But I have used none of these
things, neither have I written these things, that it should
be so done unto me. For it were better for me to
die, than that any man should make my glorying void. For though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of. For necessity is
laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel.
For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward. But if, against
my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me,
what is my reward then? Verily or truly, that when I
preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without
charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be
free from all, yet I have made myself servant unto all, that
I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as
a Jew. that I might gain the Jews. To
them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might
gain them that are under the law. To them that are without
law, as without law, being not without law to God, but under
the law to Christ, that I might gain them better without law.
To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I
have made all things to all, that I might by all means save
some. And this I do for the gospel's
sake, that I might be a partaker thereof with you. Know ye not
that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the
prize? So run that ye may obtain. Every
man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now
they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible
crown. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. So fight I, not as one that beats
the air. that I keep under my body, and
bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Here is
a man, an apostle, who counted the preaching of the gospel to
be the greatest privilege, greatest thing committed to his trust
while he lived on this earth. And you remember in the previous
verses up to this time, he talked about how that those who preach
the gospel ought to be supported by the gospel. And yet he didn't
take these privileges and these things upon himself, though the
others did. That's what he said there in
verse 14. Even so, the Lord hath ordained
that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. Just
like you don't muzzle an ox as he treads out the corn, you don't
muzzle those who labor in the gospel. And though he did that,
and then talked about being married, and he forgoed that, and he said
he had the right to marry as well as any other apostles did,
he could stop secular labor and expect those to whom he preached
to maintain his living for him, and yet he'd use none of those
privileges. And that's what he says here, that he says in verse
15, but I have used none of these things. I've not used my privileges
and my power for you to support me. I've not used marriage. I've not done any of the things.
I've not expected anybody where I went to maintain and keep me
up wherever I went. And I'm not writing that these
things are suggested they'd be done unto me." See, Paul evidently
had been accused, and this is the thing about the Corinthians
and how he rebukes them so often and so much. There was an element
there that denied Paul's apostleship. and thought that Paul was in
it for personal gain. And that's what happens when
you get men who are jealous of those who preach the gospel,
and those who have more power and more authority than them,
they start to see if they can't find fault with your gospel,
they find fault with you personally. And so they are evidently accusing
Paul of preaching for gain and for his own profit, for his own
advantage. And so he's dealing with that
subject now. He says, neither have I written
these things that they should be done unto me. I'm not expecting
you to take care of me. I'm not expecting you to do anything
different than what you do. For he said, it was better for
me that I should die than any man should make my glory vain.
And so what he'd done, he continued to reject it and deny it. This
charge, it was made against him. When he left the Ephesians, remember
he said, I coveted no man's silver or gold, no man's apparel. And
how I labored with my own hands while I was among you, so that
I'd be chargeable to nobody. How that I told you that our
Lord Jesus Christ said it's more blessed to give than it is to
receive. And so beloved Paul, he provided his own upkeep, made
his own living. And look over with me over in
2 Corinthians 11. How he deals with this subject over here. And he said here in 2 Corinthians
11, in verse 7, talking about somebody accusing him of using
the gospel for his own support and his own profit and his own
advantage, his own gain. And there's lots of people out
there. Paul said, you know, he called them huskers, hucksters.
He says, you know, he said, we do not We're not out here to
labor, to do anything. to win converts
to ourselves or anything that we do. We're not out for your
money. We're not out for your silver.
We're not out for your gold. We're not out for your praise.
We're not out for popularity contests. We're not here to entertain
you. And he says, we're here to do one thing only, and that's
to preach the gospel and bring Christ and his gospel to you,
that God might use that gospel to save you, cause you to grow.
And so he goes on here to say this, and he says in verse 7,
Have I committed an offense in abasing myself that you might
be exalted, because I have preached the gospel of God to you freely? I robbed other churches, taking
wages of them to do you service. Other people had to take care
of me so I could come and preach to you. And when I was present
with you and wanted, When I was in want, I might have some wants.
He didn't say things that I wanted. You know, the Lord said, Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want. He had wants. And he said, was
I chargeable to no man? For that which was lacking to
me, the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied me, and in
all things I've kept myself from being a burden to you, and so
will I keep myself. And he goes on to say, As the
truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting
in the regions of Achaia. And evidently there are some
folks there that I mean they charge Paul with some stuff and
Paul just refused to take anything from them. Look over here, 2
Corinthians 12, verse 17. He says here in verse 17, 2 Corinthians
12, Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto
you? You know, he sent preachers over
there. He said, you know, a lot of men went over there to preach
to you, preach for you, and lived among you. He said, Did I make
a gain by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and
with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you?
