Let us turn in the Word of God once again this evening to Mark's Gospel and the chapter 8. Now before I tell you my text for this evening, let me ask you a question. What is the most precious thing that you have? What is the most precious thing that you have, that you hold most dear, that is the most valuable thing that belongs to you? Maybe the children here tonight are thinking, well, it's my bicycle, or it's my favorite book that I got as a present. Maybe some of the adults are thinking, well, it's my house. Without it, I would have nowhere to live. Maybe your prized possession is your car or some sparkling piece of jewellery that somebody has got for you. Maybe the first thing that popped into your head when I asked what is the most precious thing that you have, maybe a painting or a piece of art popped into your mind, or maybe it's your collection of books. Or maybe you thought deeper than that. Maybe you thought it's my family. My family are the most precious thing to me. My children, I love them dearly, as well you should. Maybe you'll say the thing I hold most precious is sat on my lap, I've just opened it. The Bible, the word of God, and certainly the word of God ought to be precious to us. But what does the Lord Jesus Christ state? As being the most precious thing belonging to you, in comparison with everything we have just mentioned, Well the answer is found in verse 36 this evening and this is my text. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul. The answer dear friends as to what is the most precious thing you have is your soul. Your soul is the most precious thing that you have. Have you ever read the same article or book as another person and come to a completely different conclusion from them? You maybe had to wonder if you were reading the same article because your views are so differing. Well, I do wonder what Bible some men read. Whenever I hear them speak or whenever I hear them preach Some preachers seem to think that Jesus' focus on his ministry was one of a social revolutionary. Jesus came that we would help the afflicted and the poor in their downtrodden state. Many would think that Jesus came to put an end to world hunger. Some would think that he came to teach the people how to be nice to each other as if that was the full end of his ministry, or that he came to create a political state. But the primary focus of our Savior was always in the spiritual. The Lord Jesus Christ had an interest In man, yes, he helped many we read of the blind that he he gives sight to this evening in mark's gospel But the primary focus of christ was in the souls of men He cared for their souls. He loved their souls. As the Savior came down the Mount of Olives, we're told that he beheld the city of Jerusalem and he wept over that city. He didn't care for the bricks and mortar. He cared for the souls of men and women in that city. But sadly, men, women, and children today have little care for their soul. They don't care for it. They don't tend to it. They don't feed it. They don't seek to protect it from harm. What a contrast to the son of God and the care that he had for the souls of men. This is why the gospel has as its priority in the glory of God, the salvation of the soul, bringing men's souls from darkness into light, seeing them transformed and born again of the Holy Spirit of God. But in this text before us here tonight, in this discourse of the Lord Jesus Christ, we see our Saviour give a very serious and a very solemn warning. He is warning that our souls can be lost. Now notice that word lost. The saviour does not say our souls will cease to exist. He does not say that our souls will be annihilated. He does not say that our souls will be forgotten. No dear friend the saviour deliberately uses the word lost. And it's a very serious word. We've all experienced what it is to lose something and especially something valuable. We can lose our car keys. We can lose our passport. We can lose our wedding rings. It's not a nice experience losing something of great value. But dear friends, this is a different type of loss. We could lose our watch and we could replace it. We could lose our passport and apply for a new one. But dear friend, losing our souls is something that's irreparable, something that cannot be. reversed. And it's not a temporary type of lost. We can lose something and find it again after many days. If anybody has children, it's a common experience. A child loses something. You think it's been left somewhere. You go out, you buy them another one, and then it turns up again. We can lose something and find it. But dear friend, if we lose our souls, we cannot find them again. If they're lost, they're lost for all eternity. and they're lost with no hope of recovery. Your soul is something that carries the utmost value. There is no price you can pay, put on your soul. And this is the subject I want us to focus upon this evening, the danger of losing your soul. Well, let me speak first of all about the existence of your soul. As you sit here tonight, you are made of a body. I don't need to convince you of that. You're very aware that you have a body, but you also have a soul as well. The Greek word translated soul is psyche, which can also be translated life. But the Lord Jesus Christ is not just speaking about our natural life here on earth, losing our natural life. No. If we have no soul, and there's nothing after this life, then the warning that Christ gives here is pointless. It's meaningless. But the fact is, dear friends, that all men must die. And then there's the afterlife. And the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking about this next life, the future and eternity that awaits us. And that is why we have the translation of this word soul, because your soul will be present in the next life. In this life, whenever the time comes for us to depart, we breathe our final breath. We're laid in the ground and our body returns to dust. Decay begins. Our body's dead and buried. But our soul, our soul is still very much alive. And our soul will be in one of two eternal destinations. And the Lord Jesus Christ highlights to men something they cannot see with their natural eye. The truth that they have a soul. Our Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter four, says we're made with a reasonable and immortal soul. Now, no doctor can find it. If you go to the doctor and say, I'm having trouble with my soul, your doctor will probably think you're talking about the sole of your foot. If the doctor x-rayed you, he wouldn't find it. If he performed operations, he wouldn't find it. your soul cannot be seen. But we do have one. Genesis 2 verse 7, speaking of our creation, the creation of man, it says, and the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostril the breath of life and man became a living soul. In Ecclesiastes 12 verse 7, It says, then shall dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. That word spirit can also be understood, soul. Did you get that, dear friend? And the spirit, the soul, shall return unto God who gave it. That is why your soul is precious, dear friend. Your soul will not cease to exist. Your soul will not disappear one day. No, your soul will return to God. Now, we might not be able to see our souls. And this is something that perhaps we have difficulty with. We like to hold things in our hands. We like to see pictures to know that something is real. But scripture assures us that we do have a soul. God tells us they exist, and God tells us that we need to make preparation with our souls for eternity. And maybe you're saying, well, seeing for me is believing. And I want some more proof that I have a soul. Well, the fact that the word of God tells us we have a soul should be enough to convince us. Because this Bible that we hold in our hands, this book is the living word of God. And God cannot lie. And if God tells you you have a soul, and if God tells you your soul is in danger of being lost, dear friend, you better believe it. Because the Word of God does not deceive us, it does not trick us. The Word of God is to enlighten us, it's to be light into our souls. And if the Lord Jesus Christ says, your soul is at risk of being lost, then dear friend, he's telling the truth. And you need to sit up and listen carefully to the warning that Christ gives. Whether or not you believe you have a soul doesn't change the truth. I tell you tonight, you have a soul. Every one of us here has a soul. You have a body and you have a soul. But the problem we have with our souls is that they have been polluted and corrupted by sin. Whenever God made Adam, Adam was made in a righteous state. Adam did not have any sin whenever God made him. Adam was inclined towards righteousness. He could only do good. It was through his choice that he chose to sin against God. And whenever Adam sinned against God, he corrupted his soul. He brought sin into his life. And his soul, if you like, we can say was plagued with sin. His soul was corrupted, but it's not just his soul that was corrupted. Our souls have been corrupted too. We inherit that corruption from Adam, but also we have corrupted our own souls too. Every time we sin against God, we're breaking his law. We're living in corruption. We're living in sin. And that's why we need to be converted. That's why we need to be saved. That's why we need the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from sin, because we have corrupted and polluted our lives with sin, rebellion against God. And it's serious, because one day, Our souls will be brought before the judge of all the earth. One day we will have to stand before the righteous judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if we stand before him still stained by the pollution of sin, how can we expect to be in heaven? How can we expect to be with Christ for all eternity? If we live in our sin, if we die in our sin, if we refuse to turn from our sin and repent from it, Honestly, dear friend, do we expect that Christ will just say, oh, don't worry about it. Into heaven you come? No. We need our sin cleansed. We need our souls made clean. And the Bible says that there is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness. And that fountain was at the cross, dear friend, at the cross of Calvary, where the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood for the remission, the washing away of our sin. Well, let me speak secondly here tonight on the priority that natural man has for his soul. Natural man is born into this world with sinful inclinations and sinful desires. It's within our very nature to be selfish, to be self-centered and resist any authority. And children are prime examples of this. They think as to what affects them. They don't think of how their actions will affect their parents, will affect their siblings. No, we can think back to our own childhood and