1 Corinthians 9:27

Newer translations correctly render the word ‘castaway’ as ‘disqualified’. Thus, Paul is saying, ‘I let go of my liberty in order that I might win people to Jesus. Why? Because I’m in a race for a prize which will affect who I am and what I do in the ages to come. Therefore, even though I am free to do all things, I can be disqualified if I don’t keep my flesh under control, if I cause another to stumble …’

Favored to win the 1500 meter Olympic event, Mary Decker was in excellent shape and running her best times. But after the gun went off another talented runner, Zola Budd of South Africa, leaned into Mary Decker on the first curve, causing Decker to trip and fall — and herself to be disqualified.

This is the reason Paul was determined to keep his body under control.

Before you were saved, your body was not under. Your body was on top. That is, your flesh was that which governed both your soul — your mind and emotions — and your spirit — the real you which lives forever. To see how true this is, all you have to do is listen to the conversations which take place at work or on the campus, wherein you’ll hear the average person talk only about his body — about his financial concerns and recreational pursuits, his occupational goals and physical needs. But when the natural man gets saved, suddenly everything is different. The flesh no longer dominates him. The spirit is now on top, and suddenly there’s peace in his heart and life makes sense.

But because the flesh hates the basement, as time goes on, it demands to be on top again. And when it is, the new believer’s life is a mess, for to be carnally minded is death (Romans 8:6). So eventually, he gets to the place where he says, ‘Lord, forgive me. I’ve given in to the flesh again.’ He confesses his sin, turns his life back over to God, and his body is ‘under’ once more.

Does this war have to go on daily, hourly, constantly? Paul says here’s the key: ‘I keep my body under. I will not allow my body to determine what I watch, read, listen to, or think about. I will keep my body in the basement.’

How can this be accomplished?

Let me suggest to you one very practical way: How long has it been since you’ve said No to your stomach? How long has it been since you’ve said, ‘I’m going to use the hour I would have spent feeding my growling, demanding stomach in order to pull away and pray for my family, for the community and for myself because I’m struggling with this temptation or that addiction’? That’s called fasting. And I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t say, ‘If you fast … ’, but, ‘When you fast … .’ (Matthew 6:16). When you say No to your stomach regularly, you’ll be amazed how much easier it will be to say No to the other temptations which plague you.

Fasting from food is only one of the many disciplines the Bible teaches — not to be weird, but to be free. Another is saying No when your body says, ‘Hit the snooze bar.’ It’s saying, ‘See, body, you’re under. You’re not ruling me. I’m out of bed. I’m on my knees. I’m in the Word.’ It’s following the example of Jesus Who rose up a great while before morning to seek His Father.

‘I keep my body under,’ Paul says. ‘I’m tired of my body ruling over me and the death it brings inevitably. Therefore, My spirit, ruled by God’s Spirit, will be that which controls my soul — my will, my personality, my emotions.’

You’ll never regret knocking fleshly pursuits out of your life, gang. I promise you, you’ll never regret the things you let go which would have tripped others and disqualified you; those things which would have wiped out your spiritual stamina and affected your endurance.

Are you as disciplined in your spiritual life today as you were a year or five years ago? Or has your appreciation for the Finished Work of the Cross and your understanding that your salvation is secure apart from anything you do or don’t do skewed your thinking?

Yes, you’re free, but have you used that liberty in a way that’s tripping others and disqualifying yourself?

Use your liberty wisely, precious people. Keep your body under, for to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded brings abundant life and perfect peace.

1 Corinthians 7:39-40

Throughout the centuries, people have read I Corinthians 7 and come to the conclusion that, because he speaks so highly of the single state, Paul has a problem with marriage. But that is because they fail to take into account Paul’s full counsel — for in his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul elevates marriage to a place of utmost glory when he uses it as an illustration for no less a relationship than that of Christ and the Church.

The way a husband lays down his life for his wife, and the way a wife submits to her husband is a powerful illustration which can be seen on every street in every neighborhood. Bunches of people aren’t into church. So the Lord brings the Church to them through the illustration of marriage wherein people see how much He loves the Church and how the Church submits to Him. It’s an awesome responsibility for all who are married. That is not to say people need to see perfection — just something remarkably different than what they see in society.

