To Win as Many as Possible

Some lessons over the last couple of years that we cannot trust in our country, and we cannot trust in our finances, in our scientific community, in our health, and our predictions in the predictions of others. Lord. I hope they were learning that you alone are worthy of our trust in our confidence. And father. I pray that we would be placing more and more of that confidence in you, in these days. I pray that we would trust you for this year, that we would not live in fear of anything. But that we would live in holy reverence and obedience to you and father met our relationship with you deepen in this year to come, no matter what other circumstances surround us. Lord, help us to learn that we can place all of this confidence in you and have joy in our hearts and walked boldly and courageously knowing that you are our strength. Thank you Lord for this opportunity just to reflect and also to look forward and we do anticipate with great excitement, the return of our Saviour in King. Thank you for this morning in Jesus name. Amen.

Thank you, Micah.

It is a new year, how many of you made New Year's resolutions and he 101. All right. I've got one for you. Actually. This year. I was actually thinking through and I challenged, our youth group on New Year's Eve. And I want to challenge the whole church family that every week we do the sermon. And then through the week. We have homework. We pasted, we post on face life, to encourage everyone to dig into the word of God for yourself and to study it out with the sermon in. And I was thinking, you know, one thing I'd like to add this year in a challenge for anyone who was wanting to take it out, is to say, what if we took each week 1 verse out of the passenger. You know, what? That's memorize this together this week. And in hide God's word, way in our hearts is as David roten. Someone 19 type in your word in my heart that I might not sin against you and in right before, that is the first I shared with the youth group. You know, how can a young person stay on the path of Purity by living, according to your commands and it how are we going to know those in in? We have them hidden in our heart is as David said, and so again, it's just a challenge to you all to consider that. Each week. I'm going to pick out a verse of the passage. And of course, you can always use the one I pick or you can pick your own. And so, you know, what, we're going to go ahead and memorize and and get God's word hit away in our hearts. And just if we did that one verse a week by the end of your have, how many verses If you're back in school to get 52, yes, and so yeah, just a way that we can kind of encourage one another then is to say, hey, how are you doing with that verse? And so I can call them Drew please and say, hey Drew. How you doing with the verse? Yeah, he's got it memorized already and then you can say yeah, how about you? And then I can say oh, yeah. I got to work on it somewhere, you know, encourage one another, when we had a good time. Looking at again, this the old story of Christ's coming to Earth over the past month of December. We're going to pick back up here in Corinthians were in 1st Corinthians chapter 9. So if you want to open up your Bibles there we're going to pick up where we left off. Play again, just to try to to get us. Remind us of where we were at the church in Corinth had a lot of problems and Paul wrote this letter because he had some people from Corinth actually come to him State Park. We got problems and we need some help. We need some instruction. So Paul sent this letter back to address some of the issues that we're going on there in court. Now a lot of the issues that they had really that the root of it was pride and and quarantine culture was a lot like our culture today where it's dog-eat-dog, you know, everybody's just trying to to climb up the ladder and be better than the next person. And that's the way they were always buying for, for attention buying for a status. Well, one of the issues that we saw there in chapter 8 was Meet. Can you, can you eat the meat that is sold in the market place? Because back then, they had the expensive me that, you know, you could buy, but a lot of people could afford it. So they would go to the regular market place where they actually took, some of the animals that were sacrificed up in the temples are recorded the false gods and they would take what was left for those sacrifices butcher it up and sell it is cheaper, meet in the marketplace. And so, a lot of people would say. Oh, yeah. I'm going to be cheap, and, and get the meat that I enjoyed have steak. Anybody else here, like steak or bacon. We have bacon downstairs. If you want any run down quick and grab some Drake, has it somewhere in the kitchen. Man.

Okay. Anyway, somebody doesn't believe you Greg.

Oh, okay. So anyway you had this problem. Then you had some people who just were newly saved and and they had just come out of the idle worship. And they were saying and we can't eat that meat. That was, that's a part of worshiping that I do. I don't want to be a part of that anymore. And then some of the other people were saying what you talking about. That's not even a real gut. It's a piece of wood somebody, it's a rock that somebody chiseled. It's not even a God that's just eat meat and be happy and in. So you had this this fighting going on and it really would have came down to was, was I have the right to eat meat if I want to eat me.

