These are my notes from Mateen Elass’s sermon, “Winning As Many As Possible” on January 22, 2012. Read and follow Mateen’s blog on:
http://mateenelass.wordpress.com
This was our verse today:
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 NLT
“Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”
See it at YouVersion.com:
http://bible.us/1Cor9.19.NLT
Matthew 16 reminds us of the mission of the Church universal. In Orlando this past week, one of the conference participants reminded participants of our mission with this statement:
“The church’s mission is to depopulate Hell.”
We are called to be “the aroma of Christ.” Before we earn the right to be heard in sharing the gospel with our words, we need to live Christ’s calling out in our lives.
Those who are struggling in life are most likely to hear and respond to the promises of God.
We must cast our nets wide so the good news goes out to everyone, and especially those who seem like the scourge of society. They most need the word of hope and are most open to respond to Jesus.
In this passage Paul reminds us that we must “know our audience.” The gospel message does not change, it is the same message. But the way it applies to people’s lives does change depending on their context and needs.
Great story of a woman who had pinned down her dog and forced him to eat castor oil, instead of offering it in a way he linked and would eat voluntarily.
We need to recapture the urgency and high stakes of the human race, to share the gospel.
Mateen shared a powerful story about a dream he had about houses being on fire and needing to help others. He also shared a powerful video about evangelism, which I will share here if I can find it online.
Sent from my iPad
