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TRULY SAVED (6): TRADING TIME FOR ETERNITY

(Luke 9:23-27)

Intro To be truly saved is a costly concern. It cost God His own beloved
Son. It cost the Son, Jesus, His reputation and His life. And it costs those who
get saved as well. Jesus says in v. 23, If anyone would come after me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. To die to oneself to
ones ambitions, rights, desires and pursuit of pleasure is costly. But today we
want to look at the reward. The price is high, but is it ever worth it?!

Nancy gave Pam a ride home from work one night. Pam noticed a large,
rectangular box in the back seat. Nancy said, Oh, thats a new 50 HD TV
set. I got it for my husband. Pam nodded and said, Good trade! Thats
Jesus message here. Denying self to gain Him greatest trade ever. Trading
time for eternity. Jesus uses 3 metaphors to make His point. Each begins with
the word For used in the sense of because. Heres why its a great deal to
die to self because, because, because.

I. Its the Only Way to Gain Life

V. 24: For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for my sake will save it. Sounds convoluted, doesnt it? Save your life by
losing it? The world says, Its all about you! Take charge. Tap your inner
champion! Make it happen. Get on it! Jesus says just the opposite. Not
take charge, but submit; not follow your dream, but seek Gods. At
the heart of His message are two vital assumptions 1) I cant actually make
it on my own Ill lose myself in the effort, and 2) I cant lose by giving my
life to Him. What I gain will be far more than I give up. But most people
wont go there with Him. They wont trust Him. They trust themselves more
than Jesus. They are trusting their salvation to themselves. They are not truly
saved.

Our natural instinct is to focus intensely on one person me! I f I dont, who
is going to? I am the most important person in the world to me. I am born with
an innate inclination to pursue my own ambitions, my own desires, my own
agenda. The verse literally reads, For whoever wishes (present tense, ongoing
desire) to save his life (aorist tense, one time event) will lose it. To save
ones life means to protect my existence and give it meaning. To save my life
is to pursue two ends what makes it all worthwhile now and eternally.

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But Jesus point is the harder we pursue our own ambitions, the further we will
be from protecting our existence. On the Little Rascals one time, Stymie was
riding in a wagon pulled by a little goat. His method was ingenious. He held a
carrot on a stick out in front of the goat. The goat took off to get the carrot.
But, of course, the faster it moved, the faster the carrot moved. The poor little
goat could never catch up. I f he chased long enough he would kill himself.
One of the gang hollered, Hey Stymie, where are you going? He replied, I
dont know but Im on my way. Thats what Jesus pictures here. He is
saying, Your efforts to save your own life are a one-way trip to nowhere!

In Isa 43:7 God says, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created
for my glory. I wasnt made to glorify me; I was made to glorify Him. The
harder I pursue my agenda, the more I lose. Human success or failure is
irrelevant. Without Him, I might as well brand a big L for Loser on my
forehead. Thats who I am outside of Christ. Ive traded eternity for time!

But look at the rest of the verse: but whoever loses his life for my sake will
save it. If I will give up my rights, my ambitions, my agenda, my control
deny self and take up my cross daily I can save my existence! Ill become
who I was meant to be. Ill fulfill my destiny here AND in eternity. Thats
what comes when I defer to Him as Lord. Then it doesnt matter whether I am
a great worldly success or whether I die a martyrs death, what I get in the
end is far greater than what I gave up.

Make no mistake, there is a cost. Whoever loses implies sacrifice. Its
painful to give up control. But the payoff is fantastic. We give what we
treasure to get what God treasures. We win by losing. We keep by giving.
This is why its hard to enter the kingdom of God. Matt 7:14, For the gate is
narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. It
is the most unnatural act in the world to give yourself up to Christ, but its the
only way to get what He offers.

A woman of 90 finally engaged a woman to help her. Her niece asked how it
was going. The woman replied, Well, I dont have to worry about cooking
or cleaning, washing clothes or marketing. My make-up is applied, my hair
combed. Everything is done for me. But the niece detected some reservation:
So, how do you like having a companion? The old woman replied, I
dont have a companion. Im under new management. So are followers of
Jesus Christ. Were under new management. Its costly, but weve traded up
time for eternity. And in the process, we saved our life!

