Cross Road

Baptist Church

© 2017

Sermon Text

Losing is a Good Thing

He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it.

Matthew 10:39

Winning is not Everything

The thought of losing profits is appalling to Wall Street investors. Their focus is on long term gain. Losing to a sports team reflects weakness and a lack of training and preparation. Their focus is to win the championship. Gain to a company means profits for the owners. Gain to the farmer means abundance at harvest time. What better terms could there be to describe this Land of Plenty that we call America, than gaining and winning. Those are chords of success and music to the investor’s ear.

Rarely do we stop to consider the downside of winning and gain. To focus constantly on winning will inevitably lead to pride and rivalry. This ultimately leads to superiority and prejudice. Winning is not everything.

Those who are absorbed with gain will ultimately resort to compromises in their decisions as greed takes the place of sound judgment. Soon, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life creep into the leadership role and start to drive people to seek material things only. Gaining is not everything.

Sadly, this gain-driven mentality has crept into the Church and has influenced the Saints in a negative way. The Apostle Paul describes this as perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such turn away. 1 Timothy 6:5. It is sad when we abandon the preaching of the Cross for preaching about material things. Have we not been warned that this world will pass away, but the Word of God will abide forever? If our hope is built on gain, then where is our hope for eternity? Gain and riches are not everything.

Yes, there is a problem with following the path of gain. The Apostle Paul counters that attitude by saying in 1 Timothy 6:6, but godliness with contentment is great gain … for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Our Lord Jesus is not talking about being content in this passage. Here the matter is about ‘losing.’ Yes, it is radical, but it is necessary. As Christians, we are called to not only be content with the things God gives us; we are to lose some things in order to bring Glory and Honor to the Living God. That is our challenge.

The Pain from Gain

Think about the people that have lost as a result of someone else’s unjust gain. We’re not talking about a sports event. We’re talking about the crimes and injustices committed by people in high places all for the sake of gain. Gain is the driving force behind the human sex trafficking industry. Gain is the driving force behind the drug industry (both illegal drugs and legal drugs). The drug suppliers that distribute to the street dealers are not in the game to give away money; they want to earn as much profit as possible. The same as true of the pharmaceutical industry; they are not in business to lose money. The problem with ‘gain’ is that it leads to greed; then the lust for material things leads down a path of destruction.

What shall I say about the gambling industry that was once the task of bookies and those who ran numbers? Now it has been legalized and has become the revenue generating industry of the State. As a consequence, people who cannot afford to pay their rent are now trying to legally gamble their way out of poverty by a State sponsored industry that takes back the very benefits they give them. Gain leads to greed and greed leads to destruction.

Gain-driven people live self directed lives and as a result, they cause harm to others. The Bible has many examples of the harm gain causes, but the following verses are a few reminders of the damage that can be caused.

Relationships suffer as a result of gain. Genesis 4:6, records the first murder in the Bible. Cain killed his brother Abel because of the need to win or gain. God did not accept Cain’s offering because it was not a blood sacrifice. Rather than obeying God and bringing the acceptable offering, Cain decided to eliminate his competition. He killed his brother but still his offering was not accepted.

How many times have we in the Church assassinated each other’s reputation or insulted people for the sake of our own program. The need to win or gain will become a very treacherous endeavor. It is all committed on the Altar of Gain.

Not only do relationships suffer as a result of gain, but righteousness is compromised. In Amos 2:6, the Prophet condemned the people of Israel of their profiting from the godly and the poor. Thus says the LORD, for three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes. It is sad when people take advantage of others for the sake of personal gain. You would be surprised to learn of the scoundrels and low life people that prey on senior citizens and the mentally ill. Some of them are in the Church. They will wait until the seniors or mentally challenged receive their social security or disability checks, and then they swarm in like predatory birds to snatch away their benefits. Greed is a terrible thing.

Perhaps the most damaging is that greed caused by gain causes people to lose respect for one another. Even in high places and among the judges of our land, respect is traded for bribes. In Deuteronomy 16:19, God warned the Israelites that they were not to resort to such practices. You shall not extort judgment; you shall not respect persons, neither give a gift. There is something wrong with the criminal justice system when two people commit the same crime but only one pays while the other made a deal. While we think deal making is only made in the Court system, we need to think again. Deals are made with regarding to employment, contracts, and a host of other things. You have heard that it takes money to make money, let me just add – it takes money to make deals. No money – no deals.

Back in the day we had a saying – “money talks and nobody walks.” This meant, if you had money you could ride, if you had no money – well you get the picture. That was giving respect of person based on gain. God said, that is not how we should treat our brothers and sisters. Gain causes harm. Jesus gave us a better way to live – it is called losing in order to gain.

Losing in order to Gain

Our Lord Jesus gives us a better way to live. He first changes our mindset to that of giving rather than receiving. We give because we recognize there is a need to give. First, we give because there is a need to surrender to God. Second we give because there is a need greater than our own. Third we give because we need to get rid of things unneeded. In our giving, God provides ‘loss benefits’ to His children.

Consider the Word of Lord. He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it. There are people attempting desperately to find their life through the process of gaining. While they may gain many things, will they find true and lasting peace?

Alfred Nobel who is known as the sponsor of the Nobel Peace Prize was once known as the ‘Merchant of Death.’ This was due to the industry through which Mr. Nobel earned his great wealth: the dynamite industry. This man was so taunted by that titled that he decided that before he died, he endowed a foundation that would award prizes in the progress of medicine, chemistry, physics, literature, and the quest for peace. One of the quotes of Alfred Nobel is this one, “Contentment is the only real wealth.”

When you lose for God, you gain the true treasures. Think of the things that we lose for God and gain in eternity. We gain a new life by losing our old life. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we must give up the old to obtain the new. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. That is our loss benefit in Christ.

In order to gain God’s favor we must give up something. Matthew 10:39 speaks of losing in order to Gain God’s favor. He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it. Notice the words, for My Sake. If we simply give up but refuse to seek Christ we have a great loss. The fact that we lose for Jesus’ Sake, is the only way that we gain in the eyes of God. When we lose for His Sake, Jesus gives us His Spirit to guide and direct our path. That is true gain.

These loss benefits for God’s favor means we also are free from our past. God grants us forgiveness as we lose our old sin. Gaining God’s forgiveness is what we all seek, but some do not find it because they are unwilling to lose. What do you have to lose, you must lose the sins that others have committed against you. In Matthew 6:14, Jesus said, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive your trespasses. Holding on to the sins of others is like holding on to old garbage. What’s the point?

The loss benefits are great. That is why Jesus said that if you hold on to your life you will lose it. Think about it. This life only ends in death. If you give up your life before you arrive at the grave, you gain the joy of eternal life. Jesus wants you to live and not die. That is why He is willing to give you faith for your old foolish beliefs. But you must give them up. The loss of your old ideas and attitudes means you gain new faith. Matt. 10:39, He that finds his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for My sake shall find it. What better way to gain the best, than by giving up that which is worst. The choice is ours. Losing is a good thing.