[Music] Good afternoon, church, and to the new friends in the midst of us. Today, we would like to consider one of the most important questions ever asked. From what we've just read, I'd like to reiterate this question again. We've just read from verse 26 of Matthew chapter 16. Now, these are two questions, and it basically means the same thing. It got to do with the soul of men, and the question goes like this: What good would it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? What can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Now, surely, there can be no question more important than this particular question. And if there's one reason for saying so, I would say that the person who asked this question is the most important question that has ever been in this world. Now, if you like to access the value of a question, you can access it in terms of this subject, which to any logical mind, this question sounds tremendously important, or if not.

you can access it in terms of who asks the question. The greater the man and the greater the person asking that question, the greater the significance of that question. And it's of no use just listening to people asking foolish questions, irrelevant, unimportant questions. It's of no value listening to them. But the wise thing to do now is not to ignore questions of critical importance, especially if it is one asked by someone who is highly credible. And here we have a question asked by the most important person who ever lived in this world, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. And interestingly, his question goes like this: What good, what profit, so to speak, will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his very own soul? Now, by that alone, leaves us a few propositions. Number one, I would say the natural proposition is that every human being has a soul. And Jesus made a simple pronouncement in this question that all of us seated here has a soul. Now, we want to be clear about that. What is a human soul? Particularly, a human soul is

something that differentiates a man from the animals. A human soul is something within a human being that links to God and makes us capable of fellowshipping with God. It is an essential part of a man which links him to what is unseen and what is eternal, and that is God. It is something immaterial, I would say, and you can dissect a human body, but you can't find a soul there. You can't see a soul there. And just like you can see someone shed tears, it can be tears of sadness, the tears of joy. You don't know, you can only see the tears which is material, but you cannot see the joy or the sadness within him. Sometimes you can see the evil works or good works of men, but you cannot see the evilness or the goodness in the human heart in the material form. You cannot see a man's thinking, you cannot see a man's motives, because these things are not material. And likewise, you cannot see a human soul, which is immaterial, but the Bible tells us that it is the most

essential part of our being. It is placed in Man by God, and man is similar to animals in many physical constitutions, but not the soul. And here is something that the animal doesn't have. The animal does have a soul, but it is one that only helps it live instinctively, but not in a human sense. The human soul is unique in a sense because it is something that enables him to have fellowship with God, to enjoy everything in him, including having this yearning for eternity. It is something peculiar to the human race, and God makes man in his own image, and he puts this peculiar element in him so that he can have the knowledge of God, have fellowship with God, and gu all the unique blessings from God. That's the first thing: every human has a soul. Now, the second thing about this soul that is mentioned is this soul that we have may be lost. Yes, it is a soul initially given to men to have fellowship with God, but it may not be in the same condition now. What good would it be for a man if he

loses if he forfeits his own soul, say Jesus, and very well. There is something else we know about this soul that is man's soul. It is something that can be lost or may not be lost. Now, this is the second proposition: are we all given the gift of a soul? But you have to ask, is it in a safe condition or lost condition? And clearly, what determines that is his awareness and relationship with God. If the soul doesn't function in that way, we can say it is lost. Now, this is a tremendous truth that we have to know about ourselves, about our soulish being. It may be lost or it may be in a safe condition. Now, you see right here, our physical body is in a safe condition, but our soul may not be. And it is a frightening thing if our soul is lost because Jesus went on to say, as we've read just now, that we should all be judged finally in terms of the condition of our soul. And that's why verse 27 says, For the Son of Man is going to come in His

father's Glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. According to what they have done, so there is a judgment of reward or punishment that will be pronounced in the end. So, the ultimate question confronting everyone here will be the condition of our soul. Our Eternal Destiny will depend on the state and condition of our soul when we stand before him in the end. There is a final division upon those Soul who are saved or lost, and those who are saved will go on to eternal glory, and those who are lost will go on to Eternal misery. And we have to know something about the soul. Now, I'm sure first I have just said everyone has a soul now, and then second, it is therefore important to know the state and condition of our soul. And finally, our Eternal Destiny will be determined by this one question, that is the condition of our soul. And that is the whole point of this question, the whole point of this text. Now, if the Lord Jesus is going to