Huh? Walked we not in the same spirit?
Walked we not in the same steps? Did not Titus do exactly like
me, so that he wouldn't be chargeable to the gospel? Now let's go back
over to our text. And Paul was glorying, and that's
why he says, you know, it were better that I should die than
any man should make my glorying for. And the glory that he had
here is the fact that no one could accuse him of the ministry
to get gain, and he'd rather die. than to be deprived of this
personal satisfaction. And then in verse 16 here, he
goes on to say, For though I preach the gospel, though I preach the
gospel of God's glory and God's grace, the glorious gospel of
Christ, I have no room, I have no reason, I have no reason to
glory in preaching this gospel, this gospel of God's grace and
glory in Christ Jesus, or even feel like I've done anything
for necessity, like I've done anything because unusual or commendable
for necessity is laid upon me. Well, who laid the necessity
upon me? God laid this necessity upon me. God apprehended me on
the Damascus road. God laid hands on me. God called
me to be an apostle. God taught me the gospel. Christ
revealed himself to me. So the necessity is laid upon
me. And I have nothing to glory in as far as this gospel goes.
It's not that God gave me this gospel and laid it upon me, and
He went on to save us. And he says, yea, woe is unto
me, what would come to me? What would my end be? What would
I have to do if I preached not the gospel? And oh my, when it
comes to the gospel, God help a man that if he ever compromises
it, if he ever does it for any other reason, any other reason
than the glory of God, You don't have to go off and
go to seminary to learn how to preach the gospel. The only thing necessary to preach
the gospel is for God to call a man, for God to teach a man,
for God to enable a man, God to gift a man. And oh, if a man
walks away from that and compromises that and belittles that, I wouldn't
be in his shoes for 10,000 worlds like this one. I wouldn't be
in his shoes if he went out here. And I've often said this, and
we've known some really good preachers over our lifetime.
We've known some wonderful preachers. And I mean, boy, if it was just
for the gifts that they had, the ability they had, they could
have pastored these huge churches. They could have made millions
of dollars. People would have flocked to
hear them preach and filled up their coffers. But they chose
rent to preach the gospel to one or two people. than they
would for somebody to ever charge them with preaching the gospel
for profit or gain. Oh, Wayne Boyd, let me tell you
this little story right quick. I'll stop preaching and tell
you a story here. Wayne Boyd wrote me the other day and talked
about a fellow, he says, you know, that Christ, you know,
that man that only has one sheep, he's got to feed that sheep.
And I wrote back and told him, I said, that's exactly right.
I said, the Lord Jesus went to one, I don't know how many times.
He went to the woman at the well, and there was nobody but her. Zacchaeus is the only one he
called out of that tree, just Zacchaeus. Lazarus is the only
name he called when there was a dead man. That woman at the
well with that issue of blood, she's the only one that touched
him. One at a time, one at a time, he went and got his people. And
beloved, and I said this, and I've told you this before, I'll
never forget it as long as I live. We was down in Chiapas, Mexico.
It's an extremely dangerous place now, where Milton was. And we
was driving, and we went as far as we could up this mountain.
And we had to get out of the vehicle, and we had to walk up
in this mountain, walk up in this little old village, and
just a few huts in there, just a few houses. And old dirt roads,
and we walked in there, and A man and his wife and their child
came in there, and they sat down on a little old couch. They had
a little old table and little old wooden chairs. Well, this man
was the only believer in the household. His wife and son sat
on the couch, and they sat on the couch, and he and the man
took one of them little old wooden chairs and opened his Bible and
looked at that one man and took 1 Peter chapter 1 and started
preaching him. That one man walked, hot, sweaty,
and sat down and opened his Bible and preached to that one man. And if a man ain't willing to
do that, he ain't got no business being in the ministry. Now, ain't
that right? And our Lord Jesus done it, and
we're going to do it. And that's what Paul said, you
know, I've got the necessities laid upon me, God put it on me.
And then let's go back on down here in verse 17. He says, for if I do this thing
willingly, I have a reward. But if against my will, a dissipation
of the gospel is committed unto me. And what he's saying, if
I preach this gospel, and I do this willingly, and I endure
the trials, and I endure the labor, in the Word, and I endure
the hardness of a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And I do it
with a willing spirit and a cheerful heart." And he says, and I have
great satisfaction and compensation. I do this thing willing, I have
a reward. I have the satisfaction, the
reward is in preaching the gospel itself. But if he says, and he
says, but if I, against my will and dispensation, the gospel
is committed unto me. But if I do it reluctantly, And
I do it because I'm compelled to do it. But he says, nevertheless,
I'm still a servant of Christ. I'm still entrusted with this
sacred, blessed gospel and this commission God gave, whether
I get paid or whether I don't, whether willingly or reluctantly.
