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SCRIPTURE – Mat 16:26                                                                                                                                                                 MAY, 2021

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

SUBJECT – THE WORTH OF A SOUL!!
This one little verse, in the form of a question, outlines the total status of man's existence. It all has to do with that part of man, that is the core of his being.

The Bible tells us in Genesis 2:7, that after God formed him, He breathed life in to him, and man became a living SOUL.

It doesn't mention anything about flesh and blood, but rather 'soul!'

To fully understand this passage of scripture, and this message, you will have to realize that no matter what you do, and what you achieve in this life, it amounts to absolutely nothing in the eyes of God.

You see, in this life, we spend most of our time hopefully trying to achieve certain goals in life. And, in that process, we go about several different ways to do it.

Most of us, do it by striving to get a good education, following the 'Golden Rule', being an upright, law abiding citizen, and making wise decisions in matters that will culminate in our being popular in our community.

As a result of this, people will be more than willing to help us in achieving our goals.

However, I want to make this point perfectly clear. None of these things can be achieved, unless God allows it!

On the flip side of the coin, there are those that have these same goals, but, for whatever reason, they follow a path of lies, deceit, crime, and whatever else they figure they need to do, to get there.

They don't care about what they have to do, or who they have to hurt to achieve their dreams, they will do it, if necessary.

Now the thing is, while both strive to reach their goals, and men will celebrate their achievements, one thing is true in both cases.

And that one thing is, no matter how popular you are, how much wealth you have accumulated, how many accolades are piled on you by others, when you die, it means nothing.

When you die, your wealth will be dissipated to those you left behind, or the government. The popularity and accolades might still be there, but they aren't going to do you any good. The reason being, you have transitioned in to another realm of existence where nothing that you have achieved in this life matters.

Many times at funerals, when family, friends, and even the person eulogizing the deceased, they will all recount the person's life, they will essentially heap all sorts of honor and praise on them, for the life they lived,

To the average person, it would appear that this person is now walking around Heaven, having a glorious time, free from all the troubles that this world presents.

The Bible says that Heaven is a place where there is no more suffering, no more pain, no more sorrow, and all things are good!!!

It would seem that all things are as they should be. Live a good life, treat people right, and believe in God, and you are all set!!

But, that is not how it goes!!

Because, lost in the pursuits of our goals, we are almost always seeking to please, not God, but our flesh!!

Oh we will believe we are doing what God wants us to do. But, deep inside, we are doing it only to the point that it does not inconvenience us.

We will do the easy things.

Easy things like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, caring for the sick and elderly, giving to charities, going to church and such, all of which God wants us to do.

But, at the same time, when it comes down to us having to do things that puts us at odds with what are the 'acceptable norms' of our community or society in general, then all of a sudden we have a problem. The reason being, we don't want to be persecuted or labeled by others as some sort of misfit, or radical.

Did you know that Jesus calls on us to be just that???

Look at these scriptures!!

Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

These are only a few of the scriptures that tell us to do things, that don't sit well with our flesh, because they put us in the position of being uncomfortable.

Face it, no one in what we would call their right mind, would get up every morning with plans to get persecuted. Especially when it comes from family and friends.

Yet, that is just what Jesus tells us to do. Not so much as to be deliberately trying to make people angry at us, as it is being obedient to Him.

Let's face it. If ever there was anyone that went about doing nothing but Good, and Loving everyone, Jesus was that person. And yet, what happened to Him?? He was persecuted, and crucified.

Why??

Because He was at odds with what most of the people, especially the religious leaders, of His time liked doing.

When people really like doing something, and someone comes along and tells them it's sin, they will immediately get angry and strike back at them.

In our PC [politically correct] society today, we are told to keep quiet and not do, or say anything to offend others.

Do you think Jesus would follow that line of thinking??

No!!!

Why?? Because He is more interested in saving the person's soul than pleasing their flesh!!

When Jesus came here, He came to save men's souls, and not to appease their flesh.

Think about this.

God sent His Son, to suffer, and die, to save yours, and my soul!! That is the bottom line.

In other words, He pulled out all the stops, gave all He had, to redeem the souls of mankind.

Redeem them from what??

The eternal damnation that we all inherited after the curse He put on mankind because of the actions of Adam, in the Garden of Eden.

He set the rules for us to live by, the punishment for disobedience, and the plan of redemption, before He even created man.

And, unlike man, He lives by every Word He says!! He does not change how He does things based on the opinions to a few, or the majority.

And, if He has to be rejected by those that He loves because they don't like His position on what they like doing, then so be it!!!

Now, when one of us, that claim to be followers of this Jesus, chooses to go along with the demands of others, and be quiet, then we are essentially ashamed of Him.

And, do you know what He has to say about that??

Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny [or be ashamed of] me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

We just celebrated the death, burial and resurrection of the Man, who paid the ultimate price, to redeem our souls from an eternity in torment.

How much is a soul worth??

So much so, that knowing what was waiting for Him if He followed the Father's plan, He willingly went through all of what He did, just for your soul. At any time, He could have refused to go along with it and would be right in doing it, because we didn't deserve it.

And, here we are today, calling ourselves Christians, and most of us, don't want to be called names, or even attacked verbally, let alone physically for following His lead.

When Jesus asked the question, what shall a man give in exchange for His soul, He was stating one thing that should be very clear, and nullifies any preconceived notions that a person may have.

That fact is, there is absolutely nothing that man has, or will ever have, that you can give to God, to pay your way out of eternal damnation!!

The main reason being, everything you have, or ever hope to have, belongs to Him in the first place.

It's like you borrowing $100 from me, telling me you will pay me back next week. Then you come to me to borrow another $100 to pay me back for the $100 you borrowed earlier.

The problem is, you still owe me $100!!

That is what we are trying to do with Him. He gives us the ability to go out and do things, obtain wealth, all of which He already owns, and we want to pay Him back with what is already His.

There are those of us today, all around the world that engage in activities that essentially guarantee that their souls are headed for eternal damnation, all because we want wealth, and pleasure. And, to ease their guilty conscience, they go out and contribute money, and time, to things that they think will pave their way to Heaven.

They will not!!!

Nothing you can say or do, short of turning from your wicked ways, will do. Anything else, is folly.

God is not asking much!!! A simple confession of your guilt, and your willingness to change you ways, is all it takes.

Some of you may think you are too far gone, and there is no hope for you. Fact is, as long as you have breath in your body, the door is open for you to walk through.

Now think about this for a moment!!

Here you are, knocking yourself out every day, jumping through hoops, losing sleep, trying to figure out how to get your life back on track. Doing everything you can think of to make it in, and all you have to do is walk on in, because the door is open.

The only requirement is, you leave all that ungodly baggage behind.

If money could buy a person's way in, that would most certainly leave the poor out.

If God favored one group of people over another, that would leave a lot of the rest, out!!

If education impressed Him, then, once again, most would be left out!!

That's the way it is in this world, but not with God!!

Man keeps striving for a level playing field where all have the same opportunities, no matter what condition they are in.

Well, the only level playing field, the one that really matters, is the one set up by Him. He is an equal opportunity provider. Come one, come all!!!! Step right on in!!!

All of this was made possible by His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, when He, at the direction of the Father, came down here and sacrificed Himself for us. He didn't have to do it, but He did because there was no other way to open that door.

That is how much your soul is worth to God.

That then leaves the choice of your eternal destiny, in one person's hands!!!

YOURS!!!!



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