One of the things I missed about living in Texas was the proximity to Colorado. When I was doing youth ministry in Texas, we used to take trips at the Colorado. My favorite trip was taking about 10 guys and sometimes girls along with us and we would go for a week of backpacking. Everything we needed for the week was on our back. Front of mine also used to take these kind of trips and he told me that this was wife's first trip as the wife of the youth pastor. And so she went on this backpacking trip with him and a group of students from their area. The interesting thing was that she had grown up in Fort Worth, Texas as a Debbie Tonk. She was the daughter of a very, very wealthy family with very, very good manners. He told me and I still take my head at it that when you ate dinner at their house that they had all the fine china out all the time and they all wore white gloves. So this girl, this wife, this young lady, is on this backpacking trip. And so some of the guys think this is kind of interesting. So as she is getting her backpack ready that she slips away for a second and they slip over and put in two rocks by the size of softball. She didn't even realize it. Two days she hiked with those rocks in there. And finally she discovered them when she was pulling out some other barber backpack and she said, I wonder how those guys Paul is talking to the Corinthians about some rocks in their heart. And he wants them to get them out and he has to go into great detail explaining himself in order for them to see what's going on in their lives. And so hopefully our whole goal in the next 20 minutes or however, 45 minutes if I want to, no kidding. For us to see some of the rocks that the Corinthians were dealing with and that those rocks also exist in our own life, the sin that so easily entangles us as the writer of Hebrews said. So what's the issue? Well as you can tell from reading it, Paul is addressing the question. And the issue is the overflow of what right preached on last week the whole issue of eating meat that's being offered to idols. So Paul continues that discussion but then also goes into some new discussion as his very authority as an apostle is being questioned. Paul is talking to the Corinthians who in their church have particularly a lot of wealth and social status and who feel a lot of freedom to do just what they want because of their knowledge and their wealth they felt a freedom to exercise their supposed rights and to offend their weaker brothers. And as Ray said last week they were flexing their knowledge and their superiority and then they began to question Paul's authenticity as an apostle because they believed that Paul was getting a little bit too soft as Paul was lowering himself. They found it quite ridiculous that Paul did not take money for his preaching. They felt like that if Paul was really qualified that he would take the money. What's worse, Paul engaged in tent making which was seen as very low manual labor. Corinthians were saying in one sentence they're saying, listen Paul, if you're Jerry Jim and you own the Dallas Cowboys, you ought to wear a coating tie, stand on the sideline, cross your arms and act like you own the world. You see getting paid validated your authenticity and in the Greco-Roman world this is the way it was and the lowest method of getting paid the most spies method was to have another job. All the teachers and philosophers would always get paid for what they did and so value and authority was confirmed by receiving a paycheck. It's a little similar to what happens in our culture. When some people look at people, look at women in particular or housewives and mothers and they say, oh, you're just a mother, as if identity is found in being paid. My college diploma says this, it says Adam Jones has completed the studies and satisfies requirements for the degree back to the science and has accordingly been admitted to that degree with all the honors, rights and privileges belonging there to. I'm saying to Paul, it's just plain silly. If you have the credentials, then you ought to seek the gain from them. Maybe you're not authentic. Maybe you just have one of those honorary degrees that's just a piece of paper and then we need anything. Paul launches for 12 verses and he defends his authority and the rights of anyone who preaches the gospel to receive a paycheck. Let me ask the elders. Is this a good time to ask for a raise? I don't know, maybe not. Paul is doing this and he does what any of us would do when our rights and reputation are questions. He defends himself. The reason he defends himself is not the same reason we usually have and we defend ourselves. When we defend ourselves for our rights and our reputation, we do so because that is the highest ground of our righteousness. We don't like to be misunderstood and it would be high treason to betray ourselves and not defend ourselves when we're misunderstood. And this is our mantra to defend ourselves, to correct all misunderstanding so that people see me in the correct life. There's a toy that you can buy this Christmas for your grandchildren or your kids. It's been around a little while. It's called Bob the Builder. Bob's a little construction worker. He's got a hat and a tool belt and he's prepared to go into action and Bob has a little slogan. He pressed on the top of his hat in Walmart. It'll say, can we build it? Yes we can. That's how we are when it comes to our rights and our reputation. Can we build it? Yes we can. We can defend, excuse, minimize our faults, make bigger than life our accomplishments. We can maintain our rights and our reputation. Now all of us are reputation conscious. Some of us have a reputation. Our talents, our abilities are well decorated at home, our ability to be in control, our business sadness. Others of us would love to have a reputation. We're kind of the fixer up model. But whatever the case may be, once acquired and assumed, reputation building can haunt us, dog us, and wear