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II. Its the Only Way to Gain Eternal Profit

V. 25: For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or
forfeits himself? Same message; different words. Following Him costs us our
life but its way worth it. Here Jesus uses an exaggerated contrast. Imagine
you could gain the whole world. The desire for material riches is a strong pull
against kingdom values. It is so tangible, so immediate. So He says, suppose
you actually could stockpile all the worlds gold and silver, that you had all
the world could offer in terms of wealth, power, pleasure, glory, beauty. The
lifestyle of the rich and famous is yours. If thats all you had, youd have lost
yourself. Why? Because the moment you die, it would all be gone. All the
world equals zero eternal asset. You traded eternity for time and lost.

Solomon inherited a powerful kingdom from David and great wisdom by God.
From there he became one of the wealthiest men in history. He had more
money than Croesus, world class intelligence, power without limit. He had
300 wives and 700 concubines all the pleasure one could want. He had it
all, but he forsook God; he lost himself in the process and he concludes in Ecc
1:2, Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

Howard Hughes richest man in the world? Only wanted one thing -- more!
He wanted more money, so he turned inherited wealth into billions of dollars.
He wanted more fame, so he became a major broker in Hollywood. He wanted
more pleasure so he paid fortunes to indulge his every sexual urge with
virtually anyone he wanted male or female. He wanted more thrills so he
designed, built and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world. He wanted more
power, so he dealt political favors so skillfully that two US presidents became
his pawns. All he ever wanted was more. But along the way, he lost himself
and died a wretched, paranoid drug addict a wasted, billionaire junkie.
And if he didnt know Christ, I imagine today hed give all he ever had for a
bit of water to cool his tongue like the rich man in Luke 16 who awoke in hell.
He gained the whole world but forfeited himself. Most sell out for a lot less.

How could someone gain the whole world and end up profitless? Because at
the end of 80 or 90 years, no matter how much one stockpiles, it all goes away
in the blink of an eye. All youve worked for is gone; now eternity stretches
out before you last a vast endless wasteland an eternity in which you have
made no investment an eternity where Jesus is preeminent, but you rejected
Him in favor of your own desires. Youve traded eternity for time; payday is
here and youve lost everything. Sounds foolish when you put it like that,
doesnt it? Thats because it is foolish. You made a trade that was doomed
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from the start. Like the rich man of Luke 18 who built new barns to hold his
wealth. Now he was ready to really live. And I will say to my soul, Soul,
you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry
(Luk 18:19). But God had different plans and told him, Fool! This night
your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will
they be?
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So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich
toward God (Lu 18:20). Where is our investment?

The world is so enticing? Who would turn down a fortune in money and
power and pleasure? But in light of eternity, its value is so overstated! A man
bought his wife a brand new diamond ring. A priceless gem. The jeweler
wraps it in a fuzzy jewelry box and the man takes it to his wife. She opens it
and there it sits the beautiful priceless ring. She says, Oh, this is too
wonderful. Its gorgeous. Ive always wanted a fuzzy black box like this.
Thank you. She throws the ring aside and clutches the box to her heart. You
say, Thats too foolish for comment, but the ring represents your eternal
soul and the box represents everything you value on earth, and that woman is
no more foolish than most people who ever lived who have refused Christ for
something the world offers because it is immediate and enticing.

Ard 1000, Emperor Otho ordered the excavation of the tomb of Charlemagne
who died about 180 years prior. He wanted to salvage the treasures buried
with him. The treasures were found, but an even more amazing sight met the
workmen. There sat the skeletal remains of King Charlemagne, seated on a
throne, crown still resting on his skull regal reminders of a man who had
gained the whole world. But lying in the great kings lap was an open Bible.
His bony finger pointed to our text, For what does it profit a man if he gains
the whole world and loses his own soul? How do we invest in eternity? By
following Christ now. The missionary, Jim Elliott, martyred by Indians he was
trying to reach in Ecuador, said it as well as it can be said, He is no fool who
gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. To
profit eternally means to be rich toward God now. Pay now, profit later.

