris an elaborate hand shake and walks off. Hoodie walks in with hood up, eyes down, bobbing to music on his I-pod. Chris puts her jacket on, zipped up, hood up, puts on bandana on like DJ, puts out her headphones and walks up to Hoodie. Chris stands next to DJ, bobbing to her own music. Chris tries to stay mellow but her music is too up beat to hold the somber nod for too long of a time.
DJ: Hey.
Chris: Hey. What are you listening too?
DJ: Nothing. (shrugging)
Chris: Can I listen?
DJ: Its sick… (hands over headphones)
Chris: (listens – if can pipe over rap music through the church) Wow, that is sick. Here, mine’s pretty intense too. (gives him her headphones.)
DJ: (listens to music, then takes headphones off but doesn’t give them back.) oh, uh, I can’t get into that. That guy is way to happy, that’s not real.
Chris: You know the only thing this guy has that you don’t is Jesus in his life.
DJ: (really interested) You mean if I had Jesus, I’d be that happy all the time too?
Chris: Well I’m not saying life will be wonderful all the time, but God does promise true joy for those who follow him.
DJ: (back in shell) Maybe for you, but not me…
Chris: (trying a new approach) Did you know that Jesus was once a teenager? He was an outcast too, he had many friends who were the “wrong kind of people” and lots of times he felt like no one understood what he was trying to do. Hey, whatever you are feeling, Jesus understands and He will love you, no matter who you are.
DJ: yeah?
Chris: Yeah, come on, lets go get some lunch and I’ll tell you all about it.
(get up and leave)
Thanks again to our drama team who have illustrated that…
1. We do what we need to do to gain a hearing.
I think we should never forget that Jesus gave up His rights in order to win us to Him.
He did not deserve to be crucified, but He chose to die so that we could be saved.
But let’s face it, we don’t share in the same kind of sacrifice.
Most of us are pretty stuck in our ways,.
But if we want to win people to Jesus, we have to be willing to change some things.
We must be ready to give up some of our “rights.”
Like…
• Our “right” to associate only with people who are like us;
• Our “right” to be comfortable;
• Our “right” to relaxation;
• Our “right” to use our financial resources however we want;
• Our “right” to determine our own schedule;
• Our “right” not to be bothered.
Paul views himself as a slave to all in order to win them.
He will modify his habits.
He will give up on his preferences.
He will change his entire lifestyle, if need be, in order to keep people from dying in their sin.
He will do what he needs to do to gain a hearing.
First, he speaks about those that are under the law.
These would be ethnic Jews, as well as Gentile God-fearers known as proselytes.
While Paul felt he was free from Jewish ceremonial law and was no longer bound to it, he would gladly accommodate if it would open the door for his witness.
He would do the same for those that were outside the law.
He would participate in the practices of unbelievers if it would gain him a hearing.
So, when Paul is with the Jews he will eat barbecue beef.
When he is with Gentiles he will eat barbecue pork.
Paul also speaks about the “weak.”
Commentators are undecided about who the weak are in this context.
It is my conclusion from my study, that it is a reference to those that are slaves to sin, embattled to such a point that they are weak in their wills and minds.
I believe Paul is saying that he is willing to stoop to the level of their weakness and comprehension in order to gain a hearing.
Throughout this process, Paul will not break God’s moral law.
They are His timeless principles.
Paul also is determined to not compromise the truth about Jesus.
It is a gospel of grace.
He will not change the truth in order to satisfy anyone.
So, if one is offended by God’s Word, too bad.
But if one is offended by behavior or practices, or what we say or do is not understandable to them, then their problem becomes our problem, and we must be willing to change.
ILL Flexibility (S)
The picture that is before you is of the Burj Dubai and though it is still unfinished (this is an artist’s rendering), at the end of 2007, it was already the tallest building in the world. It has joined the other hugely impressive structures in major cities. The Empire State Building in New York, the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Taipei Financial Center in Taiwan.
What is it about these mega structures that give them their strength? Obviously there is a vast amount of engineering that comes with these buildings. Just the enormous amount of vertical pressure that is caused by gravity demands that these buildings be built on a proper foundation. These types of Skyscrapers are engineered with a reinforced core that runs vertically through the entire building. These buildings also have another force that has to be taken into account when designing and building.
It’s the force of earthquakes. Buildings today are being constructed with special technology that allows the building to flex during an earthquake rather than remain rigid. It’s been discovered that if a building can flex with the ground movements beneath it, then it’s quite possible that it will sustain less damage from the earthquake.
And there is a lesson here for us as well…
2. The greater the flexibility, the greater the strength.
Jesus demonstrates this strength to us in His ministry.
He did not lose His identity as Immanuel, God with us, but we do know that he partied with sinners, he broke religious law, he touched lepers, he held deep conversations with highly forbidden people, and he simply approached life from a very different perspective.
