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that I want you to dwell upon
with me this evening for some time. Let's read those words
together. They come from the lips of Christ.
Words that I'm sure every one of us have heard or even seen
on a billboard or sung for around the country. These are words
that we're all familiar with from our childhood. The words
of verse 36, Mark chapter 8. For what shall it profit a man
if he shall gain the whole world and lose? his own soul. For what shall it profit a man
if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Now, for us who have studied
the divine record, the four Gospels that record the life of Christ,
we know that wherever Christ went, there was multitudes who
followed Him. It doesn't matter where Christ
went, where He preached, where He met, where He prayed, there
most surely would be men and women who would gather to question
Christ, and to put questions to Him, and speak to Him, and
have Him give them direction as to certain aspects or dimensions
of their life. Situations, perhaps, that were
always more relating to an earthly matter than the spiritual. I'm thinking of passages such
as Luke chapter 12, and the verse 1 through to 13, where you find
that there was gathered together an innumerable multitude. There
was Christ and yet there was the multitude. And you find that
there was one of those men in that company and they come to
Christ and they begin to question Him in regards to a matter that
really had not priority. A matter that was to do with
the division of the family inheritance. And this man was greatly concerned
that He would maybe not get his share in the family will. And
he comes to Christ and he wants Christ to speak to his brother,
asking him to divide the inheritance with him. On other occasions,
such as Matthew 22 and verse 17, we have another multitude.
And we have another man who comes to Christ with another question
relating to money. And he says, tell me, to whom
do I pay my taxes? To whom do I pay my income tax?
the question regarding the payment of taxes to Caesar. And yet,
when you analyze those questions, you will find that when they
are presented to Christ, that really those questions, they
fall far short of what those men should have been inquiring
on. Earthly matters, situations, wherever you might care, they
are important, I suppose, in one aspect. But in the light
of the question, that we find here in verse 36 of Matthew chapter
8, those kind of questions pale into insignificance. Look with
me here at Mark chapter 8. Look at verse 34. We discover
here that there is a people gathered. We're told that when He had called
the people unto Him, there was a great gathering of people on
this day as Christ began to speak. They gathered with the disciples,
we are told here in verse 34. So there is people, there is
a great company of people, and there are the disciples. But
you will notice this time, as Christ speaks and He addresses
the congregation, there is no questions forthcoming to the
Saviour. In fact, it is Christ's turn
to put a question to them. And we have that question here
in verse 36, where the Lord says, For what shall it profit a man
if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? It is
very interesting that as you read through to the end of that
chapter, you find that there is not one man who dares answer
that question for Christ. Oh, men are very quick to demand
an answer from the Saviour Himself in regards to the division of
family money and family problems and all the rest of it. And if
they can find a way out of paying their income tax, they will.
But when Christ puts the most important question that a man
could ever be asked, there's not one will step forward and
give the answer. Because it is a rhetorical question.
It is a question that gives the answer. There is no profit in
the losing of one's soul. I was reading recently the words
of Robert Murray McSheehan. A great godly preacher who died
at the same age as this preacher. A young man who died in his early
thirties. A man who burned himself out
for Christ. A MacShane who was a man who said he had eternity
stamped on his feet. Eternity stamped on his eyebrows. Eternity was stamped on every
part of him. Where he went he preached. He warned of the danger
of losing one's soul. And McShane had this to say of
the soul. He said, your own soul, my friend, is your first and
greatest care. Your own soul is your first,
your primary concern. It is the priority. Above all
else, your health, your family, your whatever you want to mention. In the light of this question,
the soul is your greatest. It is your first, your primary
care. Now, you've probably heard many
sermons preached in this passage, preached in this text. Many a
preacher will turn and he'll begin to warn men of the dangers
of money, the dangers of putting riches before your salvation. And that is true. It can be used
that way. But I want us this evening to
look here at how Christ brings men to see what the real priority
is. You see what's going on today.
The credit crunch, as we often hear so much about it today.