we are able to see the times we were so selfish. But that's just a picture of how natural man is. We do what pleases us. In the book of Judges, it describes the state of spirituality at those times as every man doing that which is right in his own eyes. And can we not say that that's true of us in our natural state? We don't live to please others. We don't live to serve God and to glorify him. No, we live for our own happiness. But what are the priorities of man? Well the Lord sums it up here in verse 36, what shall a prophet of man if he shall gain the whole world? And I believe this phrase, gaining the world, gaining the whole world, describes something of the priorities of man. And this can come in various forms. There can be those amongst us here tonight and you want to gain popularity with the world. I don't believe we've ever lived in times where people have been so obsessed with celebrity cultures, with following the lives of famous people. Yes, there's always been interest in the royals, but now it extends to musicians. It extends to a wide variety of sports stars. It extends to people who are famous just for the sake of being famous. Look at the magazines in the supermarket. And you'll see it's all celebrity culture. Men and women, they want to be famous. They want to be known in the world. Even social media. It's people portraying themselves before others to see how many likes they can get on the picture or post that they've put up. People want to be popular in the world. Certainly, people are seeking to gain the world of popularity. And there's other people, and they're seeking to gain wealth in the world. They love money. They want all the things that money can buy. They assume that if they have all these possessions in the world, it'll make them happy. Oh, if I only had a car like so-and-so, my life would be complete. If only I had the money, I could go and buy an extravagant house. I could live an extravagant lifestyle, and I would be so happy. But the truth is you wouldn't. Look how many people with money are miserable. Look how many of these so-called celebrities that we've just mentioned are checking themselves in to rehabilitation centers because they've made a mess of their life. All the money they have, it hasn't made them happy. It's made them worse. It's made them depressed and miserable. And there's other people. They think, well, for me to gain the world will be to gain enjoyment. from all the pleasures that the world has. Quite like the prodigal son, I want my money, I want my inheritance, I want to go out, I want to taste the world, I want to enjoy this life. I had a friend, he phoned me up one time, we were inquiring after each other's family and I said, how are your children? And he said, well, one dear daughter of mine, she packed her bags and she says, dad, I'm going traveling around the world. And he pleaded with her, and he begged her, please don't go, please don't do it. The world's not for you. The world will hold no attraction. It will not satisfy. But she wouldn't listen to her father's pleadings. She packed her bag, she set off, and she never made it further than one of the Spanish party islands. And she made a hash of everything. As many people think, enjoying the world's pleasures, well, is what life is for. And among young people today, we see that gaining the world for them is exploring the world as a modern day Christopher Columbus. For them, life is traveling. For them, life is seeing everything that they can, enjoying all that the world has to offer. And it may not necessarily be sinful, but it is sinful if we put it before God, if this is what we live for, if this is what we count as gaining the world. You see, the affections and hearts' desires of natural man are to gain the world. It is what natural man works after every day. It's the passions that motivate him to gain something in the world, and it can differ from person to person. Look at sports, for example. What motivates a sportsperson? Well, it is to be the best in their field, for the footballers to rise to the heights of being a Premier League football star, to play for the best team, to win the trophies, to get the medals, to get the salary, to get the recognition, to get the status as being the best, to be in the record books as somebody who achieved worldwide success. But suppose for a moment, dear friend, you did gain everything that you desired in the world. Imagine you had so much money that you made Bill Gates look like a beggar. Imagine you were so famous and popular that everybody in the world knew who you were. Imagine you had every possession that was even possible to own. You owned a multitude of houses. You had strength to even have an army. You had every piece of technology and art. You had everything your heart could desire. And then you engaged in all the pleasures of gluttony, drunkenness, and drugs. Would it make you happy? And would it satisfy you? If you live to be 200 years old through medical advancement, the question still comes, what next? Because all this gain of the world, it's only for the body. And that's what men are living for today. They're living to gain for their body. They're neglecting their soul. What use is a gold medal whenever you're dead? What use is a bank account full of zeros if you're dead? What use is a big, massive house? What use is all those possessions you've been living for when you're dead? Fame and popularity might sound