us to shreds, because we will fight hard not to appear as a failure along any line. When we moved from Texas to Orlando, I was working in a very small town as a youth director and in my estimation I was well appreciated and well known. I moved to Orlando to go to seminary and no one knows who I am. No one knows anything about me. They don't know my accomplishments. They don't know my reputation none. And I'm in a big city as well. Well I was given the task of coaching an eighth grade basketball team. My first year at Orangewood Christian School, the teacher and coach. I'm coaching this team and it became silly that it became a obsession with me to prove my worth by coaching this group of middle school boys to a national title. This is middle school. This isn't so romantic. But it's amazing how we will shrink our world in order to be a champion of something, in order to be well known and build a reputation. Here is one definition of defending ourselves. It says, I will point out my own reputation and right in case there is the slightest doubt that others have missed it. At the core of our hearts we have an overwhelming desire to be right, to be good, to be better, to be less angry, to be more patient than we actually are. Let me ask you a question. Do you ever have conversations with yourself, rather than wanting your car, home alone, but you do? Well imagine any conversations. I bet most of these conversations, some of them maybe you're your own lawyer and you're defending yourself against this accusation against the jury of people that don't understand you. And you're brilliantly arguing your case that you were right. I recently had my right parent as I please, under mine, I will dare my bride. Well I was edgy, tired, I was being edgy and everyone in the house knew it but me. And so I stomped off to my room, not being appreciated, as I should be, as the dad and leader of my household. And I got in my room and I sat down in the edge of my bed and I had my little conversation with God and I said, God when my kids do wrong, they need to repent. They need to say they're sorry. They need to say, oh, dad, you're so right. Hop that I've not seen the error of my ways. Praise be to you, oh, dad. That's what I told God. Told many of you to know how to be sorry. I repent. And God said to me in the whisper of the holster, he said, I don't you show them how. And I struggled, but I got out of there and I went there with them. And because both of my kids in my lap and I said, Daddy is wrong. Daddy is wrong. I wanted to defend myself no more. Paul's whole ministry is being written off and undermined. When a person attacks you for who you are or what you do, it emotionally taps you. And you want to give up? Paul should have given up. He should have been crushed and broken and looked at Corinthians and written to us and said, I quit. Nobody appreciates all the work I'm doing. So he defends, but he defends his rights brilliantly. And as he's defending them right up to verse 12, you think that he is going to turn around and ask the Corinthians for a way. He's going to ask the Corinthians, okay, I'm tired of not working. I'm tired of working for free. I want all the back. I want to be paid for my ministry of money. He doesn't. He does the exact opposite. He defends himself. Only to not take his right. Now, this little section here is highly emotional and personally charged for Paul. He kind of gushes out a testimony if you will. And at least for about three reasons is why he gives. It's why he doesn't, three reasons that are kind of in the text and around the text. It's why he preaches the gospel for free. First one, my day is that there are a lot of self-righteous teachers and preachers in the area. And since the gospel, which turns on the rub and self-sacrifice of Jesus, should not be presented by preachers who insist on their rights and delight in their exercise and authority and work relationships and preaching so that they can become more wealthy. Paul says, I don't want people to think, I don't want to be connected to that kind of thing. So I don't want to be associated with somebody. I'm going to separate myself from that. So here's what I think is the bigger reason, to the bigger reason. Paul was determined that his preaching and his life would demonstrate the message because Paul saw the message as bigger than he was. Paul didn't see himself as this grand person who was carrying this message and being so noble. Now, Paul saw that the message was actually carrying him. And so Paul was not just descending his right to get paid. His mental concern was descending his freedom not to find life in his right and his reputation. Preaching the gospel for free is a reward and not a boast for Paul because he was compelled to preach the goodness. I wasn't careful. It served him personally to do so because it was a living, a living demonstration of gospel renewal in his own life. Paul had always been a person who made people pay up. As a Pharisee, he demanded respect for his position in life. As one who persecuted the church, he said he did it with zeal and that he wanted to be recognized prior to conversion as one who persecuted the church. All of Paul's life, he had believed that rights and reputation would be milked for personal gain. And so all of Paul's life, he had been right until he met Jesus. So getting to preach free of charge was a delightful expression for Paul of how God had changed his Ebenezer's scrooge heart. God himself had not ejected payment for Paul's sin. And so Paul enjoyed being like his father and doing the same. He also desperately pleads that they will not begin to pay him because he was liberated from his oversized ego. Now we have a saying in our church kind of strange saying that he said it enough where it's almost become one. When you see a turtle in the fence post, you know what? You didn't get there by himself. This is Paul's turtle on a fence post reality. The Pharisee of Pharisees not seeking his rights, not