Full Speed
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Love is the Driving Factor:
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;
Paul served and feared God, not the opinions of man and no man could lord over him
The carnal person fears man, not God. The strong Christian fears God, not man. The weak Christians fears man too much and God too little. - John Flavel
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
HE WAS NOT CONCERNED WITH WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF HIM
Yet he loved everyone and had therefore voluntarily made himself a servant to others.
We should not be servants out of fear, but as true Christians, we should be indebted to everyone
Morally or socially obligated to another; beholden
Meaning we owe them the Love of Jesus
14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.
13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
Paul was not crazy, but some of his critics had no doubt accused him of this.
After all, he was not acting “normally.”
He totally disregarded his own well-being for the sake of the Gospel.
Went outside of his comfort zone and well being for the sake of the gospel
19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
the victim of misdirected religious zeal
RELIGIOUS VS. LOVE
RELIGIOS ZEAL FORCES
LOVE COMPELS
When arguing elevates violence ensues
People that can’t win arguments often want to force wins
He had been stoned and left for dead, yet rose up and went right back into that same city
Because the love of Christ compelled him
Love never fails
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
The love of Christ is the single most important motivator
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
Under the Law:
20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;
This is a very revealing statement.
Paul was not under the Law! He said this on other occasions
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
WE are under grace, the law has been fullfilled
Galatians 3,4 and elsewhere
This was a very radical statement to the Jewish minds of his day, just as it is to the religious minds of our day.
He did say in the next verse that he was “under the law to Christ”
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The focus is on the spirit and the process of the fruits
Not the feeling
Paul I assure you didn’t feel like going back into the city after being stoned
The fruits compelled Him
Run as one who wins:
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
Run as one who wins
It takes discipline to be a disciple
Train with intensity
Showing up to a race, unprepared and out of shape then giving it your all is not running as one who wins
Train with intensity
Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to your level of training
As humans we revert back to what we’re comfortable with
Most of our leaders now are dangerous because they’re people pleaser rather than willing to stand up for what’s right
This paradigm is
predicated on the false
belief that all
strong men are
dangerous men —
thus the only way to
change society
is to weaken men.
We must train with intensity
We’re in a fight
25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
“Striveth” was translated from the Greek word “AGONIZOMAI,” and this Greek word means “to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or (to endeavor to accomplish something)”
In his last letter before his execution:
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
WE need to know our goals:
What is the prize?
Where are you going?
What’s the end game?
If Gods word doesn’t define your life your circumstances will
What scriptures define you?
WHat’s your scripture?
Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV
“Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.”
What are your spiritual goals?
How much time can you spend with God?
Have a mark that you’ve set
To win a fight you have to be disciplined:
Both spirit and in truth
How much of us feeling bad mentally or spiritually comes from
lack of sleep
bad nutrition
lack of exercise
How much your diet affects everything in your life
This week
Spirit, soul and body:
Feeding and denying
being physically disciplined
disciplining our minds- denying it the wrong things
spirit-feeding it the right things
The greeks declared that the first rule of life is “Know Thyself”:
We cannot disciple others until we have ourselves been discipled
We cannot teach others what we do not know
We cannot bring others to Christ until we ourselves have found Him
Our Goal is to know Him and make Him known
Completely compelled by a Love for Him and a Love for His people