stop here. I'm sure he will leave us with a lot of perplexities, but fortunately, the Lord didn't leave us with that question. He says things in this context that will help to enlighten us further, to help us know the condition of our soul, and therefore to decide upon the question that will face all of us ultimately. So now, we are faced with a few more questions after the few propositions put across by Jesus. Surely, the first question confronting us in light of what he said will be, How then do I know the condition of my soul? How do I know whether my soul is lost or not? Now you see the issues. CU Jesus say, 'What good does a man gain if he lost his soul?' Now, so if you take this word seriously, you will know my eternal destiny is at stake, and fortunately, the answer is given quite plainly here. That is the ultimate way to know whether our soul is lost or not. First, it is to discover it in our thinking, in our thinking. Now, what is our thinking, my

friends, what is our thought life like? Now, the first thing that shows whether a man's soul is lost or not is reflected not through his appearance, not through his wealth or reputation, but in his thinking. Because, according to the Bible, there are two main ways in which a man may think or do things. There is what we will call a natural way of thinking that is characterized by worldly thinking, while another way of thinking is what we may call a spiritual way of thinking, which is altogether different. Now, let me direct you to the conversation which Peter had with Jesus, leading up to what Jesus said about the soul. Before that, Jesus asked his disciples, Who do men say I am? And the disciples said the people give all sorts of answers. But when Jesus asked his disciples, Who do you say I am? to which Peter replied, You are Christ, the son of the Living God. Amazing proclamation, isn't it? And then after that, Jesus began to show him that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things in the hands of the elders, the chief priests, the

teachers of the law, and then he must be killed, and then he will be raised to life on the third day. Why? Because Jesus has to die for the sins of all his people, redeeming their souls so that his people could restore that fellowship with God. But when Jesus said that about his suffering, about his death, now Peter did not understand this. Instead, Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. And he said, Never, Lord. He said, Never. This shall never happen to you. To which Jesus turned to Peter and said, Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the concerns of God but merely what human concerns, human concerns. In other words, it's all human thinking in you. You do not have in your mind the things of God but the things of men. You are a hindrance to me. So, what is the condition of our soul, my friends? It is shown through our thinking, whether we understand things about the spiritual God. Now, the very first test which we can

apply to ourselves to know whether we are lost or not is by how we are thinking. How are we thinking about this life and about ourselves? What is the type of our thinking? How is our thought life? Is it natural or spiritual? You see, friends, we are thinking every day. We are always disturbed by the events of this world and about everything that happens around us. And we are thinking and thinking, and our thinking tells us about our concerns, and our concerns tell us about the condition of our soul and where it will go ultimately. And the natural might always think that the good guy goes to heaven, the good guy is not lost. No, no, the Bible didn't say that. The Bible didn't say it's about the good guy. It is about our thinking. If your thinking is only of flesh and blood, it is perishable. And the Bible tells us very clearly that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The perishable cannot inherit the imperishable. So ponder through what is the type of our thinking. Does it belong

to the flesh and blood, or is it the type of spiritual thinking that God produces? So, that is the preliminary question. That is what type of thinking do we indulge in as a person? What are you thinking every day? Is your thinking confined to the flesh and blood? Then, it is conclusive that your soul is lost. Earthly and natural thinking leads to nothing. It leads to destruction. It leads to futility. That's one, number one. And next, we want to ponder about what is the content of our thinking. The content of our thinking will determine whether our soul is saved or not. Now, the thinking of a man whose soul is lost is always governed by his own self. You see, before Jesus posed this great question about the Eternal Destiny of our soul, he had this to say to his disciples: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, must deny themselves, and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. You see, for the man whose soul is lost, the

content of his thinking is literally governed and controlled by self and self-interest only. And when we say self-interest, it is only about life in this world. As Jesus said, The man who lost his soul lost it to the world. What good would it be for a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul? Right? You saw that. You see his concern is of the world. His pursuit is of the world. He sacrificed his soul for the world. Why? Because the whole content of his thinking is of the world. And that is why the Lord Jesus said, Whoever wants to save his life in this world should lose it, but the one who loses it for me will find it. So you see, the characteristics of the man whose soul is lost is only concerned about life in this world. He's only concerned about his well-being and interest in this world. After all, this world is all that matters to him. Oh, I'm not interested in some pie in the sky. I want to get what I want now. I'm here now. I'm