taking the opportunity to look better than he really was, not defending himself in order to build himself. What has happened to Paul? What has happened to the guy that we do and love to hate? Is it possible that this overstuffed religious snob has been changed? And if God changes him, maybe there's hope for you and I. Most of you guys know that we adopt a little girl from India. She's now three. And I kind of have this little conversation with myself. I don't think I've mentioned to people, but I call Sasha my little gospel child because she is a personal chicken of the gospel to me. Because God in that process melted my heart and he broke my arrogance and he broke my resistance. And I remember I did not want to adopt her because she was handicapped. And then God changed my life and changed my heart. And now I can't imagine not being her daddy. Do you realize at one point I was her enemy and now God has made me her advocate? Am I ever going to let that slip away? Can anyone take that from me? Paul says preaching the gospel to me is so liberating. It's my personal little treasure and personal sacrifice. You know what I covered after studying this for every Christian and for you guys is that you would have some sacrifice, something that you do for your king that just reflects what he's done in your life. And that it wouldn't seem much like a sacrifice to preach for free to be sausage daddy. Paul says in Romans that Christ is the end of the struggle to find life in our righteousness and our rights and reputation. Front of mine is an assistant pastor at a church that's at least struggling. And there's kind of a rip in the congregation. There's kind of people taking two sides. They can't decide whether they like the new pastor or not. He's the assistant. He had the old group and he had the new group and there's tension. If people are letting their rights be made known, they're concerned about the reputation of this church, an old church in the community. Listen, if we were at a funeral right now and right before us was a coffin and it was a corpse of someone that we lost in this church, in the shadow of that death, everything. A lot of things that we fight for would seem so. Paul is saying in a flip-flop way, the beauty of the gospel and the eternal weightiness of men's souls makes me fighting for myself importance. I have a right to flop on the couch after a hard day's work. I have a right to become angry with you because of the way you treated me. I have a right to a biblical divorce for what you did. I have a right to spend my money how I see fit. I have worked hard to get where I am. I have a right to drive whatever kind of car I want. I have a right to use my expertise to collect your ridiculous notions about life. I've worked hard on my life. I'm retired now. I'm entitled to these luxuries. True. True and yes. If you know it's our obsession and our demandiness and our spirits that makes these things so dangerous. And it's when it's then, it's when the boulders, the rocks, begin to lay us down. We spend a lot of time accumulating poker chips of our lives so that we can catch them at the right time. These summer we take kids to camp for a lot of life. It'll still in high school. It'll take about 9 to 100 kids. It's a great week. You want to come as a leader? You don't get much sleep. But anyway, it's quite a treat. It's really fun. The kids will enjoy it. And you know with camp, there's always traditions. Thank you to every year. And one of the traditions for seven rivers kids when they go to camp is that, in this particular middle school, is that eighth graders, when they're at camp, they're now at the top. Six graders are about on. And one of the traditions is that eighth graders, when you get to camp and you get to the cabin, eighth graders, they get the first pick of the month. Three years ago, eighth grade girls decided that they're going to break this tradition. And they got to camp and they unload their luggage. And a group of about ten of them looked at the sixth grade girls and said, y'all go in and y'all get whatever beds you want. And then we'll come in when you're done. You know, we will not give up our rights or our battle for reputation until we're exhausted by our efforts. Until we're a little bit grossed out by our own arrogance and we begin to be refreshed by the gospel. And that Christ is the end of that struggle. So first, with our rights and reputation, second is not our inferiority complex but our superiority complex. Paul's audience thinks that beneath them and beneath Paul to grovel with the lowly types. Paul, you're a Jew, you're an apostle, act like one. Act like you're superior because you are. And Paul does something really interesting. He starts high and then he comes low. He says, I am free from all men. And I'm on the top of the heat and I'm looking down at everyone. And he said this, not from arrogance but from security. Then he makes this remarkable statement. So on your outline there, he says, to the Jews, I became as a Jew. Now, that's not really all that interesting, unless you remember that Paul is a Jew. And what he is saying is that this formulation shows that his whole orientation towards life is now changed. It shows how radically he can seize of being free from all men in Christ. He's saying, my position now transcends all cultural allegiances. So to put this in our language, Paul is saying, I'm not black. I'm not white. I'm not Hispanic. I'm not rich. I'm not poor. I'm not a gator fan. I'm not a seminal. He says there is one allegiance that Trump's them all. And that's being a child of God. So for Paul, he is saying, I became as a Jew, is an act of accommodation. It's an act of stooping because there is no higher position than being a child of God. And Paul knows this and he is reckoning this because of two things. Because of one, he saw and understood what Jesus did. Jesus was the son of the most high God. No higher position, no higher authority, no place. And yet, he became