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When it comes to weight, being the “Biggest Loser” has become a cult
phenomenon. In this passage, John is talking to Christians admonishing them
to be careful about the way they live their lives, that they lose not their
rewards, but in the end have a full reward.
Your works are important, not in salvation, but in your reward. You are not
saved by works. You are saved by grace through faith in Jesus plus nothing.
You are not kept by works but you work because you are saved.
Ephes. 2:8-10
For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest
any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in
them.
If you have genuine salvation in the Lord, you are safe, you are headed to
Heaven. Now there might be some rough roads along the way along with some
smooth roads, but you will have a safe landing in Heaven with Jesus.
ill.—you fly, you arrive, and you get your luggage, ideally. It has received
some rough treatment, it took some bumps but it arrives to where it has been
stamped. (It is the same with Christians)
While a Christian is safe in Salvation, there are some things they can lose.
I-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
I JOHN 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of
God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on
the name of the Son of God.
Notice I said assurance of salvation, not salvation.
One well known preacher says that probably 50% of Christians when asked if
they were saved would answer “I Hope So”.
Let me ask you a question, are you married? You wouldn’t say I hope so
(by the way, some might say I hope not.) But
you would say, yes, I am married. How do you know? Because I confessed my
love to her at the altar in marriage, I got a marriage license to prove it.
It is the same reason I know I am saved. I confessed Jesus as my Savior and
I have the license to prove it.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto
life.
Why is it that some Christians doubt? Because you can’t fool around with
sin, the flesh and the world. You can’t leave your Bible on the shelf and
let sin creep into your life.
When you allow unconfessed sin to stay in your life, it will break your
fellowship with God and in some cases cause you to doubt your salvation.
When you stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon you can hardly believe the
view in front of you: a vast chasm one mile down, from four to eighteen
miles across, and more than 200 miles long! People at the bottom look like
ants. Sin produces a chasm between God and man that is deeper and wider than
that!
The secret to assurance of your salvation is to stay close to Jesus
and trust His Word.
S. D. Gordon tells of a spring storm that broke a large limb on his cherry
tree. Although it hung by a very slender strand, to his surprise the
blossoms came anyway. Later some fruit began to grow as it did on the other
branches. He noticed, however, that only those in full contact with the tree
bore "much fruit," while the partially severed branch produced only a scanty
supply. As believers, we must be careful about our spiritual connections,
making sure we are fully abiding in Christ. The fruit we bear, whether much
or little, tells the story.
II-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR TESTIMONY OF INFLUENCE
HEBREWS 11:5b
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not
found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had
this testimony, that he pleased God.
Enoch had a powerful testimony about his walk with the Lord. A Godly
testimony will influence others around you.
But the sad fact is that we can lose our good testimony for the Lord.
Robert Robinson had been saved out of a tempestuous life of sin through
George Whitefield’s ministry in England. Shortly after that, at the age of
twenty-three, Robinson wrote the hymn "Come, Thou Fount." Sadly, Robinson
wandered far and, like the Prodigal Son, journeyed into the distant country
of carnality. Until one day he was traveling by stagecoach and sitting
beside a young woman engrossed in her book. She ran across a verse she
thought was beautiful and asked him what he thought of it. "Prone to wander,
Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love." Bursting into tears,
Robinson said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many
years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds if I had them, to enjoy the
feelings I had then."
A Baptist preacher was strolling along the seawall at a church convention in
Charleston, SC, one day. He spied a fisherman fishing, and set down to watch
him. Presently the man made a catch and pulled in a repulsive looking fish;
it looked like a cross between a toad and a bullhead. Not knowing about
fishing, Engel asked the man, "What kind of fish is that?" "They call that a
Baptist fish, suh." the man replied. "A Baptist fish?" questioned the
preacher. "Yes, suh," replied the fisherman, throwing his catch back, "They
call them that because they spoils so quick after you take ’em out of the
water."
My dad used to say, everything I have is for sale, for the right price!
A man drove by and came in and tried
to buy my Mustang last week…I explained that I need it. "You know it must
be nice to have something that’s not for sale. Everybody ought to have
something that’s not for sale."
It should be same with our testimony for the Lord, NOT FOR SALE
III-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR JOY
PSALMS 51:12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free
spirit.