When men and women are searching for answers to various questions,
but you know the questions are to do with their earthly finances,
their future, their stocks, their shares, you never hear any man
being concerned about this question. A question that ranks far above
all those other questions in importance. What would it profit
me if I were to lose my soul? and
I were to make great gains in the stock market, and I were
to make great gains on the FTSE 100, or whatever you want to
mention, what would it profit me? At the end of all that, I
lose my soul. As I look with this, and I won't
be very simple tonight, at least I hope I'm always simple for
you, I hope I'm not preaching above your head, but let us look
here first of all at something Christ is seeking for men to
see. And that is of the source of
life. The source of the soul. Where
does the soul come from? You hear me preaching all the
time. You've heard preachers saying, you need to have your
soul saved. You need to take care of the
soul. What shall it profit a man if he shall lose his own soul?
What are we saying? What do preachers mean? Far above
what I mean. What does Christ mean when He
says, what shall it profit you, man or woman, if you lose your
own soul? What is your soul? Could you
answer that tonight, believer? I speak to you Christians for
a moment. You go to a man or woman you know who is not saved
and you say, your soul needs to be saved. What are you telling
them? You've got to think these things through, dear brother,
dear sister. And I pray that tonight, as we
look at this, we will find, well, what just is the soul of man?
What is Christ speaking of here when he speaks of a man losing
his soul or the soul being saved? Let's look carefully here at
the words of Christ. What shall it profit a man if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? You can see the possessive case
that Christ uses here. He speaks of something that belongs
to man. Man losing something that belongs
to him. Something that has been given
to him. Something that is of the very nature of him. That constitutes who he is. And
when you go through God's Word, beginning at Genesis 2 and verse
7, if you turn with me there this evening, Genesis 2 and verse
7, what do we read? God breathed into man the breath
of life and man became a living soul. Man became a living soul. So the soul of man takes us right
back to his creation. When God made Adam from the dust
of the ground, that's all he was, a lump of clay. But we're told, as I said to
you last night, the final act of God's creative power in the
six days of creation was the creation of the soul. God breathed
into Adam, and Adam became a living soul. God breathed into Adam
the breath of life, and man became a living soul. You're looking
there In Genesis 2 verse 7, at the breath of life, God giving
animation, God giving life, God giving vitality to this man,
Adam. God breathed, God gave to him
life. The life that Adam now has in
him, notice from Genesis 2 verse 7, did not occur until he became
the possessor of a soul. God gave him his soul. Adam began
to live. And when we apply that and we
turn that right round, as we will do later on, you will find
that man cannot live without the soul. Again, going back to
what I said last night, it is when the soul departs the physical
body that death and life expire. The life that is in the body
is due to the fact, man or woman, that you have a soul. You live
tonight and you might say, oh preacher, it is because I am
a physical person, I look after my body and that's good. I wish
I did the same as you. But that is not the reason as
to why your life continues. Your life continues because in
your soul, in your body, you have a soul. There is part of
you that the scriptures denominate the soul. But you turn that truth around,
brother or sister. And I speak to you unsaved tonight as well.
If the life that you have in your very body tonight is due
to the fact that you have a soul, what happens then when that soul
departs the body? Life comes to an end. Life ceases
to be. Now Genesis 35 is, and again
we looked at this last night, the turn again to Genesis 35.
It's a key text. Genesis 35, verse 18, where we
have the record of Rachel giving birth to Benjamin. And we're
told here that Rachel was a dying woman. Life was ebbing away from
her body as she was giving birth to this young man, her child,
Benjamin. But note very carefully the words
of Genesis 35, verse 18. It tells us that when her soul,
when her life, when her soul was in departing, As her soul
was leaving her body, then she died. Then she died. As her soul that formed part
of her constitution, there was Rachel. Body and soul. Body and
soul. Life in the body. But as her
soul was departing, then she died. What about James chapter 2 and
verse 26? I can't be any more clear tonight. James tells us
in chapter 2 in verse 26, listen to this, that the body apart
from the spirit is dead. Now is that not saying what I'm
trying to show you from Genesis 35, that the body apart from
the soul is dead? And I apply that to you tonight
to see that The very source of your life is due to the fact
you have a soul. I've spoken to many men throughout
the last number of years. Many, I remember one particular
occasion in Portrush. A few other of us young men were
down giving out tracts and seeking to witness for the Lord. I remember
meeting this guy one night and we couldn't convince him. He
says, you know, this business about the soul, it's all a fabrication
of your theology. Don't tell me I have a soul.