man for the lives of you and I. And back through the lung to send you scratching your head into all eternity. But Paul is also so secure as a child of God, he cannot think of a position that's higher than being a child of God. So all of his accomplishments will never Trump his adoption. So if you're already on the top, not by your own doing, but by God's doing, then you are not going to be a slave or should not be a slave in many senses to make your accomplishments in light where you find light and worth. You don't have to worry in the gospel as you grow in it to always be right to always be on top. You just play King of the Hill when I was a kid. Most of you know the game. A lot of push-in and wrestling to stay on top of that hill. Paul is saying, I'm on top of the hill anymore. I'm above the hill. I'm a child of God. And I get to serve others for his sake. And Paul is so free in the oppression of a rat race that to try to be better than others, they've throws himself into the service of the Heavenly Father. And so Paul is able to cross really radical social and racial and economic lines in order to serve. One of the things that really get to my nerves is rich and famous children of rich and famous parents. Particularly the rich and famous children who have done nothing. Noteworthy. And they just cash in on their parents saying they cash in on their parents well and they act like what? They did it all themselves. Back so superior and so irritated. I mean life was just given to them on a silver platter. They didn't do anything. And you know I used to really be hard in my heart on these people until what? You can realize that's how I am. What do I have in my possessions and my loved ones and my gifts and my abilities and my material possessions that I didn't get to my famous dad? Once more, I'm a Christian. I had the wealth of these clients. And so I didn't do anything to get any of that. You know maybe sometimes the reason that we don't evangelize the reason that we don't serve more than we do is maybe not because we're a fear of rejection or something because we think we're bad. And that's what Paul is fighting against in front of us. We had a young lady come to the youth group a while back and she was not a Christian, no church background. And she came to me and she really asked me this question. She said, now is there anyone in your church who's like really a bad person? Like really done evil stuff in their lives and really just like you know wetted but now they're like a Christian and they're like in the church. And then you have no idea. I said, there's one in every state every weekend. So let me ask you, where did she get that perception? Where did that question come from? You know, didn't it come from, didn't it come from, well it's not quite true. Where did she get that question? Where did she get the perception? I mean what would a driver ask that? Is it not because she thinks that good people go to church because they're good? Who told her that? We did. The church did. The church tells the world that. You know people when they're broken in body physically can go to the emergency room and go to the doctor without hesitation. People with wounded souls ought to be able to come to church. Unashamed, but they need a savior. Now if you're vidrying, I want you to know something. God is working on this church and it got fully kind of making ways and people's lives to land on it because they need it more than anybody. Let me just read you a little bit from one of the core values of Seven Rivers. To be a church not for ourselves but for friends do not believe. A church we are present the importance of the beauty of Christ in a common language where people can understand. To not be unnecessarily pious or use evangelical jargon to not use weaved them language and disdain jokes that mock people with different political persuasions or religious beliefs. We will avoid dismissively talking as non-believing people are not present. We will be welcoming and respectful of all those who do not share our beliefs and remember what it's like not to believe. As a mission of church we cannot wait for people to come to us. We must enter the culture with the gospel. Biblical love will have to be demonstrated to these of mercy. And though all will be invited to say in Jesus Christ we must serve our neighbors whether they believe or not. You know sometimes you become a Christian and you start getting involved in church. Someone pulled you aside and whispers, hey you know being a Christian needs you better than people. Did you look at that guy? Did you get a good look at him? I very worked for Satan. A little chamber's writing about Paul's perspective said this. He says according to Jesus Christ he's called us to be the doormat of other men. Their spiritual leader yes but never their superior. And then putting it in the first person he said as if he was thinking Paul's thoughts. He said I will spend myself to the last ebbs for you, non-tristan. You may give me praise or give me blames. It will make no difference. So long as there is a human being who does not know Jesus Christ, I am his debtor to serve him until he does. Let me make a practical suggestion for some of you folks that work. Just one little area to think about. Now wherever you work there is usually spoken and unspoken rank. Sometimes you may work with people that your kind of equalism but generally no longer is something. When it is amazing if someone at your work either out loud or just in their own thoughts begin to say you know by working with this person it's like they say I am better than they are. I met a man like this once when I was in Orlando. I met this guy at church and he was a vice president of a very prestigious college. He had a PhD who wrote a textbook in psychologies widely used at universities. He had a dazzling intellect. When I first met him because I already knew who he was. I felt a little bit like Barney's five meetings online. You know this guy was