I Am Made All Things to All Men

[0:00] All right, so we're looking at the I Am's of the Apostle Paul. And last week we really covered some good stuff about Paul's being persuaded that nothing will separate us from a love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

[0:17] And that's some Bible doctrine that you need to be established on and know and settled and not question. And I gave you the reasons why from that passage that the Apostle Paul was persuaded.

[0:28] So I recommend you to be persuaded by the Word of God and nothing else. I don't care about your feelings. I don't care about who told you what. We went to the Bible last week and gave you a doctrine. So let's be persuaded.

[0:42] Now this week's going to be a little different. I am. But we're moving forward and just catching what we can and what the Apostle Paul says. And here he says one that's really unique. And I bet you've read this before and you've probably heard some of these thoughts preached on.

[0:57] So it's verse 22 that he makes this statement. And I'm going to back up a little and read the passage. Let's start in verse 19 and then we'll read down to verse 23.

[1:11] So follow along in 1 Corinthians 9 verse 19. The Bible says, So let's pray and try to understand what Paul says and what we're to do as a result.

[2:05] Father, please bless the time. Please move in our hearts, move in our midst and just speak to us. Let your Word be effective and true. And God help me to be clear and to say those things from this passage that are right and needful tonight.

[2:21] And please give ears to hear and hearts to receive. And may Jesus Christ get a little something from this from us. We ask in his name and amen. So Paul's all things to all men.

[2:36] And he's becoming as this and as that. And first, a few things just preliminary. Understand that Paul is not a people pleaser. That's not what this is at all.

[2:47] He's not just trying to kiss everybody's rear ends and make them happy. Pardon the expression. But that's not the man. As a matter of fact, there's a verse in Galatians 1 verse 10.

[2:58] He says, For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

[3:10] And Apostle Paul said, First thing he said in the book of Romans is, I am a servant of Jesus Christ. And so he's not a people pleaser. He first and foremost is a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[3:20] But to more effectively minister the gospel. That was his calling. That was his duty. That was his job of God to preach the gospel and to minister the gospel of the grace of God.

[3:34] So to effectively do that, he chose to get creative. To be outside of the box, you might say. To find a way to get them the lost.

[3:44] To take their wall down and consider the gospel of Jesus Christ for their own salvation. And how did he do that? Well, he did it by what he expresses here, which we're going to study tonight.

[3:57] He's not a people pleaser though. He's just being creative, if you want to call it that. Paul also is not a compromiser. This is not him compromising anything at all.

[4:07] He's not engaging in behavior that would be a reproach or unseemly. He's not bellying up to the bar and throwing back a few brewskis so that he can witness to the bartender.

[4:22] That's not what he is being all things to all men. And so there's... I will close with some thoughts about that. He's not compromising what's right and wrong. I think his tactics that he describes here sometimes can be confusing or can be misleading if somebody's not careful.

[4:41] If they just want to see something or want to do something and they want justification, they'll say, well, Paul was all things all men. They'll use that text. But though his tactics could be confusing to onlookers, Paul expresses his motives and his reasoning in writing of what he's doing, what he's trying to do.

[4:58] So if somebody sees him going into the temple as he did, well, he writes down why he was doing that and what his purpose was right here.

[5:10] So there's no confusion. It's all cleared up. So we're following Paul's example. Paul says, I am this, and he's our example to follow. So then what do we need in order to be all things to all men?

[5:23] First thing I think we need to be is found in verse number 19, and that is we need to be humble. In order to be made all things to all men, you need to be humble. Verse 19, he says, for though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all.

[5:42] Now you might say, okay, what's this talk about humble and how do you get humility out of that? You see the word servant, yeah. But you need to understand something, a bigger picture. There is no one bigger than the Apostle Paul in this Christian age, in this time.

[6:01] Nobody. Not Peter. Not John. Nobody on the planet, for God's purposes, is bigger than the Apostle Paul. Big is the wrong term, but I think you understand what I mean.

[6:13] He is the chosen vessel. God said to Ananias, he is a chosen vessel unto me. And there were other men that were called of God and were ministers of the gospel of Christ, but nobody greater than Paul.

