Committed to Losing
Each of the four gospels record in some way this concept of losing to save. Losing my life involves denying myself, taking up my cross and following Christ.
In a Sword of the Lord Conference at our church, Dr. Shelton Smith asked the question, “How do you know if you're following Christ?” The answer came in the form of another question, “Are you fishing for men?”
“And he (Jesus) saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Makes sense. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. If we follow Jesus, we will fish for men. After all, we are all fishing for something in this life.
My favorite passage is Proverbs 6:21-23
“Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”
I LOVE the promises found in this passage. When I make the Word of God a priority, God’s Word will lead me when I go, keep me when I sleep and speak to me when I am awake.
I have been consumed lately with the thought, Is God leading me? Well, He promises He will! And it dawned on me recently exactly where He will lead. To some lost soul!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
God’s Word the same as God’s Son will lead you to the lost, to pray for the lost, minister to the lost and share the Gospel with the lost.
I must be committed to losing my life in order for Christ to save my life for His work of getting the Gospel to the lost.
Lead me to some soul today,
O teach me, Lord, just what to say;
Friends of mine are lost in sin,
And cannot find their way.
Few there are who seem to care,
And few there are who pray;
Melt my heart, and fill my life,
Give me one soul today.
~ William Houghton
We are all fishing for something - money, fame, purpose, love, a good time. Follow Jesus, and He will make you fishers of men.
Four times in Luke 9 you find the Greek word apollymi which means to fully destroy. It is found twice in our verse for today.
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
Luke 9:24
This is a sister verse to our theme verse for the Loser2021 Bible Study series.
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” Mark 8:35
“Lose” from the Greek word “Apollymi” means “to destroy fully.” It is translated “lose” in Luke 9:24b, our verse for today.