1st Corinthians 9: 19-27

Meeting People where they Are

Alrighty , so tonight we are going to finish up chapter 9

two weeks ago we started chapter 9 and who remembers one thing in the first 18 verses of chapter 9 ?

Well if any of you do not remember I will remind you….

So chapter 9 was just basically a continuation of chapter 8

between chapters 8 and 9 Paul gave us or gives us this great illustration of the mature use of Liberty

In chapter 8 Paul uses the illustration of Knowledge regarding the foods that they would eat

Knowledge as a Mature believer comes with many freedoms, simply because we know our lane and because we have spent time in Gods word fine tuning our relationship with him ( thats where true Knowledge comes from)

Proverbs 2:6 “6 For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;”

so in context the knowledge of eating certain foods was not a sin even though it was viewed as a sin by others

It was the meat that was sacrificed to pagan idols in a temple restaurant.

To some it was a sin and to some it was not ,

To those that it was not a sin , it was because they had the knowledge of God being the One true God , food that was sacrificed to idols was food that was essentially sacrificed to nothing because what ever those idols were, God was bigger than them, God was the one true living God so it didn’t matter what the food was sacrificed to

So again Chapter 8 is the illustration of Knowledge that Gives freedom! Now Paul in the rest of chapter 8 which actually started in the very first verse Said that Knowledge Puffs up but love edifies

We may have all the knowledge in the world, so we think,

We may have all the freedom in the world,

some of that knowledge and freedom can cause us to become arrogant in our walk and thats what Paul was warning against regarding this knowledge and freedom

Christianity can become a place that people put themselves on a pedestal because they have the knowledge of Gods word

On the flip side you may know a-lot but how much of that are you actually applying to your own walk

How many people are using the knowledge that God has blessed them with to be a blessing for the kingdom of God ?

Something to think about

but to move on regarding Knowledge, Paul says that Knowledge is not everything and we don’t ever want the freedom we have to ever cause another believer to stumble

1 Corinthians 8:13 “13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

your knowledge may permit you to eat anything, but if eating what ever you want causes another believer to stumble….. is it actually worth it ?

Its not the loving thing to do is to give up your right/ freedom to eat anything and to meet people where they are

Now Chapter 9 , the Beginning

Paul moves this illustration from believers amongst themselves and their issues with one another, to Himself

Paul being an apostle of Christ uses His own life as an example of giving up his rights for the sake of fellow believers

the very principles that Paul is trying to get them to understand, Paul Himself is practicing

He’s not a hypocrite asking the people to do something that he isn’t willing to do

Paul Proved that he was an apostle to the church by providing evidence that he was in fact a real apostle

Now during this time period it was very easy to write off someone claiming to be an apostle but Paul proves to the people He is not an imposter

There were requirements that Paul had to meet to be considered a true apostle , who remembers what those were ?

1) he had to be free, he couldn’t be a slave

2) He had to see Jesus ( which he did on the road to Damascus )

3) They had to perform signs and wonders there had to be evidence that he was an apostle , (The church of Corinth was the work of God through Paul as evidence of signs and wonders)

without Paul the church of Corinth would have never been what it was , God used Paul to start and grow the church

then all the way until vs 18 Paul gives many examples of His rights as an apostle, because he was trying to get the people to understand who he was

Just because Paul didn’t use or abuse all the rights he laid out in the first 18 verses didn’t mean that he was an imposter ( many in the church believed because he was not exercising those rights that he was an imposter)

If anything it only validated even more that he was a true apostle of God

Paul was willing to give up His rights for the sake of the gospel

1 Corinthians 9:12 “12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.”

Pauls life was a great example of being a good Steward for Christ and His kingdom.

He was a man that Had freedom through knowledge , and he was a man that knew his rights as an apostle and he didn’t abuse them.

He knew the higher calling was to lay down anything that could cause him to be self centered, and to Serve all Men and thats where we are going to start tonight

Talking about service

Lets get into it

So now the rest of this chapter Paul is going to be talking about Serving all men, wether thats believers within the body of Christ or non believers outside the body of christ , Our job is simple. Serve God and serve well

lets start In verse 19

1 Corinthians 9:19 “19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;”

Again Paul in that first Part saying; that he is free from all men, was just reiterating that he was a slave to no one

1 Corinthians 9:1 “1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?”

HE was free in the sense that he was not a slave to anyone by force

Instead of being free He chose to be a slave/ A servant to All men in hopes of winning them over for the kingdom of God

Paul understood His role in Christ and that was to serve all Men , so that he could win them over for christ

you see Paul was going about His ministry and allowing God to change his heart for all men. (and if you all remember he was the chief of all sinners ( Ref 1st Tim 1:15) , he was one of the biggest persecutors of Christians , But now we see the heart he has for all MEN)

His heart is to share the Gospel with everyone, a calling that we as believers all have on our life

Four things that Paul understood

1) Paul Understood that his purpose in life was far greater than who he was , (It ain’t about who we are) ( its about who we need to be for christ ) Expound……… It ain’t about our position, our last name , how often we serve, who sees us serve………

2)He understood that His purpose in life was greater than the freedoms he had ( your knowledge is nothing if you don’t know how to love) 1 Corinthians 8:1 “1 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” EXPOUND

3)HE understood that His purpose was greater than any right he had as an apostle ( you may have all the rights in the world but are they worth pushing away a lost soul? ) Expound… is drinking alcohol or trying a drug in- front of someone that knows your a believer worth it ?

4)Paul Understood that to Love all men, to be a servant to all men and to win them over for christ meant that He needed to share the Gospel.