good, but give it a few years, you'll be forgotten whenever you're dead. What should our priority be to seek after and gain in life? The answer, dear friends, is Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi in Philippians 3 verse 8. He said, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Do you get that? I count all things in the world but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but done. that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Dear friend, do you echo that sentiment of Paul? Do you count all things in this world but dung? that you may have Christ, that you may be found in him, having his righteousness as yours. That is how our soul is saved. Gaining the world, it only brings a temporary form of happiness. It cannot satisfy in this life It will not satisfy in eternity. It will only separate us from Christ forever. Whenever England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003, Johnny Wilkinson kicked the winning dropkick. He was awarded man of the match. He was awarded a winner's medal. He was allowed to carry the trophy around the pitch. And he was interviewed sometime after. And the interviewer asked him something like, the excitement of winning that World Cup, is it still with you now? And will it be with you until your final day? And he said, no, it's not still with me now. And he was asked, well, when did it end? He said, by the time we'd done one victory lap of the pitch, the buzz of winning the World Cup was over. Oh, he longed for it from a child, to score the winning dropkick in the Rugby World Cup. He longed to be the one who was carrying that gold medal. He had the fame and recognition throughout the world, but the buzz and the excitement of it was over in an hour. Dear friends, sin only brings pleasure for a season. Sin cannot satisfy. But let me tell you tonight, Jesus Christ can satisfy. He is the one who is able to save our soul. He is the one who went to the cross of Calvary and bled and died to save the souls of all his redeemed people. And he is the one who is able to satisfy you, not just in this life, but for all eternity. Well, let me speak thirdly here tonight about the value that Christ puts upon your soul. The Lord makes a comparison here between two objects. He speaks of gaining the world and he speaks about losing your soul. So the comparisons between the world and the soul of man. By speaking of the world, notice he speaks of the whole world. He doesn't just say, what if you gained a little? No, he says, what if you gained the whole world? but lost your soul, what would the value be? Well, it's the ultimate contest, isn't it? Everything that is visible to your eye, the whole world, versus something that's invisible, your soul. Everything your greedy heart wants, that you can see, that you covet, versus something your heart doesn't even want to acknowledge or admit that you have, your soul. Everything that the sinner holds dear, this world's goods and pleasures, versus something the sinner despises, the mercy and grace of God. The phrasing of this question of Christ demonstrates the soul to be more valuable of the whole world. The Lord Jesus knows that getting the whole world is futile. It's temporary. It's short lived. He knows this world will pass away at his second coming. He knows that heaven and hell are forever. And he knows the faith or the faith that awaits those who chase this world and lose their soul. Well, let me ask you, dear friend, what value do you put on your soul tonight? Are you one tonight who's saying, I'm willing to risk it so that I can enjoy the pleasures of this life? Oh, I don't find them boring. I don't find that they don't satisfy me. Maybe that's what you're saying tonight, but are you willing to risk your soul for it? Is it worth selling your soul to the flames and fires of hell so you can gain the whole world? Is that how little you value your soul? One commentator says, a man need not die to forfeit his soul. He forfeits it already when he feels to secure salvation. When you feel to come to Christ, when you feel to bow the knee before him, you're forfeiting your soul. Well, fourthly and finally here tonight, notice the eternal question concerning your soul. What profit is there in gaining this world. You can't take it with you. It wouldn't profit you in heaven. If you brought this whole world into heaven, dear friend, it would be like carrying dirt in your pocket. It would be meaningless. This world is no use in heaven. Even if you gained this whole world and you think you could take it with you to hell, dear friend, it would do you no good there. What profit is there in keeping your soul Well, you'll enjoy the riches of God's salvation. The Christian life is not one of misery. The Christian life is one of peace. The Christian life is one of joy. The Christian life is one of rejoicing, because whom the Son sets free is free indeed. It's a life of communion with God. It's a life of walking with him. Yes, there's troubles and there's trials, but there's a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. So how do you keep your soul? How do you not lose your soul? Well, the Lord Jesus Christ, whenever he commenced his ministry, Mark 1 verse 15 tells us what he preached. Repent ye and believe the gospel. That was the ministry of Christ. That was the message that he preached. He didn't make it overly complicated. He didn't make salvation a maze that people had to work their