[6:24] Nobody higher than Paul in the, if you know what I mean, in the system, if there is none really, there is no hierarchy in the body of Christ, but he is of great importance.

[6:37] And so, when he says that I am made, I made myself servant unto all, he is dropping all, some of the hats that he wore and choosing to be something kind of like the Lord Jesus Christ who said that he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men.

[7:00] And that's Christ humbling himself. Now, I want to show you this from the Bible. Just while you're in this chapter, look back at verse 1. And Paul says, am I not an apostle?

[7:11] Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? And the answer is yes to all of it. So, yeah, the apostle Paul's got one up on all these people at Corinth.

[7:26] I mean, they're his work in the Lord. It's not the other way around. And he is an apostle. He is the apostle to the Gentiles. And he has, in fact, seen the Lord Jesus Christ. That's something to be said about him.

[7:37] Let's take it a step further. Look at chapter 9 and verse 17. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward.

[7:48] But if I, against my will, quote, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. Now, what in the world is that? Now, keep your place here and flip over just a few pages or so to the book of Ephesians, chapter 3.

[8:06] A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. I didn't read the next verse, but while you're turning, he said, what is my reward then?

[8:20] Verily that when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me, Paul said, unto me, not to you, to me.

[8:36] And he has power that he's not abusing in the gospel. So, what's this all about? Well, briefly, before we read Ephesians 3, just understand that God chose Paul.

[8:50] According to Galatians 1, he revealed, Jesus Christ revealed to him personally this gospel that he preaches. He did not receive it of men. He did not learn it of men.

[9:00] None of the apostles of Jesus Christ taught the apostle Paul these truths. He learned it firsthand and which begs the question, why didn't Jesus teach it to the other ones to teach him?

[9:12] Why did he pick him out special? Why did he on the side teach him these things that he didn't teach the others? Those men, remember those 12 and then the 11 that remained that were with Jesus Christ all those years and did all those signs, wonders, raising the dead and all the preaching they did, the traveling with Christ, the personal quiet time, the intimate time with the Lord, the teaching, the teaching, the teaching.

[9:38] And then the apostle Paul gets his own revelation and his own teaching from Jesus Christ somewhere else and he comes back and meets with them and he says, those guys added nothing to me.

[9:49] They taught me nothing at all. And then Peter, later on in 2 Peter, at the end of his writing and in 2 Peter 3, he says, the apostle Paul's writings are hard to be understood.

[10:00] Why would Peter say that? I'm trying to tell you, Paul has got some revelation from Christ that even Peter didn't quite understand.

[10:11] He didn't quite have put together because he wasn't being taught, Peter was taught about the kingdom of heaven. That's a different thing and that's something, anyway, now I'll come back to Ephesians 3, this is where I want to read, the first nine verses.

[10:22] Paul says this, For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you word.

[10:33] Who was it given to? To me, Paul said. He was given to me to you word. He's going to reveal it to you, to us. How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in a few words, whereby when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in ages, other ages, was not made known unto the sons of man as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me, he's emphasizing if you haven't got it, who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ.

[11:36] There's your John reference from Sunday school. The beginning of the world hath been hid and he revealed it to me. Paul said, it's been hid in all these ages and he revealed it to me.

[11:52] This grace was given to me who am less than the least of all saints. And he says, I'm an apostle, I'm the least of all the apostles. I persecuted the church of God but he revealed to me this truth. Now come back to 1 Corinthians 9 and while that's true of the apostle Paul, while all of that is true, he was handpicked, he was a chosen vessel, he had knowledge and revelations and visions that others did not get and did not understand or have.

[12:21] He says, I'll make myself a servant unto everybody. In plainer words, Paul didn't show up with all the pomp and circumstance. He didn't show up with all the prestige.

[12:34] He didn't lord himself over others because he was chosen of God to deliver, you people keep your mouth shut because I am the apostle Paul and I'll tell you and you listen closely, I'm only going to say this once and I'm going to go on.

[12:48] He didn't talk like that, he didn't act like that, not even close. You know why? Because he was being made all things to all men and the first case is he's being humble. He's being humble.

[13:00] Look back in that same chapter of chapter 9 at verses 14 and 15. Even though he was all of this, he says, even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel, meaning they should get paid for it.

