1 Corinthians 9

1 Corinthians 9

In this chapter, Paul was listing the rights of an apostle. He was saying how we deserve privileges from what he has been doing as an apostle of Christ. He said things like, because we sacrifice so much we should get something back. He was listing how apostles deserve food, drinks, and more. However, this is not what Paul thought. What he was stating was what others would think. Paul really found his reward in serving the Lord. At times it may feel like we should get a reward for what we are doing and sometimes it feels like we need a reward for the duties we fulfill for God, but that is not true. 1Corinthians 9 says that it should be a privilege, and that is the truth. Our true reward is in doing it for God, the privilege of giving back because God has given us so much. If the duty is a burden to you ask yourself, am I doing this for God? This chapter also says that we race to win a prize not of this earth, but of heaven. As Christians, we should want nothing less that excellence for the Lord. As we strive for this excellence, others will see the fight we have, and the power of God’s love in us. By aiming to please God, we glorify his name on the way, and may lead some of those who are lost to Christ. God chose us for a reason.

Romans 12

What is true dedication? 

As Paul described it here, Christian dedication involves three steps.

You give God your body (v. 1). Before we trusted Christ, we used our body for sinful pleasures and purposes, but now that we are Soulʼd Out - we belong to Him, we want to use our body for His glory. The Christianʼs body is Godʼs temple (1 Cor. 6:19–20) because the Spirit of God dwells within you (Rom. 8:9). It is our privilege to glorify Christ

in our body and magnify Christ in our body (Phil. 1:20–21). Just as Jesus Christ had to take on Himself a body in order to accomplish Godʼs will on earth, so we must yield our bodies to Christ that He might continue Godʼs work through us. We must yield the members of the body as “instruments of righteousness” (Rom. 6:13) for the Holy Spirit to use in the doing of Godʼs work. The Old Testament sacrifices were dead sacrifices, but we are to be living sacrifices. That means not doing what feels good, but doing what is right. The verb “present” in this verse means “present once and for all.” It commands a definite commitment of the body to the Lord, just like a Soulʼd Out Commitment. It is this once for- all commitment that determines what you do with your bodies.

Paul gives us two reasons for this commitment:

(1) it is the right response to all that God has done for us; and

(2) this commitment is “your spiritual worship.” This means that every day is a worship experience when your body is yielded to the Lord.

You give Him your mind (v. 2a). The world wants to control your mind, but God wants to transform your mind (see Eph. 4:17–24; Col. 3:1–11). This word transform is the same as transfigure in Matthew 17:2. It has come into our English language as the word “metamorphosis.” It describes a change from within. The world wants to change your

mind, so it pressures you from the outside. But the Holy Spirit changes your mind by releasing power from within. If the world controls your thinking, you are a conformer; if God controls your thinking, you are a transformer. God transforms our minds and makes us spiritually minded by using His Word.

You give Him your will (v. 2b). Your mind controls your body, and your will controls your mind. Many people think they can control their will by “willpower,” but usually they fail. (This was Paulʼs experience as recorded in Rom. 7:15–21). It is only when we yield the will to God that His power can take over and give us the willpower (and the wonʼt power!) that we need to be victorious Christians.

We surrender our wills to God every morning as we spend time reading His Word. As we spend time in prayer, we surrender our will to God and pray, with the Lord, “Not my will, but Yours will be done.” We must pray about everything, and let God have His way in everything. That is what a Soulʼd Out Generation is all about.

Try to begin each day by surrendering your body to the Lord. Then spend time with His Word and let Him transform your mind and prepare your thinking for that new day. Then pray, and yield the plans of the day to Him and let Him work as He sees best. I especially pray about those tasks that upset or worry me—and He

always sees me through. To have a right relationship with God, we must start the day by yielding to Him our bodies, minds, and wills.