I'm a body. I'm like the animals. When I
die, I go to the grave and that's it. It's over. I remember showing him that night
as best I could. I said, young man, the very reason
why you're standing, living and talking to me tonight is because
you have a soul in your body. And should that soul depart from
your body, Your life, this very instant, will come to an end.
And that's how it is, men and women. The life, the soul, is
the source of life. And that's why Christ comes and
He says, what would it profit you if you lose your soul? There's
no profit physically. There's no profit after your
soul departs the body. Life comes to an end. And I say
again, you tonight, every one of us, the preacher and the pulpit,
you are proof tonight that man consists of body and soul. Because
without the soul, the body is dead. Now what about the immortality
of the soul? Let's move on secondly here.
The immortality of the soul. Christ says to these men, to
the disciples, what will it profit you if you gain the whole world
and lose your soul? Christ is trying to instill into
these men the immortality of the soul. Now again, there is
something that many will deny. You take the JWs. the cults. And they will deny the fact that
there is an existence of the soul after death. And they will
argue, and they're not Jehovah's Witnesses, they're nothing more
than a bunch of liars. And that language is not strong
enough for them. Alan Kearns, I think, used to refer to them
as the devil's deceivers. And that's all they are. They can't find one shred of
God's Word that will uphold their doctrine. And when it comes to
the teaching on the soul, and when you go into the cults and
they go on about this annihilation of the soul, that when you die,
if you have a soul with the body, it just disintegrates and goes
away. That there's no way your body, there's no way your soul
can live after death. You're just like the animals.
Once you're dead, you're dead. You pass out of existence. So
does the soul. There's no continuing after death.
And yet, when you examine this in the light of what God's Word
teaches, you find that the soul is immortal. It is the only part
of you tonight, dear friend, that is immortal. Your body will
die and will waste away. And oh, don't forget the scanty
resurrection. Every man's body one day will
be reunited with his soul, her soul. to stand on the judgment
day and there, as Paul says, some will be resurrected to the
resurrection of life, others to the resurrection of damnation,
body and soul reunited together there on that great day. But
let's think here about this. Once you're dead, you're dead.
I'm sure you've heard that before. I said very carefully that though
men may speak that way, when it comes, and we've all seen
it, when it comes to the day of their death, That kind of
theology, that kind of thinking, it goes against all that they've
believed. What do I mean? What I'm saying is that the human
conscience always answers differently. I have seen men. I have met women. I'm thinking of a dear old aunt,
who to the very day of her death would not even countenance the
gospel being read. didn't want to hear it. But you see, when it comes to
the actual day of death, there's always that fear, what if I've
been wrong? I was reading today in the BBC
news, I'm sure some of you have heard it, and in London, it has
now been passed, the atheists have been granted permission
to publish a message on the buses in London, and it goes like this,
I'll give you the last part of it, live as you please and enjoy
your life, there is probably no God. And you can be dead unsure that
Sodomite Lobby and all these men are behind this, because
it's putting out the message, there's probably no God, and
there it was on the BBC website, there's probably no God. Live
as you please and enjoy your life. Live as you please and
don't worry about God. And yet the truth is, and I had
to almost laugh at myself, laugh at them, because there was a
message going out. They had a great opportunity
to put their message over. They could have said, there is
no God. Live as you please and enjoy
your life. But there was the message that
shows you how foolish they are. There is probably no God. And
that taught me today, and I would hope to preach on it some of
these nights, the fool has said in their heart, there is no God.