It was about their rights and it was Paul's instructions who them. He said in 1st Corinthians 8:9, be careful. However, the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. Really? That's what it was about. I have the right to eat meat. I like it. I have the right. There's nothing saying I can't do this. Suppose, I can't be careful. The exercise. Your rights doesn't become a stumbling block, and he went on to say when you send against them.

In this way and wound their weak conscience. What's he say?

You're sinning against Christ.

You may have the right to eat the meat, but when you are destroying someone else. And you say my rights? He says you destroy. Someone else you're sinning against Christ.

And Paul, then goes on to say, look. If what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so I will not cause them to fall. Alameda, personal it said, look, this is where I'm at. I don't want to send against Christ. I've done that. A lot of my life. I don't want to go there anymore. And so I don't want. If I have to give up me. I'll give him, right. So that I'm not sending.

I can imagine. After using this basic instruction says, look, your brother or sister is more important than your rights. I can imagine some of the people didn't react well to that. Because again, our cultures are like their cultures of it. If I had to label this past couple years. You know what I would label it the year of it's my right. Literally, that's what it has been, hasn't it. People getting irate and people being known, not as Christians, but as people that demand their rights.

What I read this letter, that Paul wrote his like, will this speaks to us, doesn't it? And I can hear the response of the Caribbean is a read this because I can imagine if Paul wrote this stuff today, well, to be the response that's easy for him to say he's over there and he's not even here and expect us to give up our rights and do it, but he's not even here to do it.

And it's real easy to talk, isn't it? And I can imagine the responses.

It really is interesting when I, when I think about it. And that's where Paul picks up in chapter 9 and he says book guys. I know what you're going to say. I know you're going to say it's easy for him to say, he doesn't have to give up his right because he's not even here. And he's going to show how we actually did give up his rights in chapter 9, he's going to actually address that. But but really I thought about that. I thought you know what this really is all about entitlement and rights, isn't it? Entitlements not a word. You find in the Bible, but it's a word that we use today, isn't it? What's entitlement?

How would you define it?

Thinking you deserve everything you do you read the stories about the kid that his parents got him, a brand new car, or whatever else. And, and he's all mad. They got him this nice, big nice new Mustang because it's not red. It's blue.

Yeah, I would love to. I'd be happy with the Mustang. But anyway, I deserve exactly what I want you to get it for me. Then you are going to suffer a s s entitlement and it's this mentality actually think it's a big part of our culture that has been growing and compounding generationally to where each one of us is the protagonist of the whole world to know what I mean by that. What's what's a protagonist in literature?

The main character Scooby have these kids in school here. The main character of the protagonist is the main character. It's all about the protagonist. It's all about him. And that's where it's kind of fun. Like, even watching movies and stuff with my kids. You know, you see all this bad stuff. Having don't worry. He's the main character is nothing's going to happen to him for real, but that's the way it is. It's all about him. Everything is going to work out and for the brain character, and it's always about him. And in our culture, I really feel like this whole thing of entitlement rights is that we've been pleased with this mentality, that we are the protagonist. Of the world. It's all about me.

We all have this built into us by our culture, to where it really is all about my rights and how you, how dare you keep me from getting what I want? Or living the way I want. I have the right, I'll dare you.

Well, Paul says, look if the exercise of your rights. Is hurting a brother or sister, then you are sinning. Against Christ.

Why is that? Well, I think it comes back to the whole thing. What is the Commandment of God to love the Lord? With all of your God with all your heart, soul mind, strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself.

And when it's all about me, I'm the protagonist and it's all about me and my rights. Am I living out of love?