planning for everything now. It's all the now. So, you see, he wants to save his life in this world. He spends all his time thinking about it, planning for it. He is the center of his little universe, and everything is for himself, is all by himself, for himself. What can I do to be happy, to have success, to have blessings? It is always himself living in this world. But Jesus says, No, no, you have to deny yourself. You have to lose yourself if you want to find your true self and your soul. So, what is it that governs your thinking, my dear friend? Do you always start with yourself and end with yourself? Are you the beginning of your little universe? Is it all about yourself, your ability, what you are going to do and achieve? Is your thinking or circumspect about yourself? Did you ever go outside of that circle? Did you begin to think about God and eternal, or is it just about you, what you want, what you want in this world? Now, if it is, then it is a sure sign that our poor soul is

lost such a person is entirely selfish and self-centered and only interested in self. He has no clue that he has. He is made for Eternal and that he has to give an account for how he lived his life. And then there's another thing that goes with it, another thing other than thinking about self. I will say it is the opinion of others that only matters to him. Now this is how our Lord puts it: If any man wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, take up his cross to follow me. Now the taking up the cross has always been misunderstood, and many people just think that we just have to bear with our problems, troubles, and perplexities in this world, and that's called taking up the cross. Now it means nothing of that sort. Now what is it taking up of the Cross? Now listen carefully. The cross is shameful in the eyes of the world. Jesus went up on the cross and bore the scorns and insults of men. And taking up the cross simply means self-denial and following

Jesus, and while doing so, bearing the scorn and mockery of men. When others say to you, Oh, you see, you have become deluded. You know, you have become religious. Oh, after you go to church, you have become soft and weak. And then somehow you couldn't face them. You feel shameful being labored by those terms. You're afraid of man's opinion about you, and therefore you're entirely controlled by them. Now, those are the characteristics that the soul is lost. You see, my friends, taking up the cross is being unconcerned about the opinion of others in relationship to your trust in Jesus. Never mind people insult you, persecute you, falsely say all kinds of evil against you, because great is your reward in heaven. And even when men do that, let them say what they want, let them do what they want. You deny yourself and follow Christ. As Jesus said, Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge Him before my Father in heaven. But you see, the man who is lost doesn't do that. He's afraid of the

opinion of others. He is governed and controlled by it. If someone expresses an adverse criticism, he will be unhappy and depressed because all along his life is centered upon himself. He's a self-centered person, and such a person is vastly concerned about the opinion of others. He is worried about being deprived of men's recognition and praises, and therefore the self is only concerned about what man says, not what God has to say. And sometimes such a man can be in the church, but he hasn't denied himself. He hasn't taken up the cross. He's living the typical life of the man in the world. All revolve around himself, all concerned about himself and what others see of him. Now, are you like that, my dear friends? Now, I would say for such a man, it is a great pity that he has failed to consider some critical essentials about his life. Now, what is it that he has failed to consider? Now, simply speaking, he has failed to consider the worth of his own soul. Indeed, he doesn't think

about his soul at all. He thinks about his own person, his own appearance, what others think of him, his ability, his position, his profession, his money, his spouse, his children, so on. But he never thinks about his soul. He never sits down and thinks about this immaterial part of him, which is given by God, this unseen part of me, this thing within me that links me to God. He never gives it a thought at all. He's not aware of its presence, its importance, its significance. He never thinks about its soul and its Eternal Destiny. And it is exactly because of that reason he doesn't think about God. That's what Jesus said to Peter: You only have in you, in your mind, the things of men. And come, my dear friends, these are very practical issues. Your Eternal Destiny depends upon this. Now, how much time do you give to the thinking of your soul? How much time do you give to the thinking about God? How frequently does God enter into your mind? How much do you think of your relationship to men in terms of your

