“I MUST PREACH THE GOSPEL!” 1 Cor. 9:15-23
FBCF – 3/9/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Microscope – Binoculars – Telescope
3 different devices used to look at & focus on 3 different areas:
- Microscope – up close – can see germs that can make us sick or kill us.
- Binoculars – farther out – get a better view of things that matter to us – football games, hunting, military uses
- Telescope – great distances that go beyond the reach of binoculars – Hubble Telescope – see into deep space – discover things never seen before – new planets, black holes, stars that are millions & millions of light years away.
Different sermons & sermon series help us to focus on different areas of our lives as Christ-followers. For instance:
- Back in Jan – 2 sermons on the ministry of deacons & the ministry of pastors – microscope sermons
- Feb. – “A Place of GRACE” series – Most of it was microscope, but also designed to help us get the binoculars & even the telescope out.
- “Our Mission” sermon – Feb. 9 – Acts 1:8 – “to the ends of the earth” – Matthew 28:19-20 – “…of all nations…” – Gotta get out the telescope for that so you can see the 3 billion+ lost people all around the world. Need a spiritual telescope to see the nearly 170k who will die today w/out knowing Jesus Christ as their Savior. Need a spiritual telescope to see the 7,410 unreached people groups in the world
o IMB Prayer Focus this past Thu – the Mairi people group in Indonesia – only 550 people in this people group – live on an island in the Maluku province of Indonesia – What if a great spiritual awakening among Muslims worldwide started right here among this tiny people group that you’ve probably never heard of?
o Ramadan right now – Most holy time period in every Muslim’s life in the world. Time of spiritual reflection – involves fasting, prayer, study of the Quran, & community. So, while they’re seeking spiritual direction, let’s pray that they find it in the ONLY One who can truly give them that direction – the Lord Jesus Christ! Praying for the salvation of Muslims for next 20-21 days – the Jesus will reveal Himself & the truth of the Gospel to them. Spiritual blinders come off – Dreams, visions, encounters w/ real Christ-followers who will love them & share the truth of the Gospel w/ them.
Today will be a microscope sermon as I begin w/ this question:
WHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES IN LIFE?
EXPLANATION – 1 Corinthians 9:15-23
Paul lived w/ Gospel priority. B/c of that, he was willing to endure personal inconvenience, personal discomfort, & even personal persecution so that he could tell others about Jesus.
- Acts 9:16 – The Lord said, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my Name.” (NIV)
He gave up his right to be paid as a minister of the Gospel. He didn’t want anything to cause anyone to question his motives & his mission. Proclaiming the Good News about Jesus was a “necessity” (v. 16) to him –
- Gk “pressure” – He sensed the pressure of this calling on his life
- “distress” – It would distress him to NOT do this. That’s a serious priority!
- “the state of being absolutely required” – For Paul, he knew that the Lord absolutely required that he tell others about Jesus.
Paul KNEW that he HAD to share the Gospel! V. 17 in NLT – “…I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust.” Actually, he DID have a choice. He could choose to be disobedient!
v. 19-23 – Paul makes it abundantly clear that he is willing to do whatever it takes to tell lost people about Jesus whoever they are & wherever they are. He wanted to make sure that ANYONE had the opportunity to meet Jesus & grow in their relationship w/ Him.
- He was willing to make himself like a slave
- …like a Jew who lived according to the OT laws
- …like a Gentile who didn’t live according to the OT laws
- …like a weak person
- It just did not matter to Paul! He had a heart for ALL people & wanted them all to come to Jesus & be saved!
WHAT ABOUT YOU & ME?
APPLICATION – We must live a Gospel-prioritized life.
Let’s get out our spiritual microscope right now.
IS THE GOSPEL THE PRIORITY OF MY LIFE? – “…woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”
“Oh, woe is me!” – Use that statement to casually or flippantly when we are tired or sad about something. But when Paul said it, he was saying, “This has to be the priority of my life b/c divine penalty & punishment threatens me if I don’t proclaim the Gospel!”
Do you & I take it that seriously? Do we even think about the painful discipline of God that will come upon us if we don’t obey God & share the Gospel?
So many other things are priorities in our lives - & they are good priorities – they are not sinful priorities: Family – Work – Hobbies – Recreational activities – These things are not inherently sinful. But have we allowed them to take over the top spot in our lives that should be reserved for Jesus & the Good News about Him?
- Take that spiritual microscope & look inside – what do you see? What’s the priority inside your heart? Is it the Gospel? Or is it something else?
DO I TRULY CARE ABOUT LOST PEOPLE? – “…that I might win more of them…that by all means I might save some…”
Paul wasn’t satisfied w/ one & done. He wanted to win “more of them.” He didn’t want to just see one saved – he wanted to see “some” saved. He knew that not everyone would be saved. But he definitely wanted to see more & more people come to Jesus.
- He cared about people who were just like him. He was a Jew, so he wanted to see the Jews get saved.
- He cared about people who were not like him. He wasn’t a Gentile – a non-Jew – but he wanted to see the Gentiles get saved.
- He wanted to see weak people get saved - & I think it’s safe to say that he wanted to see strong people get saved.
No matter who they were – Jew, Gentile, weak, strong – Paul cared about them & about where they were going to spend eternity. You know why HE cared about them? B/c JESUS cares about them!
- Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (NIV)
- Matthew 9:36 – “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (NIV)
- Luke 15:7 – “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (NIV)
- John 10:10 – “I have come that they may have life…have it more abundantly.” (NKJV)
Old hymn we used to sing in revivals when I was a kid:
Do you really care? Do you know how to share with people everywhere? Do you really care?
Will you take the dare? Spread good news everywhere? The cross of Christ to bear? Do you really care?
So…do you??? Take a look around this room & this town – this ENTIRE town – Do you really care?
- Grab those spiritual binoculars & look a little farther out – to the north toward YC & the Delta, Gluckstadt, Canton – Do you really care? Keep looking…To the south toward Jxn, the inner city, off Capitol Street, State Street, Farish Street, Robinson Rd; South Jxn off Ellis Ave, McDowell Rd, – Do you really care? To the east toward Madison, Ridgeland, the reservoir, Pearl – Do you really care? To the west toward Vicksburg? Do you really care?
- Grab that spiritual telescope & look even farther out – across the towns & cities of our nation – the unreached people everywhere in our world? Do you see them? Do you really care about them?
AM I WILLING TO INTENTIONALLY BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOST PEOPLE? – “…I have become all things to all people…”
This is where it gets real – “Drive it down to shoe leather.” Am I willing to intentionally build relationships w/ lost people? Those relationships normally don’t “just happen.” WE must take the lead to become “all things to all people.” If Jesus came to seek & save the lost, then we need to seek them out, too. And they’re everywhere you look w/ those binoculars & that telescope.
- Lucas – can’t get him off of my mind
To those of you who are already doing this (300+ names on altar 2/9) – to you I say, PRESS ON! PRAY LIKE CRAZY! LOVE LIKE CRAZY! TRUST GOD LIKE CRAZY! KEEP IT UP!
To those of you who aren’t there yet, to you I say: Let this be the day that that changes! Look at the W of G – Listen to the Spirit of God who is speaking to you right now, bringing His conviction to your heart – Let go of the doubt & fear that’s holding you back & come only from Satan – Make a commitment that you will intentionally build a relationship w/ 1 lost person this year (Imagine if every one of us did only that!). Then watch & see how God is going to work!