[13:16] And in verse 15, but I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things that it should be done, so done unto me. So I'm not looking for a paycheck, Paul says, but do you understand who he was in Christ and in the body and what position, if we want to call it that, that he held?

[13:34] But he said, I need to preach the gospel and I want them to hear and so I need to be made all things to all men. So, in these examples he gives about being as a Jew and as under the law and as without law and as the weak, in all four of those examples that he gives of what he was made to all men, not one of them is going up, like a step up.

[13:59] Every one of them is a step down to what he is in Christ, to this apostle, to the Gentiles. Every one of them is going backwards. It's humility.

[14:11] It's humbling himself and you might say this is a willful restriction of his liberty in Christ in order to influence others for the gospel of Christ.

[14:21] It's willful restriction of his liberty to influence others for Christ. He's trying to be effective. He's trying to reach them so he lowered himself.

[14:32] Now, why do you think he would lower himself and be humble? I think it's simple to get them to listen to him. To get them to drop their wall and to listen to them. If he walks in the room, if you choose to do this, you need to get saved or you're going to hell.

[14:49] That message is true. It's true. But is it going to be received? How many people out of a hundred are going to receive that message if that's the message?

[15:01] You need to get saved or you're going to hell. It's true, but to them, all they hear is, I'm better than you and that's about all they hear.

[15:11] Who do you think you are to tell me? And that's where it stops for most of them. And so, here's our example of the Apostle Paul to be humble.

[15:22] That's very off-putting. What they hear is you're up, I'm up here, you're down there and they're not listening to the words of Christ dying for their sins. They're listening to you condemn them and don't write me off yet.

[15:36] Follow through this whole thing and you'll get that this is Bible. Imagine for a second that you're at a new job. You're going to get trained on your new station at a new job or something and you get this person that's going to teach you and they say, you know what, I've been training people for 30 years, I've been doing this, I'm the best one in the company, that's why I'm the one training you, I do it right, most everybody else does it wrong, but you're going to learn it from me and I'm going to teach you the right way and you're probably not going to get it because it's a lot to it, it's really hard, but I'll do my best and you just try it, most people quit because they can't do it right and I mean, already you're thinking, this guy's a jerk, all he's doing is talking about himself and making me feel like I'm incapable of doing this, you almost feel like, just get lost and I'll figure it out, I'd rather not hear it from you because you're just putting me down and exalting yourself, that's how it would rub you but just imagine now that same day and a different person trains you and says, listen, I know it's a lot and I'm going to take you through it slowly and it's a lot for you to process and it's okay, if you don't understand it, just stop me, ask the question,

[16:42] I'll answer your questions and I'll let you do it, if you do it wrong, it's no problem, I did it wrong a lot so all of a sudden you feel like we're on the same level here, this person, though they were perhaps 30 years as well involved, they almost lowered themselves to being where you are and making you feel comfortable enough to hear their message, to hear their training, does that make sense?

[17:05] How the one's kind of in your face where the other one condescends and in condescending, you drop that wall of you're a jerk, you think you're way better than me and you'll listen to them and so Paul says in order to be all things to all men, you gotta be humble or they won't listen to me and the worst part about that is they'll reject Jesus Christ and the gospel of Jesus Christ and so Paul says be humble and he proves it by being made a servant unto all, why in verse 19?

[17:38] That I might gain the more, that's why I'm dropping myself to be a servant so I can gain the more. Secondly, be flexible. In order to be all things to all men, you need to be humble, you need to be flexible and let's look at how Paul did that.

[17:54] He said, unto the Jews in verse 20, I became as a Jew that I might gain the Jews. In verse 20 again, to them that are under the law, as under the law.

[18:07] Verse 21, to them that are without law, as without law. Verse 22, to the weak became I as weak. So Paul went to them. He went where they were in what they believed and what they, their traditions and their upbringing and he went to them in the condition they were in and he adapted to them.

[18:30] He adapted to who they were and what they were and you say, well, we can't do that. We need to have standards. Well, then you're not following your Apostle Paul because the Apostle Paul went to them.