Now. And if I'm not living in love, that would be. Send. Think that's a just a pause argument. And again, the people at court, I can imagine her saying. Yeah, it's really easy for people to say that he would not eat me. He's not even here. He's not having to live through this. He's not having to go through this. And so, Paul's going to continue his argument here. And again, these chapter two visions are all something that was added in but much later to help us find versus. But he goes right from that in chapter 8, where he says, if what I eat causes my brother supposed to fall in sin again. I will never eat meat. Again. It goes right into defending himself and what he saying, so we're going to pick up here in 1st Corinthians, a going to read all the way through it and then work through it piecemeal. He starts out verse one. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus? Our lord, are you not the result of my work in the Lord, even though I may not be an apostle to others? Surely. I am to you where you are the Seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don't we have the right to food and drink? Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us as do other Apostles and the Lord's brothers and cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right not to work for a living? Who serves as a soldier, as his own expense, who plants of Vineyard and then does not eat it. Scraped, who tends A Flock and does not drink the milk. Do I say this merely on human authority, doesn't the law. Say the same thing for it is written. In the law of Moses. Do not muzzle, the nice, while it is treading up the grades. Is it about oxen that? God is concerned? Surely. He says, it's Russ, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us because whoever plows, and thrashes should be able to do. So in the hope of sharing in the Harvest, if we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much, if we reap a material Harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you shouldn't we have it all the more but we did not use this right on the contrary. We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don't, you know that those who serve in the temple, get their food from the temple, those who serve at the altar share and what is offered on the altar in the same way. The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel, but I have not used any of these rights and I'm not writing this and hope that you will do such things for me, but I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this post from when I preach the gospel. I cannot both since I am compelled to preach to me, if I do not preach the gospel, if I breathe voluntarily, I have reward if not voluntarily. I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What date is my reward? Just this that I'm preaching the gospel? I may offer it free of charge and so not make you full use of my rights as a preacher of the Gospel. Do I am free and belong to no one? I have made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible to the Jews. I became like a Jew to win the Jews to those under the law became like one under the law. Do I myself? Am not under the law. So is to win those under the law has laudanum in the Chrysler. So it's two windows not having a law to the week. I became weak to win the week. I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible means. I might save some I do this all for the sake of the Gospel that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that and erase all the runners run but only one gets the prize run in such a way as to get the prize, everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore. I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a boxer meeting. They are no, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave. So that after I preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the price. Halls Defense, that's easy for him to say, he'd give up his rights. He's not here. He doesn't really have to do it and anticipating what they're thinking, or what they were going to think, when they read the letter goes right into wait a minute. If you're going to try to judge me in this way, it don't even go there and I love the way he doesn't. He gives his defense is a matter of 16 questions. I went down through and you can go through and Counting yourself, but he asks like 16 rhetorical questions. What's a rhetorical question?

It's not really meant to be assertive. The answer is actually obvious. The answer to all these things is yes. It's true. But he's using a question to drive the point home and use a 16 questions. 16 rhetorical questions. I like to use rhetorical questions. I don't think I've ever used 16 in a row. He's really trying to drive this home. He says, am I not free. Again. Paul was a Roman citizen. He lived in the Roman Empire where the citizens had a lot of lower, right? Smart more freedom than anyone else. He was a Roman says that he was free. If anyone was free to do what he wanted. Paul was because he was a Roman citizen free. In other words, don't I have a lot of Rights and Freedoms as a Roman citizen being answers. Yes, I do. Am I not an apostle? What's an apostle in the Bible? I always refer to him as capital and lowercase a possible. She have the capital, A Apostles. The apostles names, were the ones that were Disciples of Jesus or or saw Jesus. And actually saw the resurrected Jesus commissioned by him to go out, perform signs and miracles. And to see the church, get started. And Paul was one of those that did Jesus appear to literally remember the road Damascus. He appeared to him and gave him the mission to go out. And Paul actually did do miracles of things even there in Corinth showing that he was an apostle. He was chosen sent by God by Jesus Christ, himself to plant the church. Am I not an apostle? Do I not have the status of an apostle? Will guess I do have, I not seen Jesus, our lord, the majority of Believers, then didn't probably nobody is in court that ever Jesus. The only ever heard of it. I'm not seeing Jesus. I've only ever heard of him. Read about him. But Paul is like I saw him. Do you think that maybe you all to have a little respect for me? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? And again, he was the one who shared the gospel there in court. And they were Believers because he went there and share the gospel with them. Are you not the result of my working, or don't we have the right to food and drink? Be back in their culture in that day and course was this place where I told you weeks ago how they would have a lot of teachers philosophers and people would associate himself with a particular teacher for last for anybody that they thought would actually gain them some status or not. And the way those teachers and philosophers made their living. Was by having their pupils and people that set under them, actually give them what they needed food, Drake house, whatever you need, will give it to you. Just keep teaching us and Falls. Like hey, am I in Apostle? I am I not the one who went there and preach the gospel. You don't don't we like part of us and I have the right to food and drink and the answer would be yes and our culture. He had every right to get his Provisions from them.