Twice over in God's Word, Psalm 14 verse 1, Psalm 53 verse 1,
the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. And the best the atheist can
come up with and say, there probably is no God. If I was an atheist,
I would want to be dead unsure there was no God. If I was living
a life like they do without fear of judgment and were brought
into condemnation for a licentious life, there is probably no God. And I couldn't help think about
it. There are men who will approach death and they will live their
whole days and they will say, there is probably no God or there
is no God, but when it comes to their day of death, what if? What if the probability falls
on the side of possibility? What then? You see, human conscience
always answers differently. The book of Job 18 and verse
14 speaks there of the king of terrors. Death being the king
of terrors, as a man approaches death in
an unconverted state, his conscience remains guilty. Guilt in just
as fear. Fear in just as terror. And many
a man has approached his deathbed terrified because of the thought
of he has lived a life that is godless and Christless, and now
he must meet God, even though all his life sought to convince
himself there is no God, but there probably is. I want to tell you tonight there
is a God. Because God tells us that He
holds in His hand the breath of every living creature. Solomon
tells us that God who gave the souls will one day have them
returned to Him. God gave it, He will bring it. You live, You're the proof of
that. You all heard the story of Voltaire, the atheist. I'm sure you've heard the story
so many times. A man who denied the Scriptures, denied God vehemently. He hates it. The Gospel was a
passion. Devoted his life to opposing
Christianity. But it came to Voltaire's deathbed.
And I know many will say it cannot be verified, but I believe it
can be. But there was a young nurse at
his bedside. And as Voltaire approached his
final moments on this earth, as his soul was departing his
body, because he had a soul, the shrieks and the screams and
the terror that that young nurse at the side of Voltaire's bed
says, I never want to be at a deathbed like that again. And he was said to have been
heard shrieking. I am cursed. I am hopeless. I am without God. I must meet
God. And he would meet God. Meet God
in that condition. I'm not one for telling stories. But about three or four weeks
ago, the Ballymena Church had a gospel mission, the same way
we're doing. I think it was the Tuesday night
of the mission. There was a man who had been coming to the gospel
missions over a number of years, I think. I remember meeting him
at one mission in Kalibaki. If you don't know where that
is, it's just outside Balamina. It's where we lived before we moved
to the city of Belfast. But this man came in to the mission,
mission after mission. He came in that Tuesday night.
He came in. This man had a drink problem.
But he came in on the sound of the gospel. sat sober through
the meeting, listened to the preaching of the gospel. And yet by Thursday morning that
man was in God's eternity. Dropped dead at the bar in the
pub in which he was drinking. I could be mistaken, but I think
it was the very next day. He went from the house of the
holy, Job tells us. He went from the house of God
to the bar. Stepped out of the bar for a
few moments and got himself a Chinese, brought it back in, and hardly
lifted it when he just slumped back onto the floor. God's eternity. I'm saying to
you tonight, you don't know when your death, your day of death
is coming. You don't know when that day is approaching. You
don't know when your soul will depart the body. But when it
does, it is a soul that will live Christ tells us in John
Matthew 10 verse 28 that we are not to fear him that can kill
the body but are able to kill the soul. They are not able to
kill the soul. But rather we are to fear God. Man may kill
the body. He cannot touch the soul. But
we are to fear God who can kill both body and soul in hell, in
fire. The body will waste away. But
the soul will not. I don't know. Do you need more
proof? What have we looked? 23 in verse 43. Can any more
greater proof be given than Christ on the cross? And there are two
men hanging beside Him. One an unrepentant reprobate. The other a man who was a trophy
of grace on the cross. Who turned to Christ on the cross.
While one man cursed Christ, yet the other one said, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." What did the
Lord say to that man? Today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. Now you tell me, was Christ speaking
with that man's body? When the Lord said, today you
will be with me in paradise, was he saying to that man that
you physically will be standing with me an hour's time from now
or whenever that man would Life would expire from his body. Of
course not. That man's body would be taken
from the cross and would be dumped in a hole. And yet Christ said
today, you will be with me. You will be with me in paradise,
in the kingdom of glory. The Lord was speaking about his
soul. And that will show us tonight that the soul doesn't return
to the dust because it never came from the dust. It came from
God and will return to God. The soul is immortal. What shall
it profit a man if he lose his soul? What about the preciousness
of the soul? We said that man has a soul.