Paul found pleasure in sharing the Gospel so much, that he was willing to give up all that he rightfully deserved to do it

Now thats a heart that Every christian should at some point develop in their walk

there comes a point in time when we have to set aside our own freedoms, our own rights if it means we share the Gospel

How many times have any of you had to set aside everything about yourself in order to serve the lord when it comes to being an example or sharing who Jesus is ? I have ?

You know sometimes its really inconvenient in our own minds to do the work of the lord ….. sometimes, at the right time i call it, we gotta do the work of the Lord when we don’t want to. Sometimes we need to be obedient when we don’t want to

For example…. Share the story of Baptizing the two young adults and the cold water at the beach……..

(Example…….. Sometimes just giving your time to someone when you really gotta go……….)

The love for all men should trump anything we are because thats who God has called us to be

You are all familiar with the great commission from the Gospels where Jesus commissioned the disciples to go and share the Gospel

Matthew 28:18–20 “18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Paul understood His purpose and he was willing to essentially die to self to accomplish what the Lord had commissioned him to do

Mark 9:35 “35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.””

Galatians 5:13 “13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

There are 3 things I just want to mention if you guys want to cultivate a servants Heart

1) Humility: be Humble, Know your strengths and weaknesses and be willing to serve in areas you are uncomfortable serving in

sometimes we don’t have to be the very best at something to serve, fear holds us back from stepping out and stepping up

I remember the first time i ever really started to get involved and how my mind was just totally tripping me out, specifically i remember resetting chairs in the sanctuary after a Wednesday night service and i Just remember feeling so out of place amongst all these Holy people …. Expound

2) Sacrifice: be willing to sacrifice your time , talents , and treasure for the sake of others, even if it means being uncomfortable and inconvenienced

3) Faith: Have faith trust in the Lord that he will bless your life, not seeking recognition and satisfying self; I promise you when you step put in faith and you are doing the Lords work like the apostle Paul, there is nothing more satisfying than that

Nothing quenches those desires we have and that fulfilment we need like serving the Lord for His Kingdom

there is no material blessing that can trump a spiritual blessing and you will only experience that when you step out and step up in faith trusting in the Lord

Now to finish off this Little Section Here, We are going to see the example Paul gives us for surrendering himself to the ministry and What I call Meeting People where they are

Paul un the next four verses shows us what its Like to meet people where they are in Life to Help grow the Kingdom of God

The first verse he made it clear that he chose to be a slave to ALL men in order to win them over. And now we see here How he accomplishes this

1 Corinthians 9:20 “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 is Known as Paul because he became a believing Christian Man , but before he was a believing christian Man he was a Pharisee , A jew and he was known as Saul of Tarsus

He was primarily an apostle to the gentiles, but the Lord gave Him a heart for the Jewish people as well Read Romans 9:3

Romans 9:3 “3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,”

Pauls one Goal in His life was to win people over for Jesus, So in order to do that , even though he was no longer bound by the Law like the Jews , He would subject Himself to the Law in order to win them over

1 Corinthians 9:21 “21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;”

those who are without Law is in reference to the Gentiles,

Paul was willing to give up what was perceived as morally wrong to the Jews for the sake of the Gentiles, If that meant he ate sacrificial meat that was sacrificed to pagan Gods to win over the heart of the Gentiles for the Gospel, He would

now the second Part of that verse says “(not being without Law toward God but Under law toward christ)”

what he is saying is that even though he would abandon Jewish Law in order to dine with the Gentiles , He didn’t or wouldn’t abandon the Authority of God

You see thats where we have to be careful because its not giving us a hall pass to sin, We all still fall under the authority of God

Paul was not under the authority of the Old testament Law but to God and Christ, His goal was to fulfill the law of Love

Romans 13:8 “8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

going back to what i just mentioned, we don’t ever give up our salvation in christ to meet others where they are

its not a license to sin in Hopes of saving a friend, Okay you don’t go and smoke a joint and say i did it to fit in so ny friends will get saved , thats not what we do here

we Still fall under the Authority of God

1 Corinthians 9:22 “22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

Now the weak Paul references

Is in reference to the non believers and Pauls restraint regarding His freedom in order to reach the unbelievers

Now some people can argue who he is actually referencing here but it doesn’t matter because the next verse explains everything

1 Corinthians 9:23 “23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”

Paul Was willing to meet people where they were

Something that we should all be willing to do

Now again I kinda talked about this already but when we meet people where they are we should be cautious not to give up our standards and convictions in order to win people over

you are not going to see me in a Bar preaching, but some people might take it to that Level

Im not going to go and worship a pagan God to win over another believer

I will go to a disaster stricken area and suffer with people and serve them and meet them where they are

I will go and pray with homeless people and share the Gospel with them

I will go and just be there for someone who has lost a loved one

Jesus In the Gospels was meeting people where they are, regardless of their position or power in Life

John chapter 8 Jesus Met a woman caught in the act of Adultery

Luke chapter 19 Jesus Met Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, a hated man amongst the people known for stealing

but Jesus met him , Homie was up chillin in a tree trying to get a glimpse of Him

Mark Ch 5 Jesus Met a woman who had an Issue with Blood, She had her period for 12 years straight, All she did was touch His garment and She was zapped clean from her disease.

Jesus Befriended sinners and he met them where they were in Life and he spoke Love and truth into their lives

He became a servant amongst the sinners

All for what ? to meet people where they were to give them an opportunity to Believe in Him

And thats what Paul is saying in these 5 verses, Set aside everything and meet people where they are for the sake of the Gospel.

Step up and step out in Faith

Lets Pray