And yet, as seen here in I Corinthians 7, Paul says singleness has its own unique beauty, its own important role to play in the Body. The single state is not to be looked down upon, dreaded, or merely endured. Those who are called to a single life or who find themselves in a single state fulfill a very real function — to serve the Lord with spontaneity and without distraction.

Marriage is a picture, but, in a sense, singleness can be the reality — for it is the single person uniquely who can say, ‘I am married to You, Lord. You are my Husband, my Love, my best Friend. And I will be devoted to you single-heartedly for as long as You have me in this state.’

Whether single or married, widowed or divorced — be content wherever God has you. And whatever your position, make Jesus your Passion.

1 Corinthians 3:17

What does it mean to be holy? When Moses realized he was in the presence of the Lord, he was told to take off his shoes for the ground he was on was holy ground (Exodus 3:5). As he overlooked the city of Jericho, Joshua had an encounter with the Lord and was also told to take off his shoes (Joshua 5:15). Therefore, the Church being holy, it would seem fitting that we take off our shoes as well.

How? After walking through mud on their way home from school, our kids take off their shoes before walking into the house so they don’t bring the mud in with them. So too, when we come together as a Body, we are to leave the mud of the world at the door. We’re to forsake grudges and pride, attitudes which are amiss, hearts that are quick to judge.

But there’s another reason to remove our shoes — for not only do I take my shoes off before I go into my house if they are dirty, but even if they are clean I take them off because I’m comfortable there.

So too, when we fellowship with the Body, we don’t have to keep our guard up or our best foot forward. We can relax in God’s comforting love for us and for each other.

1 Corinthians 3:16

The Greek word translated ‘temple’ is not the usual word, ‘hieron’, which refers to the whole temple, but rather ‘naos’, which speaks of the holy of holies — the part of the Temple wherein dwelt the shekina, the chabod, the tangible, visible perception of the presence of God enjoyed by the high priest only one day a year on Yom Kippur.

The word ‘ye’ being plural, Paul is saying, ‘Don’t you know that together you are the holy of holies where the glory, the weight, the reality of God is enjoyed and perceived?’

Paul develops this analogy further when he tells the Ephesians they ‘grow unto an holy temple in the Lord,’ (Ephesians 2:21). The Church grows because we are living stones — and this presents some interesting challenges. Dead stones fit together nicely, but living, squirming stones tend to rub each other the wrong way. Yet in this we can rejoice, for the Lord knows there are rough edges which need to be knocked off us blockheads.

That is why it is the mature believer who says, ‘OK, Lord, I’m not going to change my location or situation. Instead, I’m going to stay right here and allow You to do Your work through people who might irritate me in order that I might be more like You.’

1 Corinthians 3:15

Everyone who understands that Jesus is the Foundation of life will be saved. But some shall be saved as by fire. They’ll make it into heaven; they’ll be warmed when they see Jesus’ face; but they’ll look around and say, ‘Oh, no, everything on earth I did vaporized before His eyes, and now I have no crown to cast at His feet.’

Because God shall wipe away every tear (Revelation 7:17), there will be tears in heaven. For what will they be shed? Not for the bigger house we wish we had built, not for the newer car we wish we had purchased, not for the nicer clothes we wish we had worn — but for the opportunities we missed to lay up treasure in heaven.

‘Dress me up in my best suit,’ said the man who knew he was about to die. His wife complied. ‘Now fill my pockets with gold,’ he said, ‘and sew them closed.’

When he died shortly thereafter, he went to heaven, and was pleased to feel the bulges in his pockets. ‘I made it! I did it!’ he exclaimed. ‘Who said you can’t take it with you?! Look at this!’ he said to Peter, opening his pockets. And Peter said, ‘Why did you bring asphalt up here?’

That which we are so interested in, fighting for, and worried about here on earth is mere asphalt in heaven.

One further note: Although the primary reference of verses 13-15 is to the Bema Seat where we will be rewarded for that which we’ve done on earth, I believe a secondary reference is to the fires which the Lord allows to sweep through our lives presently.

‘You’re fired,’ your boss says to you — and now you get a chance to see how much of your character is gold, silver, and precious stones and how much is wood, hay, and stubble. So too, in ministry, in relationships, and on the job, fires will break out around you which you might think you have to put out immediately. But I have found that when you sense a wildfire starting, it’s a good idea to be careful before you grab your bucket and shovel and try to put it out in your own energy and by your own wisdom, for if you have good people skills, you can meet with people, try to reason with them, and maybe control the fire for a year or two. But more often than not, it will explode eventually with a flame more devastating than the original.

