Notice verse 27
"But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

1. I want to speak tonight on the subject "don't be a castaway"

I want to preface my remarks by saying that Paul was not the type
of person that worried about every little thing.

As a matter of fact, he said, "I have learned in whatever state I'm in to be content"

2. He also said in Phil 4:6 "Be careful for nothing"

The word careful here doesn't mean the same as our word careful today.

If I said be careful today I would mean to drive in such a manner as to be opposite from being reckless.

Hold your hand out when you make a turn or turn on your signal

Don't exceed the speed limit
Don't dart in and out of traffic
be careful

3. BUT "be careful here" means exactly what it says.   "Be Full Of Care"

The Bible says, "Take no thought about tomorrow" -- don't worry about tomorrow.

4. Paul said "don't worry about anything"
 * don't worry about any one thing.

So he wasn't the kind of person who worried about everything.
When he was down in prison he had no fear
  -- he sang and prayed and rejoiced
  -- he wasn't nervous.

5. HOWEVER... there was one thing gathering from the text that was
constantly before his mind.

It's found in the last few words of the text....     VERSE 27

If it didn't occupy his mind all the time,
it was on his mind some of the time.

It was certainly on his mind here.!!
After he had founded so many churches
     -- wrote so many epistles
     -- made so many journeys
     -- had spread his influence of Christ,
He said, "there may yet be a time when I will be a castaway"

6. Have you ever thought about it?
         Has it ever crossed your mind?
               It has mine.

When my usefulness to God is over I want to die and go on to heaven.
I'd rather die climbing the mountain than die going down the other side.

I don't want to be put on a shelf...
I'd rather be known as a never was than a has been

I hope the day never comes when someone asks "Who is that fellow?"
"He used to be a preacher" He used to pastor, He used to sing, He used to hold revivals, He led souls to Christ BUT not anymore, something happened to him I don't know what happened he's not successful anymore HE don't even come to church.   I hope that day never comes.
 
 But I must admit I have a little fear that maybe the day
 will come when God will put me on the shelf and that will
 be the end of me.

When many days of Revival pass and no one tells me of the help that has come from my ministry.
When several nights pass and no converts come down the aisles.
When several weeks pass and no one is baptized.....
 You start to wonder "Have I become a Castaway"

1.Paul Said "I fear--------- I fear that
         after preaching to others
         after founding many churches
         after making several missionary journeys
         after winning many souls to Christ
         after writing all the epistles
         after great power with God
         after praying to God & Him sending the earthquake that jarred the
          jail doors open
         after all those experiences

He feared that the day may come when he would become a castaway.

2. Now, what did Paul mean by a castaway?

He didn't mean that after a person comes to Christ that he would cast him into outer darkness..........
He didn't mean a loss of salvation
 ....Bible says.. In John 6:37 "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out"

3. That's not what Paul meant.
 He wasn't worried about losing his salvation
      BUT he was worried about something else
He was worried about becoming a castaway.
What did he mean by that?

4.Let me illustrate if very breifly.

Visit an lawn mower shop & you'll see in the back of the shop lawn mowers with the handles rotted out and blades rusted.  They've been replaced by something better, Power mowers and riding mowers The reel type mower, they're no longer useful.

I might say that old reel type mower is a castaway.  The man who owned the mower has found something else that suited his purpose better so he threw the old type of mower out behind the workshop.  It will never cut another blade of grass.  WHY?  It's a castaway!

5. That's what Paul feared, that after preaching to others that God would put him on a shelf and find somebody else that would better suit his purpose.

    I don't want that to happen to me.
    I hope you feel the same way.
     That the day will never come when someone will point to you and  say ‘He used to do it' but not anymore.

1. I wonder tonight if I might be speaking to someone who used to have a
 concern for the unsaved, your heart thrilled when someone came forward and accepted Christ but it doesn't thrill you any longer....Matter of fact....you never invite them to come to church anymore.

2.  You used to pray.....
     You used to ready your Bible........
     You used to come to Church........
      You felt it....was...honor..

3. Thank God there are some who hang on and hang on... and you can count on them  but there are others who've become castaways.

4. This Bible is full of castaways.

5. I don't have time to share them all with you but I want to share a couple of them with you. And explain some of the things involved in becoming a castaway. Some natural steps people take in becoming a castaway.

1. Take Esau in the Old Testament

2. Let me tell you the story very briefly

3.  He sold his birthright for a bowl of soup
     He was hungry
     His flesh cried out
     and the pottage appealed to his flesh

4. He said no I love my birthright -- "no - no - no"
              *But the flesh cried out
              * the flesh wanted to be satisfied.

5.  Finally he said "Alright, alright, I'll sell my birthright"
      I've got to satisfy my flesh

6. I wonder if the devil has ever put something in your path...
     I don't need to try to list what he may have put there.