It is a source of life. It is immortal. But because it
is immortal, everlasting, it is exceedingly precious. It is
the most precious possession you have this evening. Look again
here at the words of Matthew 8. Mark 8. And verse 36, What
shall it profit? Do you know what that word actually
means? To what advantage? To what advantage is there for
you to gain the whole world and lose your soul? Now, there's not one of us here
tonight in Mount Marian. There's not one man in the whole
of Northern Ireland, the UK, can ever say in the light of
this text that he has gained the whole world. We will never accumulate the
world's riches. Many would try. Some have come
close, men like Alexander the Great, who when he had conquered
almost the whole world, he actually hung his head and cried and said
that he was sorry that there was no more world for him to
conquer. Even with all the vastness of his domain, his kingdoms,
Even he could not say that he had conquered the whole world.
But there are many in this province, and I believe there may be some
in this meeting, and all you have is a home on the Craig Estate,
or it might be a mansion on the Malone Road, no matter where
it might be. Yet as you walk home tonight
and you close the door behind you and you look at your possessions,
you think, my, I have achieved the whole world. How sad that is. How pitiful.
If you're like me, you don't own a whole lot. But how audacious
a claimant would be to look up and say, well, what I have, I'm
counted as if I owned the whole world, and yet lose my soul. Put those things before the soul. The priority, you see, is seen
in that the soul is precious. Look at verse 37. What shall
a man give in exchange for his soul? There is nothing you can
give of the same value, the same merit of the soul. And yet how sad it is there are
some who will barter without restraint the most precious possession
that they have. What for? The worthless trinket
of this world? It's just all junk at the end
of the day, isn't it? It's all going to be left behind, man
or woman, at the grave. It's all gone. The money, the
popularity, you leave it at the gravesite. That's where it remains. For somebody else to pick up,
of course. And then they too will pass on. But I pray tonight you will see
that you have a most precious soul. And the Lord Jesus Christ
is trying to convey to the hearts of men that you would not, like
so many have done and so many will do, they will just like
Esau, they will give their soul for a mess of pottage. For something
that is worthless. Something that is absolutely
to no advantage. when it comes to standing before
the throne of God. Now, if you look closely at those
words, when the Lord says, what shall it profit a man? I said
it means to what advantage or to what benefit? What profit
is there in losing a man so? What profit is there? What advantage
is there of gaining the whole world and yet ending up in a
crisis eternity in the fire of hell forever? Forever. Forever and forever. If you turn with me to Luke 12,
verse 16. Luke 12, verse 16 is a passage
that really is a commentary upon the words of Christ in Mark 8,
verse 37-36. In Luke 12, verse 16, we find here that Christ is speaking
of a parable. the parable of a rich man, a
plentiful man, a man whose land brought forth much fruit. Now,
just to get the idea here of the picture of what Christ is
saying, I know when I was growing up as a young Christian, I used
to think, well, here's a man who's like a farmer I knew down
the road who owned half the country, as we would say, and he was a
bit like this man of whom Christ spoke. A man who had a few fields, a
few barns, and hadn't much time to do except count his money
You know, sometimes we have the idea here that this is the kind
of man that's in view, but it is not. The man in view here
is actually like a prince over a small country. That's the word.
That's what it means. When you look at verse 16, the
ground of a certain rich man is a man who was like a ruler
in a small kingdom, a man who had subjects, a man who had great
renown. He was popular. He had money
that men would only dream about. He was like a prince. over a
country. And Christ here obviously knew
this man. That's a very important point
to observe. Christ knew this man. Christ
did not make stories up. Christ did not have to rely on
his imagination the way some preachers have to do. The Lord
Jesus Christ knew this man. And I would say when you compare
these two passages together, I would say that This man, of
whom Christ was speaking, heard the words of Mark 8.36. What
shall it profit a man if he will gain the whole world and lose
his own soul? Just look at this man for a moment.
We're told that his groin brought forth plentifully. And he thought
within himself, at Luke 12, verse 17, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruit? He is a very
presumptuous man. He is a man who is full of self.
