"I become all things to all men," I Corinthians:9 :22d
Paul worked tirelessly and opportunistically in his ministry. The Apostle was always looking for an opportunity to present Jesus to any and to all. Paul was relentless in casting the dragnet of the Gospel out into the ocean of humanity to see what the catch might be."Again, the kingdom of heaven is like to a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:" Matthew:13:47
"And Jesus said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes."John:21:6
Connecting With People
“Do not call anything unclean that God has made clean.”
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
While
Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by
Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.
They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three
men are looking for you.
So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”Acts:10:15b-20
Paul also comments again that no one is alienated from God and His salvation work .God is not the God of only one nation but peoples from many.
"remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,…" Ephesians:2:12-14
Realizing that all peoples are now in the sight of God, brought back into a proper practical relationship with our Lord , Paul therefore reached out powerfully under the power of the Holy Spirit to tell any and all about Jesus Christ. God is a multicultural God and through His Son Jesus He connects with all humanity.
Multicultural Work
Paul knew that his multicultural ministry would dictate that he make adjustment for the variety of people that he would encounter that they would come from many places and cultures. He would make allotments fro them in his presentation , yet he did so with out compromise to the Gospel message Paul preached Christ and him crucified.
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law."I Have become all things to all men" 1Corinthians:9:9-22
The Apostles did so, that he might present the Gospel of Jesus and they might be receptive and believe and then experience that salvation.
"so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."1Corinthains:9:22b-23
Speaking in Tongues
It has always been God's intention that people of all nations might know Him all through Jesus, the Old Testaments Prophets looked ahead to this invitation to all peoples.
"Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples;" Isaiah:49:22
We can see this outreach to peoples of all nations in Acts:2, when the Holy Spirit manifested , people of all nation heard the message in their own "tongue" . God "connected" , that is He spoke their language and 3000 of them came to believe in Jesus , Acts:2:41
Speaking Their language
The Miracle of "Tongues" speaks more to being able to connect with those around us, that is can we "speak their language", share with them the Gospel about Jesus in a way they can understand or relate to it? Can we be as Paul and be come "All things to All Men"?
Paul found away to talk about Jesus to both Jews and Gentiles. Paul accommodate them where they were, where he could Paul met them where they are. God has done the same things for humanity, He has accommodated us in the incarnation. God has met us here where we are in the Person of His Son Jesus.It is a real gift to be able to relate to others in a powerful way that they can be receptive and give the Gospel a fair hearing.
Living Epistles
Can those around us see Christ in us in a way that is compelling and draws them to the message of Gospel?
Each and all of us who have come to believe in our Lord Jesus , we who are experiencing that life of salvation should examine our selves and ask are we living in away that reflects the love of our Lord?
What do they see when they look upon our lives? Are we living Epistles with His Word written upon our hearts and lived out each day to the Glory of our Lord? This is a question all Christian need to ask, both clergy and laity alike. I have asked myself this question many times.
"You are our letter written in our hearts, known and read of all men:" 2Corinthians:3:2
Fishers of Men
When we interact with those around us is our life casting the dragnet of the Kingdom? Are we fishers of men as Jesus calls us all to be? Is our lives as a dragnet that draws others into the Kingdom.
"And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew:4:19
What do they see in our lives the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Galatians:5:22-26
Do the people will walk among see in our lives the Holy Spirit manifesting the life of Jesus in each of us, are drawn in do we meet them where they are in such a way that others might desire to know our Lord?
Are we able to relate to the "lost" , are we approachable, can we met them where they are and be "all things to all men"? When we interact with those around us do we set them at ease as Jesus did? Our Lord was such that the shunned felt care for and welcome. Mark:2:13-17
This is what we are all called to be , people who extend Grace and Love and Mercy not to berate the broken and lost with theological or Scriptural sermonizing , but Jesus' love for all.
How We See Them
Paul concluded that Jesus' death was for all humanity and that very love of Jesus changed how he regarded all people that the Paul came in contact with. Paul said that it was Jesus' love for us that compelled or motivated him to tell others about our Lord and changed how he saw all others as loved and included in Christs' work of salvation. If we truly understood His work we would see all peoples so very differently we view them as loved by the Great God and wanted by Him.
"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
And
he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for
themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:
The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting
people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation.
We
are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his
appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to
God.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Corithians:5:14-20
Our lives are to be lives that touch people for the better, meeting them where they are so that we might win some to the Gospel of our Lord, we can do this by being as Paul was "All things to all men"....Amen
Rev.Todd
Crouch, Pastor
The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace
Communion
2101 Old National Pike
Washington, Pennsylvania. www.gcfountainoflife.org
The Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network
1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the
Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in
Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com
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