Matthew 7

Matthew 7

Our Judgment of Ourselves

The first principle of judgment is that we begin with ourselves. Jesus did not forbid us to judge others, for careful discrimination is essential in the Christian life. Christian love is not blind (Phil. 1:9–10). The person who believes all that he hears, and accepts everyone who claims to be spiritual will experience confusion and great spiritual loss. But before we judge others, for a SURGE to be effective, we must judge ourselves. Ask yourself this question:

How is my Soulʼd Out Commitment? Am I really Soulʼd Out? How can I be an addition to SURGE? 

Two things must be avoided in this matter of self-examination. The first is the deception of a shallow examination. Sometimes we are so sure of ourselves that we fail to examine our hearts honestly and thoroughly. A quick glance into the mirror of the Word will never reveal the true situation (James 1:22–25). The second is examining yourself over and over and over again. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in self-examination that we become unbalanced. But we

should not look only at ourselves, or we will become discouraged and defeated. After we have judged ourselves honestly before God, and have removed those things that blind us, then we can help others and really create A Generation Soulʼd Out. But if we know there are sins in our lives, and we try to help others, we are hypocrites. The Pharisees were guilty of this. The reason for judgment, then, is not that we might condemn others, but that we might be able to help each other as we SURGE.

The Two Ways

These are, of course, the way to heaven and the way to hell. The broad way is the easy way; it is the popular way. But we must not judge spirituality by statistics; the majority is not always right. The fact that “everybody does it” is no proof that what they are doing is right. In fact, the opposite is true: Godʼs people have always been a remnant, a small minority in this world. The reason is not difficult to discover: The

Soulʼd Out path is narrow, lonely, and costly. We can walk on the broad way and keep our “baggage” of sin and worldliness. But if we enter the narrow way, we must give up those things. Many people who “trust” Jesus Christ never leave the broad road with its appetites and associations. They have an easy Christianity that makes no

demands on them. Yet Jesus said that the narrow way was hard. A Generation Soulʼd Out cannot walk on two roads, in two different directions, at the same time.

The Two Trees

These show that true faith in Christ changes the life and produces fruit for Godʼs glory. Everything in nature reproduces after its kind, and this is also true in the spiritual realm. Good fruit comes from a good tree, but bad fruit comes from a bad tree. The tree that produces rotten fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “Therefore, by their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:20). The second test is this: Did my decision to be Soulʼd Out change my life?

Churchians can produce only a false righteousness (see Acts 20:29). Their fruit (the results of their “commitment”) is false and cannot last. The problem with churchans is that the closer we get to them, the more we see the rottenness of their lives. They praise themselves, not Jesus Christ; and their purpose is to take advantage of people, not to help them. A person who is a churchan, will never experience a changed life. Unfortunately, some people do

not realize this until it is too late.

The Two Houses

From picturing two ways and two trees, God ended His message by picturing two builders and their houses. The two ways illustrate the start of the life of faith; the two trees illustrate the growth and results of the life of faith here and

now; and the two houses illustrate the end of this life of faith, when God calls our generation at the finish line. There are termites at the gate that leads to the broad way, making it easy for people to enter. But at the end of the way, there is destruction. The final test is not what we think of ourselves, or what others may think. The final test is: What will God say? Words are not a substitute for obedience, and neither are religious works. Soulʼd Out niches, Remix responsibilities, and being active in the church can be God inspired, but it does not necessarily mean we are saved. It is likely that even Judas participated in some or all of these activities,

and yet he was not a true Christian. We are to hear Godʼs words and do them (see James 1:22–25). We must not

stop with only hearing (or studying) His words. Our hearing must result in doing. This is what it means to build on the rock foundation. The solid foundation in this parable is obedience to Godʼs Word—obedience that is an evidence of true faith (James 2:14ff). The two men in this story had much in common. Both had desires to build a house. Both built houses that looked good and sturdy. But when hardships came (the storm), one of the houses collapsed. What was the difference? Not the mere external looks, to be sure. The difference was in the foundation: The successful builder “dug deep” (Luke 6:48) and set his house on a solid foundation. We are to be a Generation that is built on solid foundation.