[18:45] Again, now, I'm not telling you, he doesn't say I did anything wrong or I engaged in anything sinful and again, I'll try to tie up those potential loose ends for your mind at the end but be flexible.

[18:59] The Jews, the Jews aren't going to listen to a Gentile. The Jews aren't going to listen to somebody who's been with the Gentiles. They're not going to care about that so keep your place but just flip back for a case in point.

[19:13] Look at Acts chapter 22. But if Paul's going to preach and reach the Jews, watch what he might want to do. He might want to speak to them in their own Hebrew tongue.

[19:29] He might want to tell them that he's one of them and how he was raised just like they were. Look at Acts chapter 22 verse 1. Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I now make unto you.

[19:44] And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the morse. They're going to listen to this guy? They want to kill this guy by the way. They want to arrest him and kill him.

[19:56] And now, all of a sudden, they're willing to listen to him. And then he says in verse 3, I'm verily a man which I'm a Jew. I'm just like you.

[20:07] And he tells them a little bit about his upbringing and about his tutoring in the perfect manner of the law of the fathers and was zealous toward God. He's just like them.

[20:19] He just came down to their level so that he could preach to them and have them hear what Jesus Christ did for him. He's being flexible. He says, under the law, to them that are under the law, as under the law.

[20:33] Do you remember in Acts chapter, maybe you just peek back there in Acts chapter 17 since you're close. There's a few places we could look but just for this moment in, in, in, in, in, in, in, is this the one I want?

[20:52] Oh, no, this is when he's with the word of God. Now, it's, uh, 16, 16 is where he has Timothy circumcised.

[21:09] All right, I'm in the wrong chapter and I don't want to waste the time looking for it. He, he goes into the temple. This might even be a little later. And was that in 20, yeah, in 21.

[21:20] That's the one I was thinking of. I should have just kept you there. Uh, he goes and gets purified and he has this vow, this seven day thing he's trying to accomplish.

[21:33] You see it in verse 26. In verse 26, then Paul took the men and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification.

[21:44] and the Jews are there and they see him in the temple and they get all up, uh, in an uproar and grab a hold of him and that's kind of what leads into chapter 22.

[21:54] But what is he doing there? Well, he's trying to observe their law. He's trying to get into that holy place as they presumed and, and do whatever he had to do to get them to listen to him.

[22:06] His intentions for going there was not to get right with God. It was not to offer a sacrifice for his sins. His intentions for going into that place and doing anything with purifying and vowing and shaving his head and any of that was to say, hey, I've been with Gentiles but I'm cleansing myself and I'm coming back to you and then he wants to witness to them.

[22:27] His heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved and so he's flexible as he's showing himself to be like a Jew then he's even putting himself in observing rituals so he can preach Christ and that's what he did that was back in chapter 17 when he, how do you think he's going to preach Jesus Christ to the Jews in the temple?

[22:47] He's going to take their holy scriptures something they actually believe already and he's going to take them through it and show them and as it says in Acts 17 as his manner was he went in unto them three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen from the dead and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ and so he's using what he can to preach Christ to them he mentioned going to the Gentiles look at Acts 17 and verse in here is where these Gentiles these philosophers and these are worshipping at Mars Hill the men of Athens remember these superstitious guys verse 22 then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said you men of Athens I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious for as I passed by and beheld your devotions I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God now this isn't a Jewish thing it's a Gentile thing and Paul goes to these Gentiles that are not under the law at all and he just walks up upon them and he sees this thing here this altar to an unknown God that altar was not made to the God of heaven it was superstitiously made of to the one we're just not sure about perhaps but Paul realizes ah they're already worshipping a God they don't know let me tell them about the one who created the heavens and the earth and that sent his son and that raised him from the dead and he goes all the way through it and he preaches Christ to them to Gentiles using just where they are in what they believe already kind of a witty thing but Paul showed up like a normal guy to the Gentiles and I'm sure they would have thought why are you even talking to us being a Jew and his excuses oh no