But he didn't do it. He says, we have the right to take a believing wife along with us on this journey and then take wives with them. Cephas. Did Jesus other brothers Jude? And James probably had believing wives. They had with them and their Journeys, they had. But Paul Barnabas. They didn't take wives with them. They didn't expect people to take care of, not only that, but they take care of their families. He says it only Barnabas and I who lacked the right. Not like I'm sorry. I missed. Hope type there should be a c k the right not to work for a living. See, all these other teachers and philosophers the people that came in after Paul that said, oh yeah, Paul, he's not really good speaker. Listen to me. And they would, they would get their food, their drink support from the people, they want work, but Paul's like it was burning side. Do we lack the right? Not to work for a living. Now, we had the right not to work. We could have lived off of you as we taught, but we didn't who serves as a soldier as his own expense. And again, for those who go in the military. Do they have to scrub to get their own food?

I know they're fed by the Army, right?

Look. Even secular Lee speaking. They get provided for what about those who plan of Vineyard? Don't they get to eat the grapes? Yes, secondly, speaking. Those who play, I get to eat what they saw those. Who look after the flock. They get the drink, the milk from the go. So I guess I'm not a real goat milk fan, but in their culture, that's what they did.

He's like look secularly speaking as far as the teachers and philosophers that come in you you will gladly feed them, give them drinks. And then once you come to you have the right to get that we had the right. We had every right. We planted and yet he use this imagery earlier that we planted another. So do God, gives the increase. We have to plant. Should we get to reap something? We're serving in the Lord's army. Shouldn't we have the right to get something out of this? Do I say this? A merely human authority. And again, he's like I'm not just saying this because, okay. I'm a human that you should respect. No, this is something that comes from God. Doesn't the law, say the same thing. And he goes in and quotes from Deuteronomy about the socks should not be muzzle muzzle. The ox as it spreads out the green and he's like, God didn't just care about oxen. That's not the whole point. He's not just worried about axes. Oxen. Surely. He says, it's for us, doesn't he? Then again? He's using his rhetorical questions one after another. After another never to Oracle question, is meant to drive a point home and he's using 16 in a row. He's really trying to drive this home. We had rights. I had right Barnabas had the right to do all these things to be supported by you, when we came and share the gospel with you, as we stayed there with you, for two years, teaching, you daily and doing everything I can to build you up. And even now we're trying to give you more influence and sending letters and instructions to you. And you glad you don't give us the respect. We supposed to have a few balmet, bad, mothers behind our backs. We do all this. You see this in the rest of the letter that he wrote in second grade. These as well that all this is going on. He's like, we have the rights were Apostles with. I've seen the Lord himself. We have the rights to all these things.

Cuz man, if we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much, if we reap a material Harvest from you? The answer is no. In fact, it would be the right thing.

But Paul never did.

If others have this right of support from you, should we have it all the more? You have these other teachers and philosophers coming and teaching you. All these things. You'll gladly support them when they're giving you worldly philosophy and everything else. Here. We give you the word of life.

Should we have the right to get these things? All the more than anyone else? But we did not use this right on the contrary. We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Paul's like we had a lot of Rights and we lived among you for a couple years and you saw, we didn't make use of our rights.

Why? Because we didn't want to hinder the gospel. How would it end of the Gospel if Paul got food and drink from the people that were there?

What you could see other people say up. He's just doing it for food and drink. He's not, he doesn't really believe this. He's just making a living. People still say that today about pastors and preachers, right? The church only meets on Sunday because the pastor wants a paycheck, right?

Church is all about money.

Yeah, you know what if I could win the lottery and not get a paycheck. Oh, and just live in and have my family provided for. I'd love to be able to do that.