Thus, when fires come, I am slowly but surely learning to let them burn. I don’t defend myself or the church. I don’t try and soothe feelings or calm tension. I let the fire burn. And when the fire is over, I poke around and see if any gold, silver, or precious stones are left with which to rebuild.

So too, to you who are involved with people in your family or in ministry, I suggest letting any given fire burn. And when you see what’s left, you’ll either know you were building with gold, silver, and precious stones — or with the wood, hay, and stubble of your own self-importance.

1 Corinthians 3:2

Here’s a very simple way to evaluate whether you are carnal or not: How is your appetite? Do you crave the meat of the Word, or are you still only able to digest milk?

According to Hebrews 5:10-14, the milk of the Word deals with what Jesus did for us, while the meat deals with what Jesus is now doing on behalf of us — what’s going on in heaven presently, the big plan which will unfold eschatologically. The baby Christian only knows, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know’. But as great a truth as that is, he has not gone on to see Who Jesus is presently and what’s coming down prophetically.

Do you know more about what Jesus is doing today in heaven and on earth through His Church than you did last year? If you do, you’re progressing and growing. Good for you! But if you don’t, then perhaps you might fall into the category of the carnal believer who still has to be fed with milk, who can’t get the meat on his own.

Is there any hope for you? Of course there is! The Lord would have you simply confess your carnality. And the good news is that, following confession to the Lord, there is liberation by the Lord. He sets you free. How? Not by positive thinking, not by determining to try harder or do better, but by His Spirit within you.

Although a pair of shoes used in the movie The Wizard of Oz cost only $9 to make, they were auctioned recently for $12,000. Why? Because Judy Garland wore them. So too, to an unspeakably greater degree, it’s Who’s in us that brings value and freedom to us as He works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

Romans 16:13

Rufus, it seems, is the same Rufus spoken of in Mark 15:21. Rufus’s father was Simon of Cyrene — the one who came up from Africa to Jerusalem to celebrate and observe the Passover proceedings. When he lined up along the Via Dolorosa, as the crowd gathered on that Good Friday, he watched the proceedings, no doubt straining his neck and squinting his eyes, trying to get a perspective of what was happening. Suddenly, a Man collapsed before him under the weight of a cross. Instead of forcing Him to carry the burden any further, a soldier on the scene placed the flat head of his spear upon the shoulder of Simon the Cyrene, saying, ‘You take the Cross.’

Simon must have thought, ‘Oh, no. What a catastrophe. I came to celebrate the Passover, and now I’m going to be defiled by associating with this criminal.’ But he discovered that the catastrophe was, in fact, a great opportunity because something happened to Simon when he took up the Cross. Could it be that he understood the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6: ‘His government shall be upon His shoulder’? The government of what? The government of the Cross. Simon carried the Cross of Christ, in a sense governed in a way he would have never anticipated, nor even wanted. Yet carry the Cross he did, eventually becoming converted to the One Whose Cross he carried. For not only did Simon get saved, but, as can be inferred from this verse, his wife and his sons did as well.

What’s the point for you and me? Jesus said, ‘If any man come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross,’ (Matthew 16:24). He didn’t say this because He wants us to be miserable or burdened, because He wants to see us squirm or suffer. That’s not Jesus.

No, He came to teach us the very important truth that the way to really have happiness and fulfillment in life is to die to self, for the more you live for yourself, the more you focus on yourself, the more you are concerned about yourself, the more miserable and depressed, discouraged and defeated you’ll be. ‘I came that you might have life and life abundantly,’ He said (John 10:10) ‘And this is the way: Take up your cross. As for your life, give it up: lay it down; let it go.’

Romans 15:30 32

Paul requested prayer that he might be protected from the unbelievers in Jerusalem who were out to do him in, that he might be accepted by the believers there, and that he might come with joy to Rome.

Was Paul protected?

So severe was the stoning he received at the hands of unbelieving Jews, that his life was spared only when he was taken into protective custody by Lycinius, a Roman centurion (Acts 21).

Was he accepted by the believers?

The believers themselves were the underlying reason for the stoning he received (Acts 21:18-25). Furthermore, they never thanked him for the offering he risked his life to deliver to them, nor does Scripture record any of them speaking with him or caring for him during the two years he was in protective custody.