R.L. Stevenson nearing life’s end said, "To miss the joy is to miss
everything."
Today, there is a premium placed upon joy. People everywhere want it. But it
seems many miss it. The good news from God is that we can have joy. BUT SOME
GET SAVED AND RECEIVE JOY IN JESUS, BUT LOSE IT.
Evangelist Billy Sunday was right when he said, "if you have no joy in your
religion... you have a leak in your Christianity somewhere."
The Bible says, "serve the Lord with gladness."
Nehemiah said, "the joy of the Lord is your strength."
We sing, "Joy to the World, the Lord has come" and yet the world sees very
little joy coming from the lives of those who sing it most.
Why? Many are like David, they have let sin steal their joy in the Lord.
Sin and disobedience had run its course in David’s life through his sin with
Bathsheba, who was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Sin hinders. One loses his
joy when there is unconfessed sin, because it grieves the Holy Ghost, who
produces joy in the heart of every believer.
Sin handicaps. It so cripples one’s life that he or she cannot think right,
walk right, or feel right.
He does not ask God to return his salvation, for he never lost it,
but rather his request is for joy. The Christian who has lost his joy is a
pitiful sight.
In a Catholic church a sign was hanging over a shrine which said, "This
Shrine is out of order. Do not worship here." That is a parable of what sin
does to the Christian. It makes us out of order spiritually.
But thank God David was restored the fellowship he once had with him.
IV-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR REWARD
I COR. 3:13-15
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s
work of what sort it is.
14: If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive
a reward.
15: If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire. [motive?]
Some Christians are going to be in for a rude awakening. In this life they
have sit around and done nothing for the Lord and yet think they are going
to receive a big reward, they think about their mansion and how wonderful
heaven will be.
And yet they could have prayed, but they
didn’t. They could have witnessed, but they didn’t. They could have attended
Church more faithfully, but they didn’t. They could have given to the Lord’s
work, but they didn’t.
ill—houses catch on fire, the people get out, but they lose everything
(In the same way, some Christians will
suffer loss)
But remember, even a cup of cold water given in His name will be rewarded.
Dr. W. A. Criswell tells of a man by the name of Tony, with special needs,
who came to his study each Sunday, helped him off with his coat, and hung it
up on the rack. Then when the time came for Dr. Criswell to go to the
pulpit, this man would go before him and hold the door open. This was all
that he could do, but he did it as unto the Lord.
Some of the members of Dr. Criswell’s church told Tony that he was bothering
the pastor. Tony came to Dr. Criswell to see if that was true. Dr. Criswell
gently said to him, "No, sir, you don’t bother me at all. I appreciate what
you are doing for me."
When the church built a new activities building, the pastor’s study was
across the street. On the first Sunday in the new building Tony asked Dr.
Criswell if he might walk across the street before him and hold the door
open for him. Dr. Criswell told him that would be great. Tony went ahead and
proudly held the door open as his pastor entered the church auditorium.
A few days later Tony dropped dead. Dr. Criswell said that maybe it was just
wild fancy, but he believed that when he got to heaven, Tony would be there
to open the door for him. He couldn’t do much, but he did what he could, and
he did it to the glory of God.
Rev. 3:11
Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
pt. 2
V-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR HEALTH
I COR. 11:30-32
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31: For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32: But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not
be condemned with the world.
Paul says many are "weak" among you. The word speaks of a condition one is
left in after a long illness. The word "sickly" speaks of those without good
health.
Paul told the Corinthian believers that many had suffered physically for
taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy way. He even said, "many sleep"
because of their behavior. We get our word "cemetery" from this word. He was
saying that many had died prematurely because of how they had treated the
Lord’s Supper.
It’s disturbing to hear Christians who are living in sin to go around and
brag about it. They might be a Christian but they are not pleasing the Lord.
And if they don’t judge it, don’t confess it, the Lord will judge them. As
one preacher said, the Lord will take them to the woodshed.