Because I don't like seeing the gospel hindered either. It is a hindrance. When people say all, they just doing it for money, just doing it for money.

The pulse point is is that the gospel is more important than any of our rights.

The gospel is what should be all important to believers.

Not our rights. Again. Our culture builds us up that are rights. Are all important and it's easy to look at that teenager that got the Mustang that the wrong color that's has a fit and say oh, wow! What an entitled attitude? It's harder to see it ourselves, but we all have his sense of entitlement that is about my rights. I have the right to that bacon, that Greg 8.

And we all have that to some degree. Emma, Paul saying is No, it's not about your rights. It's about the gospel. As Believers, the gospel is much more important than our rights is like I have not used any of these rights. I'm not writing this in the hope that you'll do such things for me. I'd rather die than allow anyone deprive me of this post these. Like look, I'm not writing to you this now so that you feel guilt trip and say, oh man, we forgot to send Paul some money to buy some food. Now, you know, I'm not trying to put a guilt trip on, I'm not trying to make anybody. Do anything. In fact, if you did and I be upset. That's not the point. The point is, when I tell you, it's better to give up your rights than the sin against Christ by hurting a brother and sister. I mean, it and I live it. That's the point. The gospel is more important than our rights. But why would he do that? Cuz I took time to think about this week and to be honest. I don't like giving up my rights. Does anybody else like giving up your rights?

I don't. B, when I feel I have the right to do something I want to do. If Jen says, we'll go do this, go finish that trim up in the kids room. That's the current project in the house. It's only been nine years.

I want to go out hunting. I have the right to go hunting, right?

It is I'm just trying to make this personal you guys make it personal in your own way. Make meal Pad Polly doesn't care about going out and you know. but, Okay, if I get one, pray, I'm going out tomorrow anyway.

But that's the thing. I heard us all to take time to wait and say, wait a minute. What in my life do I see is a right that I have. That is taking priority over the gospel.

And that's what Paul said. He's like, look at I'm not writing. Now to say start giving me. It's not the point. It's not the point. He was compelled by something other than entitlement and rights. And when I look at it, what does entitlement and rights living room rights calls? When I live for my entitlement or my rights, it actually causes Strife, doesn't it?

I got to go back to the trim versus hunting. Okay, does that called any tension in the house? So get the trim done? I want to go hunting. Okay. What's that?

That's what entitlement in in rights do is they think they tear apart, they caused anger and division when we're living for ourselves and our rights.

Paul was not compelled by that. And a lot of the things that I do in my life, as I think about it, why do I do it? Because I'm compelled by my rights and Paul is like compelled by something else. He's compelled by the gospel. He says man, I preach the gospel. I cannot both. I am compelled to preach to me. If I do not preach the gospel heavier in his soul than any right. They ever had the right to to have a comfortable life, instead of being on a ship that goes down and then he's in the sea in a storm for a couple days or get shipwreck on a beach and bitten by a serpent or taken out of a city and stoned. He didn't say. Well I have the right to live a couple of Life, have a nice house and a wife and kids and everything else and just He wasn't worried about his rights to all this life. Is more compelled by the gospel?

That this world is going to end, but there is hope in the future because of price, we can have a relationship with God. We can have eternal life in. This is not just for us, but for everyone in this world and they need to hear it. Jesus told us to go tell them.

You might want to guess why I chose the Wheatfield thing. Two reasons. Don't muzzle the ox, right? It's part of the passage. But Jesus said, the field is white unto Harvest.

Pray Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers. And right after, he tells his disciples to pray, the Lord Harvest and forth laborers, very next thing that happens is he sends them out?

Are we compelled by the gospel? Are we compelled by our rights to my life? Or am I compelled by the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Because everything that I have a right to hear in this world to know what's going to happen. It's all going to burn.

The gospel.

What's our hope or Joy or crown is Paul wrote to the Thessalonians? Is it not you? Other people with whom, we share. The gospel will go on to Eternity.

Now, there's something you can keep.

