Are we Spiritually “Real”?
If Christianity is only a religion to you….I would ask you….
….Have you ever met the True and Living God….have you every come to a personal relationship with Christ Jesus….do you know the interference of the Holy Spirit in your day to day life?
(Interference, I believe, is a good word….because the Holy Spirit is a check in our spirits….a voice within….He gives joy and peace….and correction.
He interferes with the way we would go….and says, “Follow Christ”.
Certainly He guides, instructs, empowers, for He is the Person of God in our lives…..do you have this reality?)
Matthew 16:26 “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?”
I am no Theologian or Philosopher…..but I believe our souls are our personalities.
They are that which makes us unique…..no two are exactly the same.
They are that which the Bible calls…”the heart” (Proverbs 23:26)
They are the seat of our personality….all that makes us, us!
This I believe is the most precious thing to God in all of His Creation.
The human soul….having lost it through the Fall.
He bought it back again at such a high price.
And what good would gaining the whole world do,…..if we had to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire?
Or what should a man give in exchange for his soul?
What of all Creation could possibly be of more value than his eternal soul?
We are saved….body, soul, and spirit…
…or we are damned….body, soul, and spirit.
We are an eternal being. We will exist for eternity, in one of two places.
We will come to Christ and save our soul….and live for eternity with God in bliss!
Or we will lose our soul….and spend eternity with Satan in torment.
And what will we have to do, to lose our soul?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
We are all born under a curse….until we come to Christ….Who bore all the curse of our sin….on Himself.
We are all lost….wandering in a world which is also lost. One among many souls which do not realize the value of ourselves….
….seeking, instead, to find our value in things, or people, or ideas.
We do not have to do anything to get lost…..we are.
Only One….Christ Jesus….knows our true value….which is found in His love, His purpose, and His provision for us….in His sacrificial death.
Only One….Christ Jesus….can save us.
So….what will we give in exchange for our soul?
To answer the call of Christ in this Laodicean Age….calls for an answer, not of words….but an answer of a life open to, and receptive to Him.
Matthew 16:26 “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?”
Let me ask you…..by what have you been “profited” (profited here means: made useful. Simply how is it useful to you….to gain even the whole world….but lose yourself…..your soul.
You see, your soul is not just the “thing” that goes to heaven or hell…..but it is the very real essence of you.
And you are valuable….
….would you throw away your most valuable jewel?
Many have…..but will you?
What have you spent your life in seeking?
Isaiah 55:2-3 “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto Me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”
And if you could acquire the whole world (all that you desire in it)….but in order to have it, you would lose your soul?
(Remember our souls are our personalities. All that make us, us.)
Would you do it?
Well, Christ Jesus has lived, and died, and was raised again….that our souls might be free….
…free from our sin.
…free from the influence of the world.
…free from the narrowness of our fears.
…free from being lost….to the glorious purpose of Christ….a life open to and receptive to Him, Who loves us….and calls us.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 