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COUNTING THE COST OF A SOUL THAT IS LOST

Introduction

When you men who are married here today became engaged to your wife, no doubt you presented her with a diamond engagement ring that came in a beautiful, satin box or some similar type of fancy box.

If your wife is like most that I know, she became excited over what was in the box, not the box itself. The sight of the box may have brought some strong emotions, however, those emotions were not a result of the box, but what was in the box. The obvious reason is because the box that a diamond ring comes in is not nearly as valuable or important as the diamond ring that is found inside of it.

What would have happened if she had kept the box and thrown the diamond away? Very likely, you would have been insulted and no doubt the engagement would have been called off.

Why? Because you really have to wonder about someone who values a jewelry box more than its contents.

In our text, Jesus was speaking to some people who were doing that very thing. They were spending all their time and attention on their body with no regard for their soul. The soul is the diamond of man, while the body is just the box to hold the diamond.

Each man, woman, boy, and girl is a soul with a body, not a body with a soul. Your soul is the most important part of you and your body is the least important part of you. Your body is just a house for your soul. If this be the case, why do people spend so much of their time, effort, and money taking care of the body with little regard for the well-being of their soul.

Do you know of anybody living like that? No doubt you do! Our world is full of people who spend countless hours and dollars caring for the box--whether it be down at the gym working out on the latest of exercise equipment, or in front of the mirror primping and pampering. People spend money on the box to make sure the box is in working order--the greatest of doctors and hospitals are used to care for the box, there are all kinds of specialists whose job it is to keep the box in tip top shape on both the inside and outside. No amount of money is spared to make sure that the box looks good, that the box works good, and that the box will last a long time-- while carelessly neglecting the contents of the box! How foolish!

Your soul is eternal but your body is not. Your body will go back to the dust from which it came, but your soul will go on--endless and timeless--throughout all eternity. Somewhere in a billion years, you--the real you-- will still exist! Your soul will be in heaven or hell for all eternity!

It really is amazing that this life is so brief. The Bible says it is like a vapor that appears for a little while and then it is gone. Nevertheless, the decisions you make in this lifetime will determine the eternal home of the real you--your soul.

I.         UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF A SOUL.

            You need to realize that there is nothing in this world as valuable as your soul--Nothing!

What kind of a house do you live in or do you dream of living in? It doesn’t matter, it cannot approach the value of your soul!

What kind of car do you drive or dream of driving? It doesn’t matter, it cannot approach the value of your soul!

Have you ever been to a dump that is full of rotting garbage? Everything in this world is just a big trash heap in comparison to the worth of your soul!

            We are like Sanford and Son trying to salvage--out of this rotting garbage heap we call the world--something of worth, when all along

            we are carrying around with us the most valuable thing we will ever have!

Example--There is a true story called “Acres of Diamonds” where a man sold all that he had to pursue looking for diamonds in Africa when the diamond rush was on. He died a broken man without ever finding his fortune or fulfilling his dream. The man who bought his land when he went to pursue his dream stumbled upon one of the richest diamond deposits ever known. This man had went looking in vain for the riches that he already had but didn’t know he had!

            IN UNDERSTANDING THE VALUE OF A SOUL:

            A.        Understand That Durability Determines Value.

                        If you want something that is durable you normally have to pay more for it.

                        (Example--a better grade of paint, shingles, etc.)

You would expect something with a lifetime guarantee to cost more than something that has no guarantee wouldn’t you?

                        Your soul is valuable because it is so durable.

                        1.         Your Soul Will Outlast Your Body.

                        2.         Your Soul Will Outlast This Earth. (2 Peter 3:10)

                        3.         There Are Only Two Things We Have On This Earth That Will Last For All Eternity.

                                    a.         One Of Those Is The Word Of God.

                                                Matthew 24:35–“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

Psalm 89:34–“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”

Isaiah 40:8–“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

1 Peter 1:25–“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.”

                                    b.        The Other Is The Souls Of Men.

                                                Ezekiel 18:4-- “. . .the soul that sinneth it shall die.” 

                                                Death means separation. Physical death is separation of the soul and spirit from the body. A soul dies when it

                                                 is separated eternally from God in the Lake of Fire for ever and ever.

                        IN UNDERSTANDING THE VALUE OF A SOUL:

                        A.        Understand That Durability Determines Value.

                        B.        Understand That Demand Determines Value.        

                                    If nobody wants a thing, then what value is it?--None, it has no value.

                                    Every year there is a craze over whatever is determined to be the hottest toy. Remember the Cabbage patch dolls?

                                    How about Beanie Babies? Some of you may have made hundreds of dollars by selling them and some of you may have

                                    lost  hundreds by buying them.

                                    I understand that the hottest toy for Christmas this year was Sony’s Playstation 2.  What makes an item so hot? I learned

                                    that in Economics 101. It is when there is a limited supply of them but the demand is high.

