1 Corinthians 9:1-14

Intro

Over the next few weeks, we will talk about how we are equipped to bring the Gospel into the world to reach the lost.

You might be so new to this or just have never understood and wonder - “what is the Gospel?”

The Gospel is the Good News of Christ’s death and resurrection. Its the promise of salvation for those who accept that He died and rose again as the Son of God and offers anyone who calls upon His name salvation and forgiveness of sins.

This goes beyond just our friends and family, but how to reach anyone with the Good News.

We’ll discuss what it means to be free in Christ and to be a minister of the Gospel.

You might think, “well, you’re a minister.” Yes. But so are you.

I preached on this when we went through Ephesians - but I might be the pastor, but we’re all pastoral. God has graced this church with that pastoral calling.

Paul is operating in a different office - an apostle. What is an apostle?

Think of Paul as someone who is not just in charge of multiple churches, but starts new churches and moves on to the next.

Vs 1-7

Paul is establishing himself as someone who knows the Lord and is an apostle to the ones who are part of the Corinthian church.

Pastor DJ spoke about the Corinthian church several weeks ago and we’ll see then that Paul has to defend himself as an apostle.

Paul is addressing current issues that the Corinthian church was facing - its important but I want us to focus on the simple fact that he was addressing something that was happening during that time.

Today, there might be churches who shy away from hot topics like abortion, marriage and identity, and now Israel. We don’t align ourselves with a political party, but with good and evil.

Paul was able to address things that were likely political or contentious without standing with political motives.

He addressed a hot topic because it was relevant and he needed to establish himself as a spiritual leader - not as a political one.

He needed to be seen as a minister of the Gospel.

Can I tell you today as ministers of the Gospel - if you just walk up to someone and start rambling on about how they’re a sinner and you have the answer in Jesus - they will not care. If we lead with republican or democrate, they won’t listen.

You have to earn your position in their life and address the things that they care about most or are struggling with the most as someone who is coming at it from the perspective of Jesus.

This is how we cross divides and reach the unreachable.

Jesus will meet you wherever you’re at. Addicts, criminals, liars, adulterers … whether you’re suffering or thriving… Jesus will meet you there.

As believers, we must do the same. We can’t expect those people to come to us. We have to establish that position of meeting them, and addressing where they’re at.

Pastor Brad left Megan and I the church when he retired. I had to earn my position - even though God had ordained me and placed me - if you were “here” and I was preaching “over here,” why would you stay?

Paul is saying to the people, “Yes you are free. But if you take your freedom and live however you want to live - doing what doesn’t please God - the people who have yet to find Jesus will see you and instead of building them up, you will be destroying them.”

Do not be a stumbling block to the weak.

Don’t get me wrong, we all have things we deal with - we know better but sometimes we don’t do better - we have grace!

But don’t take advantage of your freedom in Christ knowingly setting someone else up for the stumble.

Are you responsible for them? No. But we know that theres something wrong with us recognizing the bondage in an alcoholic just to go home and crack a beer, or go the hard liquor just to deal with the stress of the day.

Paul’s ultimate goal here is to establish that we are to go to all people and minister - at the same time, he addresses these things.

Vs 8-11

These things are not my advice - Pauls asserting here - they’re spiritual principals and ways to live. There is everyday, practical application, but this is part of God’s way for us.

If you work on serving others, pouring into others, ministering to others - you want to do it with the hopes of seeing God move in their lives.

I want to be clear - we are all ministers of the Gospel - I am a pastor who is employed to shepherd this church.

We work and get a paycheck - scripture says a man is worthy of his hire.

But just like we work for a paycheck, we want to labor spiritually and receive some results.

When you work, you expect a return.

Paul is addressing the church and saying, as the pastor is hopeful for spiritual things, so should there be material things.

If we put spiritual things in you, should we reap material things from you?

What is it to be in church receiving but not giving?

its not about the amount, its about the divine order of things as we’ll see next.

Its about what God can do with a little.

Because even when the church started, someone was paying for it.

You sit in the seat you’re in as a material things, bought with material funds from a person(s) who when then had a spiritual perspective, decided to allow the plowman to plow with hope and the thresher with hope with the purpose of sharing THE CROPS

Vs 12-15

I can see this personally as my life - I am a full time pastor.

But also, for the rest of you who work - or maybe you don’t - get your living from the Gospel.

If your focus is on reaping material from material, then everything will be material.

But if you work - your priority is not your career - but how you present the Gospel in it.

When our perspective and focus is material - our material works will produce material things.

When our perspective and focus is spiritual, then whatever material comes from it is not the same… its blessed. Its sacred. Its a result not of what you did at work, but how you lived promoting the Good News of Christ.

We make our living from sharing the Gospel - we’re dependent on the Gospel.

Our works are not what gets us saved, we talked about this a few weeks ago and I told you works were a different topic because they do in fact bring blessing.

Closing

If you were down and out and didn’t have anything. Struggling. You might be that right now… and I offered you a job.

You would be a fool not to take it.

You might want unemployment, etc. That is what it is… theres no blessing in it.

The Bible says a man is worth his hire and that our money comes from our work. Its not more spiritual than that. God blesses us in that but God doesn’t say a man is worth the handout.

I’d say - heres the job, you work for me and produce a living.

Here’s the basics of the Gospel: God is not offering us a job. He’s offering us a rescue plan and then He gives us a purpose.

The rescue plan comes for free. We call out to Jesus, accept Him, repent of our sins, we’re rescued.

NOW - what we do produces something… now theres a purpose to what we do.

Now theres hope to our efforts.

Now theres an eternity secured with Him