Live Like a Missionary: A Servant to All. 1 Cor. 9:19-23
Know who you are: A servant of no man. V. 19
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You are not bound to any man.
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The danger in adapting to others is that we begin to look so much like them that we are no good spiritually for them.
Know Your mission: Winning People to Christ. V. 19-22
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Don’t be distracted by others things.
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We should go to sacrificial measures to help people see the truth.
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Missionaries leave families behind in order to be used by God to save souls.
Know Your Strategy: Voluntarily a servant to All to win Some. V. 19
Paul became like those under the law in order to win them.
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He partook of their holidays and didn’t eat meat sacrificed to idols, or catfish, pork, even though he was free to do so. He knew that he was not saved by keeping the law, but he kept it in order to earn their respect to teach them the gospel.
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We are free to eat a rare steak, even though the OT says not to eat anything with blood (Lev. 19:26) in it, because we are not under the law.
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One missionary ate a rat in order to earn the respect of the natives in Malawi, so he could live with them and share the gospel with them.
Paul became like those without the law in order to win them.
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Since Paul was free he could also go share the gospel with people who did not live under the law. He intentionally lived like they lived in order to open the doors for the gospel to be shared.
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What does this mean for us?
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It means if we separate ourselves from them we will not win them.
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It means we should be wise in how we live in the world we are in.
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It means we should be careful not to compromise the word of God, but by all means do what it takes to lead people to Jesus.
Notice we are to be a servant to all, but we only win some. V. 22
Know the Reason.
1. Because of the Gospel. V. 23
2. Because it is what a believer does. V. 23
3. Because Hell is real.