7. But I wonder if maybe that Satan put something in your path that appealed to your flesh.
 * the flesh cried out    "I want it-----I want it"
 * You said "no, it's not right"
 * But the flesh cried out   "I want it----I want it"

8.  And then like Esau you said   " I don't care waht it cost me--I want it"
    "Birthright or no birthright, I've got to have it"

9.  Well, you'll wind up like Esau
                 -- He became a castaway

10.  "Give it time........I know it's wrong,   But I've got to have it"

11. If you sell out....you're going to become a castaway.
 

Open your Bible to I.Samuel chapter 15
     I don't have to read the entire chapter....

1. But Saul had the clear cut order from God
 There was no doubt what god wanted him to do

2.   Verses 1-3

 But when you read the rest of the chapter beginning with verse 4
    verse 7 When Saul received those orders,.... He didn't completely obey the Lord.

3. He saw some choice oxen and some choice sheep

4.  The orders were to slay all -  Man & woman
     Infant & child
     Ox, sheep, camel & ass
      Kill everything !

5. BUT, he put a reserve on his obedience to God

6.  Now listen, very carefully to what I'm going to say to you.

7. If you don't want to be a castaway do not put a reserve on you obedience to God.

8.  If I stand up here and preach or you read and study the Bible & you know what it says don't sit back there and say "I'll obey to a point but I don't see why I have to do so & so.    Smorgosboard belief.............. Buffet style faith

9. Don't put a reserve on your obedience to God
    God will never ask you to do anything thats hard for you ---- You ought to know that!

10. You know,    It's hard to find Christians who haven't put God on hold

11.  There are people who will not be baptized
 They say "No sir, you don't need baptisim to get to heaven"

12. Now let me say this....
             Baptisim never saved anybody
            But the Lord commanded us to........... "Believe and be baptized"

13. If God wanted me to be baptized 8 times, forward & backward, on my hands and upside down... I'd do it.

14. Don't put a reserve on your obedience to God in baptisim

15. Then there are those who say "I'll go to church, I'll read my Bible, But I won't tithe"   Because "It's more important to go to church faithfully than it is to give a tithe."

16.  Don't you decide what's important and what's not important.

17.  You do exactly what God said in every area of your life & in every regard and don't put a reservation on your obedience to God
        It's not what you think about:
              Your church attendance
              Your tithe
              Your prayer time and bible study
                        IT'S WHAT GOD THINKS!

18. If God says do it ---- Then do it no matter how hard it is or what you might think about it.

19.  If you don't do it, the same thing may happen to you that happened to Saul.

20.  Now, look down at verse 22

21.  Do you know how to have revival?
             Do you know how to have a great church?
                        Just have Christians to obey God
                        Just get Christians to do what Goid tells them to do.

22. Every preacher in the country,   who preaches the Bible is struggling trying to get Christians to be Christians.

23.  Trying to get Christians doing what the Bible says Christians ought to do.

24. You ought to say
             "God expects me in Church"
               Sunday School, Sunday Morning
              Sunday Night, Wed. Night
             "God expects me to read my Bible"
             "God expects me to pray"
             "God expects me to surrender my life to Him 100%"
             "God expects me to tithe"
             "God expects me to be a soul winner"

25.  It ought to be said one time and settle it forever.!!!

26.  But because our nature is sinful and rebellious It has to be said over & over & over again.
God says--  Go ahead & do what you want to do!
                      Put a reservation on your obedience to me and you'll wind up like Saul.... A Castaway.

VERSE 13

1.  Saul said to Samuel "I've performed the commandment of the Lord"

2. Saul said "I've done what God said to do, I killed all the men
   Women, infants, children, oxen, sheep, camel & the      ass."
    I've killed the whole bunch!

3. But do you know what happened?
 The sheep that he had spared and hid over in the bushes
 began to bleat &......oxen began to low.
                HIS SIN HAD FOUND HIM OUT

4.  You may hide it for awhile, BUT the day will come when the sheep will begin to bleat and the oxen will begin to low.

5.  "The chickens will come home to roost"
             It's going to come out after awhile
             It's going to tell on you

How do you know preacher?
 "Be sure your sin will find you out"

6. You'd better do what God says or its going to come out after while and tell on you and you're going to have to lie about it then too.

7.  Look at it    VERSE 15

8.   He wanted some good sheep and good oxen to sacrifice to God.

9.  Someone has said,     "It's never right to do wrong to get a chance to do right"   The end never justifies the means
You must do it the Bible way.       PERIOD!!!!

10.  Now it's right to sacrifice to God
 But it's not right to disobey God.

11.   Saul pretended complete obedience but it wasn't complete obedience--
 He didn't do what God said to do
 He had a reservation on his obedience.

Saul professed obedience but he didn't fully obey God.

