The Profit Motive - Part 2

A man's enemies are they of his own household. And the 37th verse, Matthew 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.

Maybe you do not know the history of that great mission, worldwide evangelization crusade. It was started by the sacrifice of a great sportsman, a cricketer born with a silver spoon. He was not a poor man.

See, Charles stood before he went to China. His mother said, and his brother sent his brother to plead with him. There is so much work for you to do in England.

Why don't you stay and do the work? Of course he was a national hero and young people were being attracted to him. But he said, no I am going. At that time when his mother had been just widowed and sent this message to him, he was standing on a station platform and he asked God, what have you to say to this? And he got the scripture, a man's enemies are they of his own household.

So he said, no I am going. You know my dear friends, if had he not gone to finally to Africa, he went to India next and then to Africa, died in Africa. If he had not done that, I spoke at their international headquarters in London and there were nearly a thousand missionaries, dedicated men and women who had gone out to different needy places.

My dear friends, I don't think we have any excuse which will serve our turn today. That in these days of instant communications and instant information, Jesus is not even known. Dalai Lama can make a hit, if he comes the CBS will have him on for an hour to tell us dogs go to heaven too.

Maybe, you know I recommend to some of those people, why don't you hold fast to the tail? And that way you'll get pulled up also. You know when they worship monkeys and with long tails, what do you want to hold on to those tails? My dear people, what do we see here? In the 10th chapter of Matthew, Jesus said, 39, he that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. So, he that loseth his life shall find it.

Everybody says, see what this fellow is doing with his life. He is losing all his tremendous talents or his opportunities to make a pile of money. See what this fellow is doing.

He is losing it. He has lost it. And Jesus says, hey when people say that, you have gained it.

You have gained life. You know, amazingly this Lord Jesus Christ said the same thing over again, and Matthew records it. You know, very rarely do we see the same quotation in the same book, but here is one.

Matthew 16 chapter, 21st verse. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day. Here the Lord Jesus Christ was foretelling his death and that he must suffer many things.

Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying, be it far from you Lord. This shall not be unto you. But he turned and said unto Peter, get you behind me Satan.

Well, one moment the Lord Jesus said to Peter, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you Peter, 17th verse, but my father which is in heaven. Just prior to this, Peter said, thou art the son of the living God. People say this and that of you, but I know that you are the son of the living God.

You know when Peter said that, Jesus commended him. But when he could not understand the cross and said, be it far from you, that shall not be unto you. The Lord Jesus said, get behind me Satan.

You know sometimes we play the same role. One moment we talk sanely, we talk sense. The next moment we're incoherent, irrelevant.

We talk as though the devil is talking. You know words of unfaith are devil's words. Words of unfaith depress people.

Words of faith lift up people. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Words of faith, that is why we need to fill our hearts with the word of God and mock you my dear friends.

How does the word of God become your flesh and blood? Together with the study of God's word, you must mingle prayer. Lord, I want this in my life. So the word of God becomes your flesh and blood.

So what you do becomes indestructible. What you do becomes something that grows and grows beyond your expectation. Because the kingdom of God is like the mustard seed, so tiny you wouldn't reckon it to be anything.

But the kingdom of God is as a but it grows and grows and grows. My dear friends, so what is the context here? The 24th verse. After Jesus rebuked Peter, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.

See, I am going to the cross. I am going to suffer many things and you, my disciples, must bear the cross. Deny yourself, take up the cross and follow me.

25, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. You know, some people's life appears to be like a total loss. You can't understand what, what's the good of this person.

Just sits around or prays or reads the Bible. No, I'm not advocating laziness. I believe in hard work and steady work.

Not just in flashes, not fitful work, but steady work. My dear friends, he that will lose his life, look at the context here. After Jesus says, I'm going to lose my life, but I'm going to rise again and I'm going to bring this principle into you, that whosoever loses his life for my sake will find life.

You know, this gain motive is misleading many people, getting them into the hole, getting them into a lot of difficulties. Suddenly, I don't know if you, some of you have gambled, but you know the, since, you know, just some gamblers were touched in my meetings, but gambling was never such a problem amongst young people, college students. But I don't know such flights, cheap flights are offered to Vegas.

And I don't know how many gamblers are losing their lives, losing their families, losing everything in this country. And more people, more states want gambling. They feel that's the only way to augment the state's finances.

What a tragedy. Gambler's money, gamblers who are losing their families, and that money is going to improve the country. What kind of thinking has come into, unchristian thinking has come into the land.

So, my dear friends, you are likely to see more and more casinos, but some of you may not know that when we had revival meetings, not very far from here, all the beer joints, saloons, in the neighborhood had to close. What a tragedy. What has happened to me? I feel ashamed.

Pray for me, my dear friends. I want to serve the Lord with all my heart. I'm not going to moan and groan on my way to the grave.

I want to serve the Lord. Yes, Pastor Homer Campbell told you that some of those people who were servers in those saloons became missionaries. When the revival began, it began to spread.

But I preached in that church for 23 days. My dear friends, we had no problem and we didn't have to say, only in the weekends people will come. Now, even that is gone.

Oh, you might only see them on Sunday morning when they believe in warming the seats up. What rubbish. The gospel going a-begging in this nation.

Oh, my beloved people. So, what is the way to gain? For whosoever will save his life shall lose it. And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

This appears like nonsense to the people of the world. But let me tell you, it is the principle by which you and I thrive and get renewed. My dad used to tell me about an ancient story of two giants who got into a great fight, fighting to death, you know.

And here was this mighty giant. And every time he would seize the other fellow and bang him against the ground. And that would have no impact on him.

So, he would rebound with greater strength on being banged to the ground. So, my father said to me, what was his secret? The secret was that he had a special relationship with Mother Earth. So, every time he was banged down to Mother Earth, he got new power.

You know, my dear friends, we don't need to be banged down to Mother Earth. But every time you feel you are crashing, every time you feel you are at your wits end, you have lost it, please know what Jesus said, he that looseth his life for my sake shall find it. Let us pray.

Let us tell God, oh God, I don't need to come crashing down. I don't need to be a total failure. Because my Savior tells me that when I lose myself for him, I will gain my life.

What will it profit me, this birthright and blessing of Abraham? When I am likely to die, I will trade it off for a mess of pottage. Lord, let me never do that. Let me never do that.

Please, Father, let me retain a broken and a contrite spirit. To the very end of my life, that I might know this rebounding life of grace and power. In the midst of adversity and even death, new strength, because Jesus is the resurrection and life.

Gracious Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that your spirit teaches us to die to ourselves and not to get into this cheap barter which we see everywhere. And all sense of values are perverted today.

So perverted, till we count everything in dollars and cents. What will this cost me? What is the cost? Lord our God, teach us to know that the priciest of all, the great salvation which you have brought to us, is a total packet with nothing wanting in it. Oh Lord, can there be a better deal than this? That you empower us with your power and call us your sons and daughters.

Oh my Father, have mercy upon us. Save us from the perversion of our own thinking. And when we see people reading books, how to get rich quickly and things like that.

What kind of minds do they get? And the gambler's tables getting full and the country begin to trust in the revenues that come from these casinos. Oh my Father, forgive us. Forgive our abominations and our abominable thinking processes.

Give to us the mind of Christ. He that lives his life for my sake shall gain it. So help us we pray.

In Jesus' holy name. Amen.