Did he come to Rome with joy?

He traveled to Rome in the galley of a boat, a prisoner of the Roman Empire.

And so we wonder. It looks like the prayers of the Romans weren’t answered — or were they?

Was he protected?

Yes. He didn’t die. Bloodied? You bet — but he didn’t die.

Was he accepted by the believers?

Oh, not initially — but eventually, for Peter himself instructed the believers to listen to what Paul had to say (2 Peter 3:15).

Did he make it to Rome?

While he didn’t travel in the way he intended, at least his trip was all-expenses paid!

Gang, like Paul, sometimes we say, ‘Pray for me. I’m going through this struggle, and here are three things I need to see happen …’ And although we pray with fervency, sometimes initially it seems like just the opposite of what we hoped for happens. But wait. I have discovered that usually when I think prayers are not being answered, it’s simply because I have not seen the unique and beautiful way God is working.

This article was in the paper this morning …

Dateline: Vermont. A woman in Alaska recently tried to call her sister in Idaho and mistakenly dialed a house in Vermont. She got through to 89 year old Mildred Connor, who, at that moment, was suffering a severe heart attack. At that point, the Alaskan woman heard a gasping voice with weak breath saying, ‘Help me, help me. Please, God, help me.’

Alice Witt meant to call Area Code 208, but called 802 instead and reached Rutland, Vermont. She and her husband were able to work with telephone operators and emergency personnel, who rushed to the scene and saved Mildred Connor’s life.

Sometimes when I pray, I think all I get are busy signals or wrong numbers. But God is working in ways that, if I’ll just hang in there, time will prove over and over again His hand throughout. The purpose and the power of prayer is to get the Lord’s blessing on your life, not to get your way for your life. The prayers Paul requested on his behalf were truly answered in the best possible way.

Lives were touched;
folks were saved;
and we’re encouraged here today -
because people prayed.

Romans 15:19

Concerning signs and wonders, Jesus said signs shall follow them that believe (Mark 16:17). He said this in the context of evangelism. In other words, ‘Get going, and as you’re going, I’ll be flowing through you. I’ll be doing signs and wonders before you.’

Gang, the Holy Spirit is like steam in a locomotive. He’s there to move the engine down the track — not to toot the whistle. Too many people look at the power of the Holy Spirit as a whistle tooter, as an end in itself — but the Lord says, ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you to be My witnesses,’ (Acts 1: 8).

Thus, when people ask why we don’t see more signs and wonders today, I say, ‘Go to Honduras. Go to Mexico. Go to Russia. Start evangelizing and watch and see what the Lord will do in you, the miracles which will flow through you.’

But even if you never see an external sign, wonder, or miracle, you’re in good company. Jesus said of all of the men who had lived up to His day, John the Baptist was the greatest of them all. No man was greater — not Elijah, who called down fire from heaven, not Elisha, who raised the dead, not Moses, who parted the Red Sea.

Jesus said, ‘Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist,’ (Matthew 11:11) — and yet John did no miracle (John 10:41). So if you’ve never performed a miracle, or even seen a miracle, take heart. You’re in good company.

John did no miracle but ‘all things John spoke of this Man were true,’ (John 10:41).

What Man?

Jesus Christ. And talking about Jesus is something I can do — and so can you. Yes, I would love to have the powerful, miraculous ministry of Paul. But in the meantime, I’ll try to walk in the footsteps of John the Baptist, speaking about the One Who has captured my heart.

Romans 15:16

D.L. Moody, a shoe salesman captured by Christ, who became one of the most effective soul winners of all time, purposed in his heart as a young man that he would never let a day go by wherein he didn’t talk to at least one person about Jesus. One night it was approaching midnight, and, because of the events of the day, he had not shared the Gospel with an unbeliever that particular day. So he went out on the streets of Chicago, found a man and said, ‘Sir, are you ready for heaven?’

‘Mind your own business,’ said the startled man.
‘This is my business,’ Moody answered.

And it is our business as well. Walking the hills of Jacksonville yesterday, I found myself in the old Jacksonville cemetery. The tombstones of the early settlers provided an ironic backdrop for the women who were picnicking, and the children who were playing hide and go seek. Observing the scene, I felt called back to the simple calling God has given me and you: to minister the Gospel of God — for while the world plays games among the tombstones, eternity is only a heartbeat away.