[24:41] I don't follow those rules anymore I follow the rules of the God of heaven let me tell you about him and he takes an opportunity to do that it says in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians that to the weak became I as weak that I might gain the weak and I'm not sure what he means by that specifically because I see the word weak being used several different ways in scripture one of them they refer to an infirmity like himself said when I am weak then am I strong and he had this thorn in the flesh he also describes a weak brother being an immature or one that doesn't have knowledge or understanding but they're saved but they just don't get some things yet they're not very grown I don't know that that would match this at all being that that's a saved person he talks about but also God chooses the weak to confound the mighty it's something insignificant whatever the case is at any rate with Paul going to the weak and becoming his weak it's obvious that he didn't tout his authority and that he didn't show up with like I said the pomp he wasn't pious he didn't spew out his knowledge and revelations on everybody that weren't able to handle it every unbeliever that he met instead we can see that he adapted to their thinking so that he convinced them of their need for Jesus Christ it's the same message to everybody but it's presented in a different manner based upon whom he's speaking to you know that Paul could wax eloquent and you know that Paul could condescend to men of low estate you know that he said he was debtor both to the Greeks and the barbarians both to the wise and the unwise and he was ready to preach the gospel to all of them and so there you see he's flexible and I want you to consider that are you flexible like Paul do you have a strong approach to the gospel to preaching the gospel do you have a soft one too do you realize that you can't just punch everybody in the face with the word of God and they're gonna say thank you but some people do need to have their mouth stopped and do need to have their eyes opened and it's adapting the apostle Paul did it he was flexible you gotta read the room you gotta understand who this lost soul is and what

[26:58] I guess what manner you can best communicate the gospel to them I think the best thing to do in that case is to get them talking and just get them talking instead of you leading the way with you need to know this you need to know this you need to just start why don't you tell me who you are and where you're from or what you believe and then start to discern how do I need to deal with them from the scriptures instead of going with your plan A you may have to go with plan C if you have one Paul did he was flexible he identified them notice this too many soul winners will be this way they'll see everybody is saved and lost and don't write me off yet saved and lost and while there's truth to that if you're saved you're saved you're on your way to heaven if you're lost you need Jesus Christ you're on your way to hell Christ died for your sins and I'll give you the Romans road but the apostle Paul didn't see everybody is just saved and lost the lost weren't just in this one big category how do I know that because he saw lost Jews and he saw lost Jews under the law and he saw lost Gentiles that weren't under the law and he saw the weak and they're just as lost and they need to be gained or I need to save some of them too and so he saw within the lost category subcategories and he'd met with them and he went to them on their level to gain them he became all things to all men that he might by all means gain save some

[28:32] I bet he took time to listen to them talk I bet he took time to listen to them talk to understand what they believe what they think of this God or of this Jesus that he's preaching to do that he had to use discernment and so you be humble be flexible and then thirdly be persistent in verse 22 he said at the end there I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some by all means necessary by all means possible I might save some I don't believe the apostle Paul held back anything when it came to his calling you know that he suffered shipwreck he suffered beatings he suffered his life being threatened he was hungry he was thirsty he fasted off you know he's been through a lot of stuff and it didn't stop him ever he kept on and none of these things moved me the threat of his life or imprisonment nothing he was persistent and preaching the gospel was a lifelong pursuit for him everywhere he went by whatever means necessary he's preaching the gospel and I see that as his persistence and I'm going to move just to this one last thing quickly the third thing is another thought it's not really expressed in this text that we read

[29:57] I don't know but the Lord Jesus Christ said to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves and so if I could add one thing to this passage and I'm not just adding it to the passage but could I say the thought to be cautious while you want to be humble to get the gospel to all men you want to be all things to all men that means you have to be humble that means you have to maybe you're up here you need to come down to where they are to find a way to get your foot in the door for them to be willing to put the wall down to hear you preach the gospel to them you need to be flexible and not just rigid in your approach that you have one way and it's the truth and bless God they need to hear it or they're going to hell but maybe try to come in the back door and try a side door and try a window find a way a different way to get them to hear the gospel be persistent but in all of this be cautious because as I said Paul is well I'll show you this in close by look at chapter 8 chapter 8 of this of 1 Corinthians and there's a little section here it starts off dealing with liberty in verse 9 take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak and he's talking about somebody who just doesn't understand a weaker brother and what he says is if I know the truth and what I can and can't do in Christ