He has no time. He has no understanding, certainly,
of his soul. Look at his language in verse
18 and 17. I have no room where to bestow
my fruits. And he said, this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and I will build greater and there
I will bestow all my fruits and my goods, and I will say to my
soul..." It's almost like a mocking statement. Okay, soul, if you're
really there, well, just you take your time. Be easy. I have
all my life ahead of me. There's probably no God. Enjoy your life. Look at this man in verse 17
and 18. My fruits, my goods, my barns. Everything's about Him. My soul. He makes the mistake. He presumes
upon everything. My goods, my fruits, my barns,
my everything. It's all mine. My soul. He's right about one thing. He
had a soul. But as the Lord examines this man in the light of his
living, his life, He has to come and say to him, you see, your
soul, my friend, This very night I will require that soul from
thee." There's a man whose life had run its course. He had to
die when he was born. There was a day for him to be
born. There was a day for him to die. His life had reached
the determined boundary. His life had reached the point,
a few moments, it's now into the final hours, there he is
getting up in the morning, he looks at the barns, he commandeers
his workers, They bring in the fruits. They're building the
other barns. It's now mid-afternoon. He's examining them. He's maybe
sitting at his lunch with his friends. He's planning to go
out that afternoon with his wife. But all the while, the messengers
of heaven are commissioned by God to call in his soul. A man completely unaware. It's
now five o'clock. He's maybe sitting at lunch with
his children. Discussing what they're going to do tomorrow.
It's maybe 8 o'clock at night. He's maybe tucking the children
in. He's maybe even saying the prayers with them. Reading them
a bedtime story. It's now 10 o'clock. He's going
to bed. Gets the accounts looked at and
leaves them for tomorrow morning. I'll do that in the morning. And yet the Lord has said, this
night, your soul, I will require it from thee. Well, I came through
the Whitfield College. I remember sitting in the library
one day reading the works. Well, I'm not a Wesley fan. I
just never was in the way of reading him. But I'm not against
the man in any way. I'm not here to attack his theology,
though I don't agree with him in many things. But you know,
Wesley in his book, when he commentated upon this,
he gave the marginal reading this way. This night they require thy soul. That's actually how it should
read. You look there at those words in verse number 20, but
God said unto him, Thy fool, this night they require thy soul. And Wesley gave this commentary
upon that. He said, this night the messengers
of death commissioned by God require thy soul from thee. And you think about that. What
is God saying to this man? As you know from Matthew chapter
13 and to verse 39 and 40, That it is the angels at the end time
who are commissioned by God to gather in the elect from the
four corners of the earth. It is the angels of God who are
commissioned to gather in the ungodly to the vintage, the harvesting
of the earth, the harvesting of the vine of the earth. The
angels go forth and they call in the souls. And yet here the
Lord says, this night they require thy soul. The angels of God were
on their way. Now, Matthew Henry, and I would
go with him on this. If you turn with me first of
all to Luke 16. The Gospel of Luke in chapter
16. You know here the other story of Lazarus and the rich man. In verse 22, we know how both
men died. But regarding Lazarus, we're
told that when he died, in verse 22 of Luke 16, that the angels
carried him into the Abraham's bosom. the angels carried him
into Abraham's bosom. Can I just stop for a moment,
believer, and say to you, do you know that should you die
before Christ returns, that the angels are coming to gather you?
The angelic hosts, Christ will be there with them, of course.
But according to Luke 16, the angels of God, they carry off
the souls of the saints, not your body. Your body will go
to the grave. Your body will be resurrected
one day, reunited with your soul. But there are the angels of God. Even this very night, they're
going to and fro throughout this province. But old Matthew Henley,
the Puritan, he said that in the same manner that the holy
angels of God carry off the souls of the saints of God, So do the
unholy angels. They come and they gather the
souls of the ungodly. And they carry them off, not
to the bosom of God, but they carry them off to the caverns
of the damned. That's where the angels take
the souls of those who know not Christ. They carry them away
to everlasting torments. where they will remain until
they are called forth, united with their bodies again, to stand
the final judgment and cast forth by the angels. Is that not what
John tells us in the book of Revelation? There is coming a
summons. There are souls in hell tonight.
There are souls in heaven. There are souls in hell. But
those souls one day will be united in those bodies. You tonight.
Child of God, you will be reunited with your body. And it is the
same with the unconverted. On the great day of judgment,
there they will stand in that body in which they desecrated
the Sabbath, in which they profaned Christ's name. There they will
stand. And we are told the angels will
be told to cast them away. What about Mark? Matthew 22.