Says, if I preach voluntarily, I have reward. It's not a Telly. I just simply discharging a trust committed to me. He wanted a reward. I was looking forward to that. And so what was the result? What did he do? As a result of this compulsion for the gospel? He made himself a slave in the whole reason. I need to win as many as possible. Because that's what's going to last. That's what's going to go into. Eternity. Paul is going to spend eternity with how many hundreds of thousands of believers. Because he made the gospel. His compulsion instead of his rights. And he allow the Lord to use him in such a way.

To win as many as possible. He says, no, I am free and I belong to no one. I made myself as slaves. Everyone to win as many as possible to the weekend became weeks to win the week. I become all things to all people to the by all possible. Means I might save some, he was realistic. He knew it was going to be able to disable realistically. None of us can save anyone, but I understand this. Jargon. I want to, I want some people to come to Christ.

Can you not? Everyone would come? And why would you do this? It goes on. He talks about sharing in the blessings and I'm skipping ahead here, but he has, we're going to see that in another verse here in a little bit. What are those blastix? But he said, look, look, if you're going to live the way I living. I want you to know. And this is why all believers should live. Do you not know that the race all the runners run? But only one gets the prize. He says, run in such a way as to get the prize. You can't take this example attending extrapolated out. It's not just like one believer out of all of us. Going to get the prize and get to be in eternity with God. He can't go there and look, just like Runners all run the race. Do they all run to win? Unless you're on certain track teams. Yes. There are some track teams out there that the kids don't always run to win. They're just there because they can put it in their resume. They were part of the tracking. But but generally speaking, if you're our race and running a race, you're running twin. It's not easy. And in Christianity is not meant to be easy. And that's one thing that I feel like in our society with this entitlement mentality, where we are, the protagonist in Christianity, everything in her life to be easy. And Paul's, like, no, Christian is not meant to be easy. It's like a runner in a race in for the Corinthians. This was really strike home because he had the ESPN games. They had. The, the race is everything else there in Corinth. And so he's using imagery, they be aware of that luck. If you're going to run a race and run to win, it's going to take a lot of work is good. Take your best effort. It's not just a matter of just got out there in 20 minutes.

He's like, no, you got it. Got to do your best friend runs in such a way that you are actually trying to get. The prize, takes your best effort. Not just a lack of days ago. I'm a Christian. So do this. This is pretty easy. No. Run to win the price. You're going to be a Christian, giving your best. Don't be like 2 days ago about it says everyone who competes games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last but we do it to get a crown that's going to last forever. Again, we we live so often for our rights and our entitlement. And one of those things were, all right, sometime with four things in this world that are all going to burn. He says no, you got to start running race, giving your best to get the price, that's going to be. What's the last forever? And it's going to take a wholehearted effort and I have to give you your message. You have to give it your whole heart. Not just halfheartedly. I'm a Christian and so I guess maybe I'll do this or I'll do that. Give me your wholehearted after here. Do not run like someone running aimlessly. Thor fight like a boxer just beating are okay. Yeah, going through the motions. Yam. I'm Rocky. I'm training you. He's like no literally says, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave. I don't just like go through the motions. I'm literally going through the training when he talks about striking a blow. He's actually using. Where is it? I didn't realize it goes back into their kind of boxing. Look different in our boxing. Yes, they still had loves but their gloves were like leather wrapped around. Brass knuckles with pieces of lead and other things build into it with those clubs. Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it if he's like, I'm actually boxing. I'm using these gloves and I'm beating my own body. It's taking a toll on me. This is real. This is it just, you know, I'm going to get through and take the easy Road. And, yeah, I'm a Christian. I'm on my way to heaven. The I got my chicken on the gospel train. Okay. Now he's like no, this takes effort, takes discipline. It takes hard work because you know, what? Giving up your rice isn't easy. It isn't easy. And so, last Wednesday, I was working on the trim thing in the whole time about the deer that are out there getting away.

It's not easy to give up your rights. It takes effort. It takes real effort in real work to give up your rights. He's like look. And I don't just want to preach to others. I don't want to be disqualified.