III. Its the Only Way to Gain Jesus

The last incentive:
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For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him
will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of
the Father and of the holy angels. Ever been ashamed of Jesus? I have. Didnt
want to be thought stupid or religious or different by others. I preferred their
respect to His. We sometimes deny Him so others dont deny us. Easy to do.

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God forgive us, but if this is the pattern of our lives, we had better examine
closely. Is the faith we claim genuine if we deny Him constantly? II Cor 13:5
urges, Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. One test question is, Do others know I stand for Christ? Do I
value the respect of others more than I value His good pleasure? How can
we argue with Jesus saying, If youre ashamed of me, count on it, Ill be
ashamed of you with my Father. One comedian said, You can tell when
your date is embarrassed and doesnt want anybody to know shes actually
going with you. Its the little things like, when you open the door for her,
she gives you a tip.

Are we ashamed to be with Jesus? Nobody wants to be ridiculed or scorned,
even in fun. But truly saved people stand for Christ rather than the favor of
people. R. C. Sproul says, Imagine what it would be like if God appeared
with his Son standing next to him, and surrounded by the court of the
heavenly host of angels. How would you feel if they looked at you and were
ashamed to be associated with you? J esus makes it very clear that if we are
ashamed of him before the world, then he will be ashamed of us in the
presence of God the Father. I would far rather put up with the scorn,
rejection and shame of the whole world, for my whole life, than to have
J esus ashamed of me before the Father for five seconds. We may slip at
times, but we will not deny Him.

Bruce Larson is a pastor who as a 10-year-old had a father who was 70 with a
heavy Swedish accent. He says, On the occasions when school friends came
home to play with me, they would often remark that my grandfather had a
funny way of talking. I would never admit that he was my dad. Of course,
hes sorry now. Will we be ashamed? Jesus says, If youre ashamed of me,
Ill be ashamed of you before the Father. When those who mocked are put
to shame, you will be right there with them. I died to pay for your sins. How
can you be ashamed of me? Cant argue the fairness of that position.

Contrast that with the record of Stephen. Arrested in Acts 6 for standing up for
Jesus of Nazareth, he gave an impassioned sermon showing that Israel had
often persecuted their own prophets, and now this group had killed the most
righteous and holy of them all. That did not go over well as seen in Acts 7:54,
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their
teeth at him.
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But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the
glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Think about that,
Beloved. Moses asked to see the glory of God and was denied because it
would kill him. Stephen, on the verge of being killed anyway, was granted the
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privilege of seeing right into the center of heaven where he saw the glory of
God. Wow! Furthermore, 9 times in the NT we are told that when Jesus
finished His work on earth he was seated at the Fathers right hand. Nine
times! But look! As Stephen is about to be executed he sees Jesus, not seated
but standing at the right hand of the Father. Standing in honor of this one who
was not ashamed of Him, saluting his courage, claiming him as His own and
rewarding his faithfulness. Stephen lost the respect of the world, but he
gained J esus. So what do we want? I pray never again to be ashamed of
belonging to Jesus. What a picture of how He rewards those who love Him.
What J esus gives back is always worth far more than what we give up!

Conc What does it mean to be truly saved? It means to deny oneself, take up
ones cross daily and follow Jesus. Anything less is self-deception. Most of us
are too tied to this world to be truly saved. Were like the lady who said, I
didnt want to marry him for his money, but that was the only way I could
get it. Weve sold our soul to get whatever we can out of this life with little
thought for the next.

John Bunyan didnt do that. Arrested for preaching the gospel in 1660, he
could have been released any time by promising to quit preaching. But he
would not and so for twelve long years he languished in prison bringing
suffering upon himself and his family. Constant stress. Constant uncertainty.
When asked why he would do that, Bunyan answered, "I first passed the
sentence of death upon everything, including myself. Second, I lived upon
God who is invisible and I looked for things which are not seen." Bunyan
was doing what truly saved people do looking beyond time into eternity.

To be truly saved is to treasure Jesus above anything. Saving faith is costly,
but what J esus gives back is worth far more than what we give up! But its
even better than that because the main thing we get isnt a reward; its not
even eternal life; its Jesus Himself. But we have to decide is it me, or is it
Him? If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me. Lets trade time for eternity. Lets choose Him.
Lets pray.