 VERSE 23

                            God rejected him and he became a castaway!

                            God replaced him with David because of his disobedience.

                            Partial obedience is disobedience
 

Do what God tells you to do and do it as soon as you find out you ought to do it & don't keep putting it off & putting it off & putting it off,  or you'll end up like Saul  ----- He was a castaway!

Oh, he lingered on the throne for 10 years but God had already picked out the man to replace him.

1. If God tells you to do 3 things and you do 2 of them-----
      Is that obedience?

 NO..  That's partial obedience
     Partial obedience is not obedience but disobedience!

2.  If God tells you to do 3 things today but you wait a week to to do them
   ---- Is that obedience?

 NO..  That is delayed obedience   & delayed obedience
     Is disobedience.

3.  What then is Obedience?

4.  What does God want from you?

 More than your prayers ------- giving ---------- bible reading ----
 wittnessing ------- soul winning ------- faithful attendance

 He wants you obedience!

If He gets that, He has everything else

If He wants you to pray, you'll pray because He has your obedience
If He wants you to give, you'll give because He has your obedience
If He wants you to witness, you'll witness because He has your obedience

From Genesis to Revelation........ you'll find that God always blesses and rewards those who are obedient!
BUT   there is....also...a companion truth that sorrow & suffering always comes to those who are disobedient --------EVENTUALLY

There are 3 primary reasons to obey God.
 
         1. Because He is God
         2. Because He is a wise God
         3. Because we love Him  -------- Here's where the problem usually lies.

Let me ask you 2 questions.

     1. What is God telling you to do right now?
                  -- business   --- relationships  -----family
                  -- finances  -----service to Him  -----decisions

 2.  What are you doing about what God is telling you to do?
 There are 4 answers or responses.

                     1. Yes
                     2. No
                     3. Yes --- sort of, most of, part of.. Partial Obedience
                     4. Yes -- BUT I'm going to do it tomorrow or next week  Delayed Obedience

2. The prime cause of all failure is self
   Verse 27

3.  Keeping your body under subjection doesn't just mean:
         lust of the flesh
         getting drunk
         committing immorality.   Etc....

4.  But it could be a lack of little inward things Like:
         envy          short tempers
         hate          impatience
         jealousy
 
something happened and you lost your temper about it That's as bad as getting drunk
A lack of self control.

5.  You let your body   ---- temper ,   envy, hate,   run away & you do things you ought not do......because you were mad or angry.

6. WATCH IT!  Don't let your body get away from you.

 The prime cause of all failure is self.....The flesh
Spell flesh backwards --- knock off the "h"  -------SELF
SIN ----- the middle letter   ‘I'   ------- Self
 Satan's sin was self

Paul said, " I keep my body under subjection"

And we ought to read that over & over & over and say:
"When my old body cries out and I want to show off or be ugly"
" I'll knock the old flesh down whre it belongs"
"I'll keep my body under because if I don't I'll wind up a has been ----A CASTAWAY"

As long as You're something God's not everything.  But when you become nothing, God is all

Get less of self ----- less of self ------ less of self  & when there's no more of you left ----- Then Christ
occupies the whole throne of your life.
 

A certain college had it's water supply cut off. They checked everything they knew to check and they couldn't find anyting wrong. Then one day a huge frog was found in one of the main lines. They wondered how he got there They finally concluded that he probably came in as a tadpole. He fed from the water and grew to be its size and cut off the entire water supply.

The tadpole of sin can get in your life, you feed him and next week he's a little bigger.........before long you don't know whats happened:
     you don't enjoy the singing anymore
     you don't enjoy the preaching anymore
     you don't enjoy church anymore
            You say "what in the world has happened to me?

When it came in, it was a little tadpole you say "that's not very bad"  But it grows to the place where it chokes off the whole water supply & you're thirsting to death as a christian.   Self gets in the way!
 

1. You know, we ought to want to be like Jesus!
Even when they spit in his face ---you'd think he'd look down from the cross and say "Send that man to hell"
BUT HE DIDN'T.     He said "Father forgive them."

2.  We ought to remember that all of us are human
         -- none of us are perfect
         -- we are all going to make mistakes
         -- we ought to have more patience with each other

3.  Sometimes people do things and we don't understand their motives
         Maybe their motives are wrong
         Maybe their actions are wrong

But we ought to remember that we are still in the human body
We ought to learn to make allowances for the other person's mistakes.....

4.  We could have a good thing here  ---- oh, we have some problems, I'm sure,......BUT we've still have a good opportunity for a Christ Centered Bible Believing, Bible teaching Church  Let's keep it going  ----- What do you say?

The purpose of the message tonight has been to keep us ahead of the dangers of not being completely honest with God ----- not being completely obedient.

Lord, help us to realize the consequences of not living like blood bought people that we are.