Balance: not all sickness is because
of sin, some is the natural consequences of an undisciplined life, lack of
exercise, eating wrong, [bodily exercise profiteth for a little] and
some is hereditary or incidental, who are we to judge…some is even to the
glory of God…John 11:4
The key is to take a spiritual bath everyday, don’t alibi about the sin in
your life, just repent of it. Confess=agree w/ God, not just regret or
remorse, but repent!
VI-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR ZEAL FOR SERVICE
Romans 12:11
Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
We are to be on fire for the Lord and His work. We are to show forth and
give evidence that we love the Lord Jesus Christ.
But too many Christians are like Demas, they have lost their zeal and quit
serving the Lord.
Take, for example, an American woman whose dream of riding a train through
the English countryside came true. After boarding the train she kept
fretting about the windows and the temperature, complaining about her seat
assignment, rearranging her luggage, and so on. To her shock, she suddenly
reached her journey’s end. With deep regret she said to the person meeting
her, "If I’d known I was going to arrive so soon, I wouldn’t have wasted my
time fretting so much."
Instead of fretting and losing our zeal for service, help us to feed on
God’s Word and apply it to our self. Stay focused on eternal values.
I read about a man who was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Base during WW II.
He got sick and was dying. A man on base had witnessed to him about Jesus
before and had left him a tract to read. He hadn’t read it, but as he
thought about eternity, be began to read it. As he read it, the Holy Spirit
convicted him of his need to trust Jesus and be saved. He then asked for
those in attendance to go and find the man who gave him the tract and see if
he would come to him. The man did and he came into his room, he asked what
wrong? Are you in pain? Are you afraid of dying? The man replied, no I am
not in pain, and I don’t fear dying. I got saved, I’m alright now. I spent
34 years with the wrong crowd. In these last few hours, I want to spend it
with the right crowd.
The Key to not losing any of these things I mentioned is to spend you life
with the right person, Jesus, and with the right crowd, the saved crowd,
[fellowship!] and to realize sin is behind the loss of each one of these!
VII-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR
GRATEFULNESS
Luke 17:
One of the first visible signs that a
Christian has backslid from his "First Love"
(Revelation 2:4), i.e., fallen away from the LORD Jesus Christ, is that the
"backslider in heart" (Proverbs 14:14) is
again full of his old, unconverted, selfish ways; namely, the Backslider is
ungrateful to God and man.
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither
were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish
heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21). Christ's healing of the ten lepers
illustrates the Sin of Ingratitude. "12
And as [Jesus]
entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers,
which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted
up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14
And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew
yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they
were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when
he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at His feet,
giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17
And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten
cleansed? but where are the nine?
*10 lepers/dave thompson’s song “I want to be
the one...”
Couple who left-he saved here, marriage
restored, “doesn’t meet our needs”/ “been to a church w/ this and that, and
where they do this and that!”/ “Ever been to a church where you got saved,
marriage restored?”
Take blessings of God, then turn it against
Him: job/children/things we pray for, then turn our backs on God like 9 of
the 10 lepers!
Psalm 55 12 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could
have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself
against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13 But it
was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14 We
took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
And if you minister in any capacity, you’ll experience what Christ
experienced…90% ingratitude…you have to do it for the Lord, not for them as
much as for HIM!
Counsel for hours—don’t even come to church
Help them deeply—won’t help with that great
need at church.
Perform their wedding—turn against you
Help them move—they move churches
Lead their family members to the Lord—forget
about it and run your name into the ground!
Give them money or food—never hear from
again!
Faithfully pray for them—no loyalty to you
whatsoever
Raise them to prominent position in
ministry—claim you’re not a man of God!
Lead kids to Lord, disciple them, baptize
them—just assumed you were supposed to!
See them thru surgery or illness—“need to
find a place w/ more programs!”
But when you do it for God, He sees it,
appreciates it, rewards it – every time!
II Cor. 12:15
And I will very gladly spend and be spent for
you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
If you have lost your assurance, your influence, your joy, you reward,
your health, or your zeal for service, and your gratefulness…come
today and get right with the Lord.
The thing that will keep us from losing these
is something we often lose ourselves: our Bible—it will keep us from sin,
or sin will keep us from the Bible!
NOTICE! Our sermons are free to
download, copy and paste, edit and use as you see fit...but only our free
subscribers get the newest messages, featured sermons, and some free gifts we
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