None of these change the fact that I am under the call of God
to preach the gospel, to preach the Word. And then he says in
verse 18, what is my reward then if I do it against my own will?
What, again, is my present compensation? What's my present reward? What's my present satisfaction?
Now, a lot of folks say, well, he's going to get a crown when
he gets that, and he'll have a lot of stars in it because he's an
apostle. No. No, what's my reward? What's
my reward? Huh? What is it? He says, this is what it is. Truly, that when I preach the
gospel, And oh, when I preach the gospel, oh, bless God for
the gospel. Oh, to believe the gospel. And
when I preach the gospel, that I make the gospel of Christ without
charge, I don't say I can't come and preach the gospel unless
you guarantee me so much money. You know, there's lots of people
in religion that that's what they do. They set a price before
they'll come. Set a price. There are sailors
that will not come until they get a price. An evangelist will
not come until he gets guaranteed a certain price. There are preachers
that will not come and set up a meeting unless you take care
of this expense, that expense, and another expense, and this
expense, and that expense. But Paul says that this is my
reward. Right now, this is my reward.
That I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I
abuse not my power in the gospel. He could have went and said,
I'm an apostle. I'm an apostle, and you all need to take care
of anything and everything that I need. And I tell you what,
if you all don't do that, I won't come over there and preach. Could
you imagine them doing something like that? I know one particular
person, I won't tell you their name, but they will not go unless
they're guaranteed $5,000. And that's in any church in America. And what we gave Greg last week,
you know what he said? He just was upset to no end.
He said, that's just too much, too much, too much! And you can't give anybody preaching
the gospel what they're worth. How do you pay them for what
they're worth? But I'm not Scott. I ought to be paying you all
for the privilege to be able to preach to you. That's what
old Scott said. I ought to be paying you. But oh, but that's
what he says here. What is my reward? And he says, I'm so concerned
for the gospel and the glory of Christ, and my privilege as
a preacher of the gospel of Christ, that I give my services free
to anybody, any place, any time, and nobody will ever be able
to accuse me of profiting from the gospel and abusing my privileges
as a preacher. And I can tell you this, I couldn't
tell you how many times I've went And I know other preachers
went. And you go places where they
don't have much, and they're just a handful. You couldn't
possibly take anything from them. I went to a place one time, and
me and Henry both went. And they tried to give us something,
and me and Henry both said, no, no, no, no. You take that, and
you keep it here. And recently, and I'm not trying
to toot my own horn here, but I was preaching at a place, out
west, and they left some money on my nightstand. I said, hey,
no way. There's just no way. These people
were sacrificing. I mean, they were really sacrificing. You all take such good care of
me. Why would I charge anybody else when you all take care of
me? Right? Why would I do that? But alright,
here we go. Let's get back to this. He says
in verse 19, and this is some things that I hope that I can
deal with these rightly. He says, For though I be free
from all. Now you notice that men's in italicized. The word
men's not in here. For though I be free from all.
What's he talking about being free from all? Well, he's talking
about being free from The curse of the moral law, I'm as free
as any other believer. I'm free from the curse of the
moral law. I'm free from the yoke of the ceremonial law. I'm
free from the maintenance and support of believers. And yet,
he said, I've made myself a servant unto all. Yet, I've not myself.
I considered myself the willing servant of heaven. You know,
our Lord Jesus said, He that is chief among you, let him be
the servant. Here's Paul, the apostle. To
whom Christ revealed himself to and revealed the gospel to.
He said, I make myself a servant to every man. Man or woman, I
don't care who they are, what they are. I make myself a servant
to all of them. And here's the reason that I
might gain the more. That it's by this attitude, by
this nature, in this way that God's made me, that I might gain
more men, more people to hear the gospel. To hear the gospel. And oh, he said, you know, the
servant of all, and then look what he says here in verse 20
through 22. And unto the Jews I became as
a Jew, that I might gain the Jews. To them that are under
the law as under the law, that I might gain them that are under
the law. Now what in the world is he talking about here? You
know, he wasn't Paul understood that the law, the ceremonial
law and the rituals and the sacrifices, the priesthood and all that,
died when Christ came into this world. When Christ died, they
were abolished. They were done away with. The
priesthood, the sacrifices, the ceremonial law, the riches, the
workings, the altars and everything, the temple sacrifices, going
to the temple, all that was ended. Look over in Ephesians 2.15.