Jesus was highly flexible and that is what outraged His religious peers.
They were too rigid in their theology to accept that idea that God had a pure and unconditional love for the sinner.
ILL Flexibility (S)
Our church (and many others as well) went through this crisis when we began to consider doing an outreach around the Super Bowl. After all, what will people think about us if we give up the evening service to watch the Super Bowl? Won’t that be seen as a compromise? Won’t that hurt our reputation?
Kim Geraci comes now to share with us a little bit about the impact that the Super Bowl party had on her when she attended two years ago.
. . .
Thank you, Kim. . .
II. The second approach we must have to win is BE PASSIONATE (24-27).
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
You will forgive me for repeating this word again, but it could be said I am passionate about it, that is…
1. We are to be deliberate.
We are in a race, and dawdling is not allowed.
We are to run it in a way that it is won.
So, when it comes to communicating the good news, we do not run for short-lived fame.
It is not some perishable greens to go on our head.
That is not our prize.
No, it is much bigger, much more important, much more valuable.
We are working for that which is eternal.
Our prize is immortal souls.
Our prize is people saved from the evil one’s hold.
This is why…
2. We are to be dedicated to doing our best.
So we had better run, and run hard.
There is much at stake.
We have to live disciplined lives.
I believe Paul is rebuking those of us that are half-hearted, out of shape Christians who do nothing to prepare themselves to witness to the lost.
We are fighting a real fight.
We are running a real race.
And it had better be our aim to win.
When it comes to gaining a hearing, we have got to do this right.
We must be disciplined.
We have got to do this in a way that succeeds, and not be satisfied with anything less.
So…
3. Don’t be a loser.
Don’t be like this guy in the picture (I offer my humble apologies to Miami Dolphin fans).
Don’t be a loser that wants to hide his face.
Instead…plan to win!
There’s our theme for the year.
It is our theme because we need a new orientation, a new attitude about why we are here.
Plan to win!
Win people to Jesus.
Get out there, and do it.
Just do it.
Win people to Jesus.
CHALLENGE:
ILL Change (H)
Well, sometimes proposals for change can be tough in the church, and the knives will come out!
We don’t like things to change from what we are used to or to what we are accustomed.
This is true of all of us.
No one gets left out on this.
But here is one conclusion that I have come to from my study of this text…
1. We must change methods, but never the message.
The good news about Jesus is never to be watered down.
It is not to change.
The fact that no one can earn their way to heaven and it is by grace that we saved through faith, that is never to change.
So, if that is offensive, that is okay.
The message can be offensive.
But, the messenger is not supposed to be.
These verses give us a mandate to be culturally relative.
It is required of us to identify with whom we are ministering.
Therefore, I don’t alienate them, I accept them.
I don’t ignore them, I embrace them.
I don’t hate them, I love them.
I don’t despise them, I delight in them.
You see…
I know who they can become.
This means that we have to possess a willingness to waive some of our preferences to win those in the world.
We need to connect with our culture, modifying our methods while maintaining the message.
We never to lose sight that…
2. Our goal is to accurately communicate the good news.
Again the message does not change.
The great truths of Scripture are timeless – true for every generation and every kind of people.
But if we care about what God cares about, we will make sure we communicate it in such a way that it can be heard.
With that said, I believe it is time to get going…
ILL Film Clip from Rat Race
[clip of being told to go and nobody moves, repeated over and over and people continue to sit asking for more definition and explanation]
3. Go!
Go all out to win!
Go all out to win people to Jesus!
We need no more definitions.
We need no more explanations.
No, we need to get going.
Run all out, for eternity is at stake.
For Further Study: Jeremiah 20.9; Luke 5.32; John 3.36, 17.18; Romans 1.16; I Corinthians 15.1-4; II Corinthians 5.17-21; Hebrews 13.8; I Peter 1.23-25
BENEDICTION:
I will be available to you after the service is concluded.
If you have any prayer concern or need, or just need someone to talk to, I will be returning to the platform area.
Let’s do it…let’s meet people where they are so that they can become what God lovingly designed them to be.
Let’s do it…let’s go all out to win…let’s go all out to win people to Jesus and not settle for anything else.
Now may the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral
Damiani, Pat Whatever It Takes to Reach Others
Decker, Paul Do Whatever You Have to Do
Lewis, Shannon Flexibility vs. Rigidity
McLeod, Jonathan Flexible Christians
Mead, Patrick A Win-Some Church
Sauer, Kenneth Meeting People Where They Are
Thiessen, Rick Game Plan for Church
Books
Blomberg, Craig. 1 Corinthians. The Niv Application Commentary, ed. Terry Muck. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.
Fee, Gordon, D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987.
MacArthur, John, Jr. 1 Corinthians. The Macarthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1984.
