Gains and Losses

CURRENT RADIO SERIES Unstoppable    CURRENT TV SERIES Invisible

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? --1 John 5:4-5 I remember when I was growing up in our little church in Arkansas, I would always look forward to those four times a year when we received Sunday school quarterlies for kids. In them, they had all kinds of activities and coloring pages for kids to learn about the Bible. I’ll never forget one page I colored in one of those little books from the story of Daniel and the den of lions. One thing that I distinctly remember about the picture is Daniel’s posture. As he was kneeling in the den with the lions surrounding him, he had his hands behind him, his shoulders back, his head erect, and a peaceful look on his face. I remember thinking, even as a little boy, “What faith!” When someone can look at the very things that want to devour him and trust in the Lord with all confidence, that’s a person who knows what it means to have faith. This kind of faith isn’t just for Daniel, Moses, the apostle Paul, or Jesus. This faith can be your faith too. So when your enemies seek to devour you, don’t fret. Trust in God.  When you hit hard times, don’t worry. Trust God. Have faith in every circumstance that by God’s power, you can overcome! THE FAITH OF THE HEROES OF THE BIBLE CAN BE YOUR FAITH TOO. SO WHEN HARD TIMES HIT, TRUST IN GOD AND YOU WILL OVERCOME.

Gains and Losses

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 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?”

Matthew 16:24–26

Dr. W. A. Criswell recounted this remarkable story from a missionary in Nigeria. A man stood up in a testimony service at church and said, “When I was well and when I was strong, I was a heathen and didn’t know God.  When I became a leper I was cast out, and the Christian missionary picked me up and brought me here to this clan settlement.  And here I have been taught the faith of the Lord Jesus, and I became a Christian here.  Had I remained well, I would have still been a heathen. Now that I’m a leper, I have found the Lord. I’d rather be a leper and have Christ than to be strong and well and be a heathen.”

Jesus has already done all of the paying for salvation. There is nothing we can do to add to His finished work on the cross. Yet sometimes we do not value our salvation as highly as we should. Jesus said that even the whole world would not a be worthy trade for our souls. Our salvation is a great treasure we could never purchase, and while we do not give up things to get it, it should make us willing to give up everything for the Lord. Paul wrote, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:7). Recognizing the value and worth of our salvation, we should hold the things of the world loosely in our hands.

Today's Growth Principle: 

We must never forget how great and precious the treasure of our salvation really is.