Let me show you what I'm talking about. He knew that. And he wasn't
bound by circumcision. He wasn't bound by holy days.
He wasn't bound by new moons and rituals prescribed under
the law. But what Paul says was, when I was around the Jews, when
I was around Jews, I understood Jews. I understood their ideas. I understood their nature. I
understood how bound they were by ceremonies and rituals. In
fact, when he went Up to Lystra and there, he had Timothy with
him. Timothy's mother was a Jew, but his daddy was a Greek. And
so he had Timothy circumcised, though he didn't have to do it,
but he had him circumcised so in order that he might preach
the gospel to those Jews then. Because they wouldn't have heard
him if he had this uncircumcised half-breed Gentile with him.
And so he done that. And here, watch what he says
in Ephesians 2.15. 2.15, having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, whose flesh? Christ's flesh, even the law
of commandments contained in the ordinances. All those commandments
that were contained in the ordinances that God gave, he broke down
and abolished the enmity to make in himself in Christ of two people
one new man, so making peace, that he might reconcile both
under God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity
thereby. And so what he's telling us is
here is that there was a wall, a petition, between the Jews
and the Gentiles. The Jews, they would not have
anything, and they had this wall over here. God said they had
an enmity in their flesh. The Jews hated Gentiles. They were unclean, they were
filthy, they were uncircumcised, they could not have anything
to do with them. God said, when Christ came, He
abolished that enmity. He shows that Jew and Gentile,
there's a Jew, here's a Gentile. The ceremonial, the law cannot
do anything for a Jew anymore. And Gentile with all his paganism
and all his idolatry, God saved him from that and he broke that
enmity, tore down that wall and brought Jew and Gentile in one
place, in Christ, one new man. And by this one new Man, we now
have access unto the Father by the Spirit. And oh, that's what
he's talking about here. And so he says, I became to the
Jews, I understood a Jew. And that's why he would go on
the Sabbath day, and he'd stand up on the Sabbath day and preach
the gospel to those Jews. He understood where they was
coming from. And then he says here to the Gentiles, to them
that are without law, who were under no obligation to the ceremonial
law, no obligation to the sacrifices in the temple worship, knew anything,
knew anything about it. And yet he could discourse and
fellowship with them, those that were, they were not without law
to God, they were without the ceremonial law, without the rituals,
but they were not without law to God. But they were under the
law to Christ. Now, I'm telling you, you know,
a Gentile may have never, ever been under that ceremony of the
Law of the Rituals, know anything about it, but we're all under
the Law of God, and we're all under the Law of Christ. And
Paul said, and I understood that, and I could fellowship with them,
and talk with them, and preach to them, because they were under
the Law of Christ. And he says, you know, God saved
me from the Law, so I know. But we're under the law of Christ.
And then to the weak became I as weak. Then I gained the weak. He said, you know, somebody says
they're weak, that they just don't have no strength, no ability.
They're immature. They don't know about what they're
supposed to eat, how they're supposed to live, and how they're
supposed to go, how much liberty they have, or what Paul would
do when he'd get around them. He would get out on their level.
And he'd say, you know, if you're weak, he said, you know, I know
what it is to be weak. I know what it is to worry about
my liberty, concerned about my liberty, where I go, what I eat,
what I... And he'd do this, and in doing that, he would gain
their confidence. And that's what he says here,
to the weak I became weak that I might gain the weak. Those
that are weak in the faith, weak in knowledge, Weakened their
understanding of the gospel. Weakened their understanding
of the law. Weakened their understanding of so many things. He says, And
I made all things to all, that I might by all these means save
some. Save some. Oh my. And he done this at any cost
to himself to bring men to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now he didn't save them himself. He said, you know, that I might
save them, or they be saved by the gospel of Christ, that they'll
listen to what I have to say. And then he says in verse 23,
and he gives us two reasons for doing this, and this I do for
the gospel's sake. That's the first reason. I do
it for the gospel's sake. This is the reason I do this,
for the gospel's sake. That is because for the glory
of God, for the spread of the gospel, that I might be without
charge, you know, for the gospel's sake. for the gospel's sake.