[31:23] I have liberty but he doesn't know it yet and I have to be careful how I act around him because it could mess him up he just doesn't understand so what he says is if any man see thee verse 10 if any man see thee which hast knowledge means you're not weak you understand the truth you have liberty sit at meat in the idol's temple shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died but when ye sin so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience ye sin against Christ wherefore if meat make my brother to offend I'll eat no flesh while the world standest lest I make my brother to offend so what's he doing he's saying you're going to have to be careful you're going to have to be cautious because you may mislead someone else or a weaker brother by partaking in something that you have liberty to partake in and it's not wrong and it's not defiled and you have liberty in Christ but a weaker brother or a newly saved person may not understand that did not Paul rebuke Peter for how he was acting in regards to the Jew

[32:35] Gentile relationships in Galatians 2 he did he withstood him to the face but then Paul went and had Timotheus circumcised and Paul went and observed seven days of purification in the temple doesn't that seem like that's a little bit of a paradox like you're telling him he can't act this way but you go and do it well it could be confusing if Paul didn't explain what he's trying to do by becoming as a Jew because he's trying to save them he wants to see them saved he wants them to listen to him and he's doing everything he can to get his foot in the door the situation with Peter was different but an observer an onlooker may not understand why he can do it and he can't do this so be cautious the Bible says in Romans 14 let not your good be evil spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 5 abstain from all appearance of evil and so just a closing thoughts on this trying to tie up some of those loose ends is to be aware of your appearance while you're being flexible while you're trying to reach them where they are be aware that you could be a stumbling block to someone else who doesn't understand now

[33:48] Paul challenges us to think differently about our approach to the lost to see it through a different lens maybe to be willing to forfeit our liberty if necessary to reach them where they are to understand what they believe and how you can most effectively preach the gospel unto them Paul's not a stick in the mud he's not it's my way or the highway kind of guy he shows it to us and he lived it like that in this passage he cares and he's willing to do whatever it takes to save some or as he says that I might gain the more so he's willing to be a servant to all he's our example Paul said I am made all things to all men but there's only one reason I'm being this way it's that I might by all means save some it's about saving somebody it's about getting the gospel to a lost soul it's not about exercising my liberty in Christ it's about getting the gospel to somebody that's lost if you knew that you could just cut yourself away from some of the liberty you have in Christ and you knew that somebody would get saved like you knew it was a fact that if I didn't do this they would trust

[35:11] Christ wouldn't you do it I mean wouldn't you just do it because it's more important that they get saved and not burn in hell than that I enjoy my liberty and you know flaunt it you would do it you would so you're not just that thought there you're not so different than the apostle Paul but he did it and he lived that life and he wouldn't didn't want to offend anybody he wanted to win them to Christ so he was willing to be made a servant unto all to be all things to all men so I hope that's that little study through that passage and what he's saying and what he's telling us his methods in trying to reach a loss I hope that you can take something away from that and realize it's not just like it's this one way and I have to go at it this way because that's not the case at all and Paul proved it and Paul Paul was willing to humble himself and be flexible from the liberty he had so that he could get the gospel to him so let's take that along with us as we go and be soldiers for Christ and be conscious of souls around us let's be dismissed together in prayer 730 right on time and let's pray

[36:24] Father I ask that you'll drive some of this home to us I pray that we'd be able to pick it up and make good sense of it and may your spirit bear witness to it this truth in the scriptures this example you've given us and the words that he penned for us I pray God that you'll open our eyes to where we are not following through with this or where we're confused or where we maybe are too rigid and not as flexible as we should be but God probably more than all of that we just need to have our eyes open to the need around us to the lost souls that are by us and pass us every day and Lord help us to have a burden for them and to be willing to be a servant to them and to do what it takes by all means to get the gospel to them and so Lord give us opportunities and I pray that you'll use this message and these thoughts that Paul said that you'll use this very thing to prick our hearts and to remind us of our need and our duty to win souls and to be active about your business thank you for the opportunity we have to serve you help us to take full advantage of it and to have courage and to be willing to do it we pray this in Jesus wonderful name amen amen alright you are dismissed you are dismissed