a big gun in the culture of Orlando and Christian circle. He was an elder in our church as well. I could not get my boy on my pocket. What was even more shocking was that this man and his wife decided they would make the Joneses different. My wife and I joke literally for four years we cannot believe they would be friends with us. I was a teacher and a seminary student. And once more in all our interactions though we tried to fight it. They always made us feel like we were so important. We were such important people. And every time I think of Christ's likeness or humility I always think of this man. Fortunately even though I was moved we still benefit from this friendship. Here's the summary of what Paul is saying in the second section. He's saying the security of adoption in the gospel frees me to be adaptable to serve others for Christ because it breaks the bonds of our stiff next superiority complex towards those that are different than we are. Luckily the gospel freedom gives us the ability to win by losing. Now in Corinth every two years there was the Ishmael games. These were the comparable to our Olympics. This was a great athletic festival. Paul writes in his last verse he says it's a very athletic tent. He says do you know that all the racers run and he goes the boxing and it's all athletic. The guys are doing all ahead of his stuff. So as he's writing this the Corinthians were aware of athletes all around the hill country training to win the prize. And the glorious prize that they would win as being the best in their competition was a withered wreath of celibate. But to them it was like winning the gold medal or things from Barty trophy. And so Paul they had a real visual understanding of what Paul was writing about. But in these last verses we must be careful Paul is not starting a new idea. He's continuing his thoughts and he's not merely thinking of spiritual disciplines for individual piety or spirituality. And while that application can be made Paul is wanting the strong and the church to be self-control and discipline and giving up their privileges for the sake of others. Now it's interesting he also mentions it's very and he says I don't myself don't want to be disqualified. Now that does not mean he's fearful. Here's what disqualification means in this context. Disqualification in this context would be to be disqualified would be to assert my right of expression and superiority over those outside of the church are struggling within the church. To be detuned for Paul would be to think more highly of himself than he ought to think. See nothing causes discourse or crippled evangelism more than oversight egos. And someone has paraded their rights to be noticed. So Paul is battling himself for this one to be humble. Here's what he's saying he's saying you should discipline yourself to forsake your rights and reputation setting aside the salary reach of your own superiority for the lasting crown of Christ through making yourself humble to serve. Now Paul saying as a total answer what Paul is saying hey you guys be more dedicated. Get more discipline to those athletes are working out all the time work harder for Christianity. Come on guys come on come on don't be an armchair spectator don't be resting and overweight and not being disciplined in Christianity. Is that what he's saying? Yes please say it. But there's more because the gospel tells us over and over again that what has broken our chains to to run hard for God has never been nor ever will ever be our speed and our agility. But it is one who has run the course marked out for us because of the story and point. I particularly enjoy some of the NFL commercials you know one to say football season. The one where the guy drops his keys at the ATM and then the lady gets behind the down that you know and the one who grocery store. Where the guy comes to his his cashier comes to his register and turned on his light and goes I'm open. And you know what happens the guy big black guy picks up this pineapple and drops back and throws it knocked him down with it. But there's a commercial years ago and from y'all remember it. It was for NFL Jersey replica like they were advertising it you could buy a Jersey and be just like to pro. And my son has like you know Brian greasy for the Broncos he's a Denver stand. And this commercial showed this this kind of overweight guy you know by his 40s and he's wearing very standards Detroit lines jersey number 20. And he's in a house and packed with people for a football party. He's got a playful food and a beer and a glass. And he's kind of weaving his way to the crowd like he's very standards and he kind of spins to avoid people lifts the stuff up kind of suits around people. And then the camera cuts to the television large print television in the other room. And it shows the real very standards on television and he's cutting and dodging and you know beautiful runner and going around tackler. Back to back to this old guy going you know doing this and moving around and then he gets to his couch and he flops down on the couch. And as soon as he does Barry Sanders gets into the end of the zone the real one and everyone in the house jumps up and begins to celebrate. And of course the ridiculous notion of the commercial is by NFL replica jerseys and you'll feel the thrill of being Barry Sanders yourself. God lets his sinful children to think too much of themselves where the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. And he says to us you know don't act so big. Don't act like you are what makes life large for everybody. Discipline yourself to be humble in order that others might know Christ and that they may jump up and celebrate the thrill of being a child of God. God will sing of lead come to enjoy God uses God strikes straight blows with crooked sticks that running to win the prize is making sure through gospel reflection that you lose your right reputation in oversized ego that grace and Christ. Thank you very much.