We do what we do for the gospel's sake. I can grab the Jew. I understood a Jew. I understood
the law. I understood his rituals, his
ceremonies. And when I was around those Gentiles that got converted
that was under the law of Christ, he said, I would become as them.
I could preach to them. I could tell them. And then I
got around a weak brother. He said, I'd get down to where
he's at. I wouldn't act superior. I wouldn't like I knew everything
and condemn him because of his weakness and his inabilities
and his lack of understanding. And I do this for the gospel's
sake. And he said, and here's a second reason that I might
be a partaker there with you, that I might partake of the gospel
with you, that the Jew and Gentile alike might share in the blessings
of the gospel. What is the blessings of the
gospel? You know, the gospel is the power
of God unto salvation. Look what he said over in 2 Timothy
2 with me, just a moment. 2 Timothy 2, talking about, you
know, I do this for the gospel's sake, and that you might be a partaker
of this gospel and the fruits of the gospel eternal life. And look what he says here in
2 Timothy 2, in verse 9. Wherein I suffer trouble as an
evildoer, even under bonds, but the word of God is not bound.
That's what he talks about for the gospel's sake. Therefore
I endure all things for the elect's sake. And I do this for the gospel's
sake, that you might partake of this. For I endure all things
for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Oh, that's why
we preach the gospel, that you might partake of the fruit, the
life, the power that God gives us in the gospel. Now, back over
in our text and look in verse 24. This is so, to me, it's kind
of self-explanatory, and I'm sure it is for you. He said,
ìNo, youíre not the favorite to run in a race. Run all, but
one receives the prize. So run that you may obtain.î
You know, the Olympics started in Greece, what we call the Olympics. Had them every four years. They
had running, wrestling, all kinds of events. And this is what heís
talking about. Heís talking about the Grecian
Games. And they had these athletes,
and these athletes, you know, they would They'd run, they'd
wrestle, they'd fight, and they'd do all these things. That's where
all this started over in Greece. And he says, and lots and lots
of people start the race. Lots and lots of people start
the race. And many run, and they'll run for a while. But the one,
there's only going to be one that's going to cross that finish
line first, and only that one's going to win the prize. That
one. And Paul says this, one receives the prize. This one. Now, that's not the way it's
supposed to be today. Now, everybody's involved in something, they give
everybody a trophy. That don't even make sense to
me. What in the world's the use of
competing? What's the use of running? You
know, if you get first, you ought to get first, you ought to get,
and then they bring up second, fourth, fifth, sixth. Well, we
don't want to make them feel like they're left out, so we're
going to give them one too. That doesn't, you know, and then
what it does is it causes people to expect something for nothing.
But that's another story. We're not dealing with that right
now. But he says here, but they run. But only one's going to
cross them. You know, they have marathons
all over. And I'm telling you, when these
fellas run, they run 26 miles under five minutes a mile. And when they cross that finish
line, they're going to get a crown, and not all that, but they're
going to get $70,000, $80,000, $100,000, $150,000, and they're
going to get all this prize money, and they're going to get treated
like kings. And that's what Paul said. That's
what happens here. But he says, listen, so you run
that you may obtain. Now listen. Oh, this is where
we get to it now. Their object was to gain a crown.
He says here in verse 25, And every man that striveth for the
Master is tempered in all things. Now this fellow who wants to
win, whether it's running, wrestling, fighting, whatever it is, he
says the one that wants to be the master in this, he's tempered
in everything. That person who wants to win
the race and that person who wants to be an elite athlete,
he competes in the games, he's mindful to discipline himself
in what he eats and what he drinks and his pleasures. He really
keeps his body under subjection. He restricts himself to temperance
and moderation and everything, and what's this? And all he does
is going to get a corruptible crown. He's going to go through
all of this, and you know they're elite athletes, and I mean, they
take care of themselves, take care of their health, and eat
certain things, and discipline themselves, and do without things,
and that's in any profession. And he says, and when they cross
the finish line, they're going to get a crown, but it's a corruptible
crown. So watch what happens for us.
But we get an incorruptible crown. They're going to get a temper
and a corruptible crown. But the believer, I'll tell you
that person that's running this race, and look over at Hebrews
12 with me, just a moment. You know, those believers that
are running this race, and we're running a race. Hebrews 12. We're running a race. The believer's
faith, his commitment to Christ. And oh, we ought to be temperate,
and we ought to sacrifice, and we have a higher purpose, a higher
purpose than they do. They do it to gain an incorruptible
crown, but us, a corruptible crown, but us an incorruptible.