It's not, it's not just a matter of talk, guys. I am telling you it's better to give up your rights for a brother and sister. It's better to give up your rights for the gospel. But I'm not just talkin. I'm living it. I'm doing it and it takes a lot of effort and discipline, but it's worth it. I don't want to be disqualified. I want to get the prize. It's painful discipline. Do not know that our race all the runners run but only one gets the prize run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone. Competes in the games goes into strict training, they do it to get a crown that will not last. We do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a box of beating the air. I strike a blow to my body, make it my slave. So that after I appreciate others. I myself will not be disqualified. Not be disqualified for the prize. And what is that prize? What is the reward? Paul actually said a little bit easier. He says, look my reward. I can give the gospel for free.

Call new. He knew what it was like to work and we had this mentality. We feel like you have to earn everything. At least that's the way I was raised. You have to earn everything. And when it comes to Christianity, our Salvation, I can never work enough. Paul knew that he lived. His whole life is a Pharisee trying to be righteous enough. Until Christ appear, Tillman the road to Damascus, and it got it freely.

I know what it's like to strive your whole life. Wondering. Am I good enough. Will I be accepted?

Then Christ came and gave it to me freely.

I just want to give that to other people to see them come to Freedom. In Christ, instead of the bondage of having to gain in earn status and acceptance.

Freeboard is freedom. And seeing other people come to it. Again, as I as I work through the passage this week and and I had to ask, what am I compelled by? Am I compelled by my entitlement? My rights. Or am I can tell by the gospel? And I think that's a question. We all have to really look at our own lives. As I said this past year, if I had anything to say about the Evangelical Church in America. It's not very Evangelical. It's more about rights.

And sadly, I think a lot of us have bought into that. Impulse, and it's not about your rights. It's about the gospel. What compels US what motivates us to do and say the things that were doing our rights? Or the gospel.

I guess what I challenges for for 2022 is a have a greater Vision, a greater Vision, that gets be on living for my rights and actually Living For The Gospel. In 2022. As Paul said, in this is diversity. I want to memorize this week and that encourage all of us to consider know I am free. And I thank God that I live in this country. We have a lot of freedoms. We have a lot of Rights and I am thankful for those who have law degrees that will take things to court and fight for those. But you know what? I'm glad that they'll do that. But I'm living my life. Though, I am free and belong to no one. I made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible.

So what does that look like?

We'll just one example. Maybe that means that if I'm going to go be with somebody and they they are more comfortable wearing a mask that I say. Okay. Well if you if you'd rather I wear mess, I'll just wear one. No biggie. Why? Because to the weak, I became weak to win the weak. To those under the law. I became as one under the law to Windows under the law though. I'm not under the law.

To those not under the law. I became as one not under the law, but I'm not free from the law. I'm under the law of Christ. Once again, it all comes back to what the law of Christ love the Lord, your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

Do, I am free? I make myself a Slave. To everyone. It isn't that what love is? Living for the other.

Paul did a good job using his own life as an example. And again, I just challenged us. It's not just a matter of following Paul, but it's Paul said another place. Follow me as I follow Christ because did Christ have the right to remain in his Heaven on his throne. Did he have the right to receive all? Praise Glory and Honor every moment of every day? And did he not give up those rights to come down here as we just celebrated at Christmas? He gave up his rights. And what the Christ do.

He humbled himself to the point of becoming a man and not just a man but a Slave.

Call. To win. As many as possible. It's not just following Paul's example. This is following crisis is Christianity, 101, isn't it? It's not about my rights. It's about the gospel though. I am free blowing to know when I made myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible. Let's light in 2022. Let's Let The Gospel be what compels US instead of our rights. Amen.

Lord, I just thank you that again. There is nothing new Under the Sun. There is nothing in this. Modern-day that hasn't already taken place even back, two thousand years ago in Corinth. I just ask that you would work in my hardworking, all of our hearts that being a Christian, would be something that is real.

Not just a name. But that we would run the race to win that we would give it our all that, we've given our best effort that we would be discipline and beating our bodies because it's not easy to fight against our own flash, our own wheels. Our rights are entitlements.

To give those up to become a slave of Christ. It.

And it all comes back to Falling prices. If I pray you working hard since 2022. The people would see Christ in us that we would be loving that. We would be serving that we would share. Hope not of This World by the old for eternal life. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.