way through in order to be saved and in order to be converted. No, he said repent. See your sin before God. See the wickedness of your sin. See the corruption of your sin. See that your sin will lead you to damnation. See that your sin has alienated you from God. See that your sin is a terrible offense before your heavenly Father. And repent. Now, repent is not just saying sorry. Sometimes we can do that. Sometimes children can do that. We say sorry, and then we go out and do the same thing a couple of minutes later as if we're not sorry at all. No. Repentance, dear friend, is a turning away from sin. Turning away. If we turn away from sin, what do we turn to? We turn to God and turn to him. And this is what Christ preached. Repent. And what else? Believe the gospel. Believe in Christ. Believe that the saviour of sinners has come. Believe that he's come into this world and he's died on the cross, bearing your sin upon his body. Believe that he shed his blood to make atonement for your soul. That's what believing the gospel is. But the Lord says, what shall a prophet of man if he gained the whole world and lose his own soul? So where is your soul lost to if it's lost? It has to be somewhere. Things that are lost don't just disappear. No, they have to be somewhere. The car keys are somewhere. They're down the back of a seat. They're in a cupboard. They're somewhere. Where is your soul lost to if it's lost? Dear friend, it's lost to hell. It's lost to be punished for your sin and your rebellion against God and your refusal to turn from it. In Numbers chapter 23, We read of a man called Balaam. And without going into the whole story here tonight for sake of time, Balaam was employed to curse the people of God, to curse the church of God. And whenever he went to curse the church of God, he came out with these words, let me die the death of the righteous and let my last day and be like his. Obelum was a man who took money to curse God's church and to curse God's people, but he wasn't able to do it. God forbid him from doing it. But as he stood in the mountain, as he gazed over the people of God, he wanted to be amongst that number. His desire was, let me die the death of the righteous. He wanted to be with those people. He wanted to be in heaven, but he didn't want to live like them. He didn't want to exercise faith like they did. Oh, he wanted to be in heaven. But he wanted to be there his way. And maybe, dear friend, you're saying, I don't want my soul to be lost. I don't want my soul to be in hell forever. But I just want to enjoy this world for a little while. Maybe that's what the young people are saying tonight. Oh, I plan to be saved, preacher. but after I've enjoyed the world, after I've enjoyed the pleasures of this life. Well, if you stay behind for the testimony afterwards this evening, I will testify that the pleasures of this world did not satisfy me, but it's the pleasures of Christ that satisfy my soul, and it's only Christ that will satisfy your soul. Coming to a close this evening, Napoleon Bonaparte. I was reading about him, and he was a man who accomplished much in this world. He studied military tactics and war. By the age of 24, he was a general in the French army. He gained a vast reputation for his military knowledge. He excelled up the ranks in the army. He ended up a leader of a mighty army that sought to rule the world. Then he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by Admiral Nelson. Whenever he was chained to the rock of St Helena, he pondered the meaning of life. It's amazing how it takes a man to get alone, to ponder the meaning of life. But one day, Napoleon Bonaparte asked the question, who is Jesus Christ? And he answered his own question, and listen to what this man said. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have founded great empires. But our empires were founded on force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire on love. And to this day, millions would die for him. I think I understand something of human nature. And I tell you, all these were men, as I am a man. Jesus Christ was more than a man. Christ alone, across the chasm of 18 centuries, makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy. He asks more than a father can demand of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or one of his brother. Christ asks for the human heart. He will have it entirely to himself, and he demands it unconditionally. So, dear friend, Christ says, what will it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? Whenever Pontius Pilate had the Lord Jesus Christ before him, he asked himself this question. He was in a perplexed and distressed state. He says, what shall I do with Jesus, which is called Christ? He had a decision to make with the Son of God. And dear friend, as I close tonight, you have a decision to make with Jesus Christ. Will you receive him as your savior? Will you come to him seeking the forgiveness of your sins and the salvation of your soul? Or will you say no? I will not have that man to rule over me. I am willing to risk losing my soul. Dear friend, I tell you it's not a risk, it's a certainty. If you reject Jesus Christ, you will lose your soul and you'll be lost in hell forever. So tonight, what will you do with Jesus? Can I say final word? Come unto me. That is the cry of Christ. And that's the instruction I give to you tonight. Come unto him. Just as you are, come to him. Let us pray.