Look what he says here in Hebrews 12, verse 1. Wherefore, in seeing
we also are accomplished to thou, with so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us lay aside every weight, talking about temperance now,
and let us lay aside the sin which doth so easily beset us.
You watch those fellows run them races, they ain't hard. They
got on the lightest things they can get. And watch this now,
and let us run with patience the race that's set before us.
We've got a race. We're in a race. And oh, and
this is what we're looking for. This is our finish line. That's
why Paul said, I'll press toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Jesus Christ. Looking unto Jesus, the
author. Keep your eyes on Him. That is
your crown. That is your reward. That's the
incorruptible thing we've got to look forward to. Who for the
joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.
And, oh beloved, let me show you something else, too, over
here a second quickly. I mean, Galatians, not a second quickly. Galatians. Galatians chapter
5. And, oh beloved, oh my, we're
running a race, and they're getting a corruptible crown, temporary
crown. And eventually their bodies won't
take it anymore, and they just fade away. But we, beloved, we're
going to have an incorruptible crowd. And look what he said
here in Galatians 5, 7. He said, You did run well. Oh,
you was well on your way, and you was doing so well. Who did
hinder you that you should not obey the truth? Oh, you started
out running, and then all of a sudden you quit. Who hindered
you? Who hindered you? Who made you
stop? Because it's the truth that we're
running in. It's the truth that we obey. And he says this, this persuasion
comes not of him that called you. Who called you? God called
you. Christ called you. The Holy Spirit
called you. God didn't do this. God's not
hindering you. He's calling you to run this race. And oh, just
a little leaven, leaven the whole lump. And that's why he says,
in that quote, we're not ashamed. I mean, beloved, we're running
a race. And they're going to get a corruptible
crowd, an old temporary crowd, but we're going to get an incorruptible
crowd. And oh, my. And then in verse
26 and 27, he said, I therefore so run,
not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beats the
air. And I said, I'm not just out for a Saturday jog. I'm not
just out jogging, not having no purpose in running. I'm not
running uncertainly. I do know uncertainty. I know
where I'm going. I know where the course is. I know where the finish is. I
know what I'm running for. I'm not running uncertainly.
And I'm not fighting this one to beat you. I'm not shadow boxing.
I've got a real enemy. I've got a real opposition, and
I'm not shadow boxing. I'm not as warned as beating
the air. I'm not just thrashing around here just for the sake
of thrashing. And he says, and this is what
I do. I want to cross that finish line. I want to have that high, cross
that finish line in Christ. So what I do, I keep under my
body and bring it into subjection. My body's not going to control
me. My passion's not going to control me. I've got a race to
run. And if these people in the world
give so much to their cause, and it's just temporary, and
it's corruptible, what about us that are Christians? What
about us as believers? You would let them outdo you
and your faith in Christ and your commitment to Christ and
run in this race for Christ's sake and the gospel's sake? Would
you let, would you let your body and your pleasures and your desires
keep you from crossing that finish line? No, no, he said, Paul said,
I'm going to keep, I'm going to keep my, if those fellas in
the world can do it, I'm going to keep my body. My body's not
going to, this, and that's, you know, that's the, that's the
enemy that we have. There's no opponent out there. We actually have a real enemy,
and it's this body, it's this flesh. So he said, I discipline
my flesh, I discipline my mind, my body, and I bring them into
subjection to the Spirit of Christ. And he says, so when I preach
to others, that I myself should be a castaway.
And what that means is, beloved, if I end up letting myself go, not caring,
just thinking, well, I'm saved and that's just it. I'm saved. It doesn't make any
difference. No, no. He said, when I preach to others
and I tell them what to do, I tell them who to believe, I tell them
who to follow, I tell him who to look. I preach to him faith.
I preach to him commitment. I preach to him the gospel, and
believe the gospel. You're in a race, and you've
got a crown to win. And I preach that to him, and
then I don't do that myself. He said, it appears as if God
just sets me over here on the side. Oh, that's frightening, to be
cast aside, to be cast away. To be cast away. Press on. Press toward that mark. Press toward that mark. Because
I tell you, he which hath begun a good work in you, he shall
perform it under the day of Jesus Christ. And I know that every
believer in this building, I know that right now, I know that every
believer in this building right now wants nothing more in their
life than for God to work His will in their life, and for them
to be able, whatever it is, to glorify God in that. In that. Whether it means being put out,
or put up. Whether it means to suffer, or
whether it means to be enriched. Whatever it means. God work in
us that it pleases you. Amen?