                                    The retail price for a Playstation 2 was around $300, but some were selling on internet auction sites and in the newspaper

                                    for several thousand dollars. Why? Because people wanted them bad enough to pay for them!

                                    No doubt the demand was so high for it that someone probably lost their life over a silly game machine.

(It is so prevalent and recurring a phenomena each year at Christmas time that they made a movie about it called “Jingle All The Way”--People laugh at it, but it really is sad in a way)

                                    Value is determined by demand.

What, then makes our soul so valuable? It is the fact that Jesus died for our soul.

1 Peter 1:18-19–“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Just think, Jesus left the glories of heaven to die for our sins and save our souls. That is how valuable your soul was to Jesus. It was more valuable than all the glories of heaven.

                                    Hebrews 12:2–“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before

                                    him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Listen, to redeem our souls, God became man in the person of Jesus Christ and shed His precious blood for our sins so that we could become the children of God.

   I.       UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF A SOUL.

            A.        Durability Determines Value.

            B.        Demand Determines Value.     

  II.      UNDERSTAND THE VANITY OF THIS WORLD.

            In our text, Jesus makes a comparison between the value of the soul of man and the value of the world. Jesus said if you compared the value of all of the world with the value of the soul, the soul is more valuable.

            A.        CONSIDER THE FACT THAT NOBODY HAS EVER GAINED THE WHOLE WORLD.

                        Some people have done pretty good for themselves in this world, but none have been able to gain the whole world.

                        Many men have tried to conquer the world but they all fell short.

                        Many have had great possessions in this world, but have fallen far short of

                        being able to gain the whole world.

                        Jesus is speaking about something that many men dream of, but no man has ever been able to attain--that is, “gain the whole world.”

The only man who will, for a time, have rule over the world to any extent will be the Antichrist. However, he loses his own soul. He is cast into the Lake of Fire in Revelation 19:20–“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

                        1000 years later when Satan is cast in there, we find that he is still there.

                        Revelation 20:10–“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and

                        the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

                        NOBODY HAS EVER GAINED THE WHOLE WORLD.      

            B.        CONSIDER THE FACT THAT NOBODY CAN KEEP WHAT THEY GAIN IN THIS WORLD.

Even if it were possible for you to gain the whole world, you could only enjoy it while you were alive and even then you would have to guard against someone else trying to take it away from you because of man’s tendency toward sin.

You would leave it all behind when you die. It would not be there to bring you any joy or pleasure in eternity.

                        1.         We Leave This World With Exactly What We Came Into It With.

                                    (Exp--Wednesday morning Ayriel Marie Keeley came into the world)

                                    Job 1:21–“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither:”

                        2.         When We Leave This World This Body Returns To Dust.

                                    Genesis 3:19–“. . .for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

                                    Break it down into its component parts and it is work less than $2.00.

                                    Psalm 49:15-20

1 Corinthians 15:50–“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

            C.        CONSIDER THE FACT THAT GAINING THE WHOLE WORLD WOULD NOT SATISFY.

This world can temporarily satisfy the desires and needs of the flesh, but the flesh cries out for more--It is never truly satisfied.

                        This world can never satisfy the deepest longings of the heart.

                        Ecclesiastes 5:10–“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase:

                        this is also vanity.”      

Fame does not satisfy, fortune does not satisfy, power does not satisfy, possessions do not satisfy, feelings do not satisfy--only Jesus satisfies.

   I.       UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF A SOUL. 

  II.       UNDERSTAND THE VANITY OF THIS WORLD.

            A.        NOBODY HAS EVER GAINED THE WHOLE WORLD. 

            B.        IF YOU COULD GAIN IT YOU COULDN’T KEEP IT.

            C.        IF YOU COULD GAIN IT YOU WOULD STILL BE UNFULFILLED.

 III.      UNDERSTAND THE VASTNESS OF THE LOSS.

            Jesus said that if you could trade your soul for the whole world (sort of “sell your soul to the Devil” and get whatever you want down

            here), you would suffer great loss.

            Think, however, of the many people (billions upon billions) who settle for less than the whole world in trade for their soul.

            (Only 11% of the World population professes to know the Lord.)

            A.        It Is A Loss That Cannot Be Replaced.

                        Have you ever lost something that was irreplaceable?

                        (i.e. a house fire--some things can be replaced, some can’t.)

                        It is bad enough to lose something that you can replace.

However, if you lose your soul you can never get it back; there are no second chances.

            B.        It Is A Loss That Cannot Be Excused.

                        You are absolutely without excuse to lose your soul and go to hell!

                        Why? Because God has done everything He can do to keep you out of hell!

The price for your soul has been paid for in full in what Jesus did on the cross of Calvary.

                        If you want God’s mercy, you must gain it before you leave this life.

                        If you want God’s grace, you must receive it before you die.

                        If you want God’s forgiveness, it is available until you die, then it is out of your reach.

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!