The man who stood. There he was. He stood. in that
great company. And the king rose up and said,
tell me man, how did you come in without your garment on? And he said to the messengers,
bind him hand and foot and cast him into everlasting fire. You go back there to Luke chapter
12. And you read there of a man. A man who was about to lose his
soul. And he was about to lose it forever. He was about to lose it for all
eternity. And we apply the words of Christ
to him. Five minutes after that man's soul has departed, and
there he is found, deceased, what profit, advantage was it
to him? to have built those barns, to
have gathered the wheat, to have done all those things. I tell
you, my friend, tonight it has been of no profit. None whatsoever. And it will be the same for you.
You don't read of this man coming back. You don't read of anyone
coming back. In fact, if you go back to Luke
16, you know one of the biggest lies of Satan, and it's very
sad that some preachers actually use this kind of theology. They
would say, You know, wouldn't it be great if one could even
come back from the dead and stand in this pulpit and preach to
you about hell? Just let one man come from the
pit of hell and let him stand here tonight and say and warn
you that there's a hell to be shunned. There's no lost soul coming back
to warn you. This man, look here with me at
Luke 16, verse 23, and in hell he lift up his eyes, spiritual
eyes. His body is in the grave, his
soul is in hell. He lift up his eyes being in
torment, seeing Abraham afar off, Lazarus in his bosom. And
he cried and said, I have brothers. I have brothers. Go there to verse 27. I pray thee therefore, Father,
that thou would send him to my father's house." He wanted Lazarus,
who had gone to heaven, to go and preach to his five brethren.
Verse 28. And Abraham said, Nay, they have
Moses and the prophets. What does Abraham mean? He says
they have the preaching of the gospel. And if that doesn't convince
him, if what I'm saying doesn't convince you tonight that there
is a hell, there is a heaven, there is a great disadvantage
in losing the soul, you will not believe if one comes from
the dead. Look at verse 30. No, Father
Abraham, but if one went on to them from the dead, they will
repent. Verse 31. And he said unto him
again, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." When death
comes, when a man departs, there's no coming back. The results are
irreversible. So therefore tonight, unsaved,
does it not make good sense for you to consider the gospel? You
have Moses. You have more than Moses. You
have the Gospels of Christ. This man had not the Gospels.
This man had not the book of John. He had not the book of
Revelation. He had not the book of Acts. He had not the book
of Corinthians. He'd never heard the words about neglecting the
day of salvation. He'd never heard those words
about it is appointed unto man once to die. After this, the
judgment. He'd heard it in other ways.
He had heard it through Moses. He had heard it through the prophets.
He had heard it through the preaching of Christ. Yet, he died a lost
soul. Surely, tonight would be a good
time for you to think on these things. You don't have time.
Behold, now is accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
It won't always be the day of salvation. Now you flee to Christ
tonight. There is a Saviour who by faith
in Him can release you from the fear of the power of death, give
to you eternal life. Thank the Lord tonight that the
soul, though it can be lost, it can be saved. He that believeth
in me shall be saved. I am come not to He's not come to condemn, but
I am come to seek and to save those who are lost. May God seek
you tonight, and may you turn to Him and flee to Him from the
wrath to come. Let us just bind the word of
prayer, please. Let us just unite our hearts in prayer. I thank
you for the attention this evening. And we pray that the Lord will
use His Word to speak to you and to deal with your heart. Father in Heaven, we pray that
Thou would use the Scriptures to speak to the hearts of men.
We thank Thee, Lord, that Thou art a God of grace. We pray,
Father, that Thou would ensure that those in this building tonight
would be in time. But, Lord, that awful day of
their death that would find Him unsaved, out of Christ. O Father,
we pray that Thou would have mercy. We turn to Thee, O Father. We
pray that Thou would be gracious to us. May Thy presence go with
us. And may Thou take us to our homes
in safety. For we pray these things in Christ's
name. Amen.
What Value Is My Soul?
Series Gospel Mission 2008
| Sermon ID | 1023081115282 |
| Duration | 46:44 |
| Date | |
| Category | Special Meeting |
| Bible Text | Mark 8:36-37 |
| Language | English |
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