NO MATTER WHAT
Today’s Scripture: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21, ESV
Theme: Knowing Jesus is worth anything you might be asked to go through or sacrifice.
SACRIFICING AMBITIONS
When Paul became a Christ-follower, the persecutor immediately became the persecuted. Gone were his ambitions of becoming the number one Pharisee in Judaism and the prestige which that would have given him. Now, instead of being celebrated by his people, he was the target of their anger. He was distrusted by the believers and hated by the Jews he had once served.
PAINFUL TO FOLLOW
Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28, ESV). This is a life of hardship which none of us would sign up to live. Yet Paul also writes: “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10, ESV).
ENDING WELL
For the last few years of his life, Paul was under "house arrest” in Rome like a common criminal. It seems that Paul's sacrifice was eclipsed only by that of Christ Himself. Why would Paul put himself through all that? Because that's what it took to reach people for Christ. None of us would prefer to sacrifice in those ways. For Paul, the motivator was so other people would obtain salvation that comes by believing in Christ.
Make It Personal: What would you be willing to sacrifice so that someone else can know Jesus? What would you give to change someone’s eternity?
Pray: Lord, I don’t want to suffer; I don’t want to make enemies. But I know that I should be willing to sacrifice my time, my resources, or my reputation for the cause of Christ. Nothing is more important than others finding their hope, peace, and eternal life in You. Help me to be willing to sacrifice for Your cause! Help me to be passionate for the Gospel. In Your Name I pray, amen.
Read: Acts 14:5-7; 20:1-3; 23:12; 20:24
Weekly Memory Verse: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1 (NIV)