relationship to God and how much have you filled your mind with the opinion of others and what is the result of that. You get into the night and you couldn't sleep. You become depressed. You become over-sensitive sometimes. You become so fake and unnatural when you are with people and your emotions went into turmoil just because you heard someone said something unkind about you. Oh, you're trouble. They didn't like you. But did you think of what God thinks of you or where God likes you. Oh, say the Lord Jesus. Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Follow me, not what everyone else is doing, not the way the world does, but follow me. Now, the way for our soul to be in a safe condition, it must be guided, it must be led and guided by the one who creates it. Jesus offers no other remedies for the lost soul other than himself, for he is both the Creator and The Shepherd of our soul. In 1 Peter chapter 2 says, For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have

returned to the O Shepherd and overseer of your soul. The shepherd and overseer of your soul. Now the soul of man, as it sees here, as you see, it needs to find his Shepherd. It needs to find his Shepherd. Oh, worldly thinking, self-interest, opinion of others will only lead us astray. Now, if only all of us sitting here understands the value of our soul, then we will not take this lightly. But let me here quickly bring us to the next consideration. And Jesus made a positive statement here about the value of our soul. Now he said, What good is it for a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Now what a great comparison here. The world. What Jesus is essentially saying is there is no greater loss than the loss of the soul. Now I say it again, there is no greater loss than the loss of the soul. Now over here, Jesus is extracting a high price for the human soul. He is definitely not making light of the value of a human soul. In fact, he is telling us how dear

how priceless it is. In fact, he puts it like this: that is, if a person loses his soul, there is simply no compensation for it. Because even if the man possesses the whole world, there is nothing he can give in exchange for his soul. Our Lord Jesus has put an extremely heavy price tag for the soul. But can this be proof now? Maybe I can try to prove to you that the soul is of greater value than the whole world and all its worth. I think it's not hard to understand now. Let me put it this way. Now you see, the wealth of theah must not and cannot satisfy the soul. It doesn't matter whether you gain the whole world of wealth or knowledge, influence, power, popularity, anything you like to throw in. It cannot profit you or satisfy you unless your soul is in a healthy and safe condition. And maybe I'll help you with a simple illustration here. We can take it this way. Now this matter of the soul is very similar to the matter of health. Now I don't know whether you have

seen this great tragedy of enormously wealthy men suffering from a crippling disease. Now, I once heard a testimony from a Christian doctor. He has seen many patients, and he once saw a wealthy millionaire suffering from chronic asthma. And there he is, with all the wealth he has; he couldn't breathe. Of all his wealth, he hasn't had the health to enjoy it. You see, he has all this wealth, but he couldn't enjoy it. He can buy this or that, but the world and all its wealth cannot purchase for him the ability to breathe. And he will always ask, Is there any doctor in this whole world that can cure me of this chronic illness? I will spend my last penny to receive the best treatment to be healed. Now, of course, this would be the case because he has all the wealth, and he couldn't enjoy it. You realize that? Or I give you another example. I give you an example of a person's reputation. Now, if there are some terrible and serious charges brought against an extremely wealthy man, and people tend to

believe those things that are being said about him. No, you talk to this wealthy man, and if indeed he's a wealthy man, what will he say? He will probably say, If my name is not clear and my character is in question, all my wealth means nothing to me. You see, he will try all ways and means to clear his name. He will spend all his money, down to the last penny, to find the best lawyer to do so. Because what's the use of my wealth, he will say. I'll mortgage everything to prove my character, to clear my name. You see, this is always the case with wealthy men who are stricken either with poor health or a bad name. And you want to ask, Why is this so? Listen, because your health and your name has to do with who you are, who you hope to be. It has to do with your being, but your wealth is only something you possess. But the scripture here is telling you something even more precious, even more worthy than your health and your name, and that is your soul. Your soul is

who you are. Your soul is your whole being. Your soul determines who you are and where you will be in eternity. What you possess here on Earth is negligible in relative to it. And here is something said by the great St. Augustine, which he realized in a confession of his sins. And this is what he said. He said, God, you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. Until it rests in you. So, my dear friend, do you know that the soul that God has put in you is such a price that the whole world cannot compensate for its loss? You can take the world and everything in it for yourself, but there will always be a nagging feeling in you. There will be no peace in you. There will be dissatisfaction. There will be restlessness. The world and all it had is not enough to compensate for the loss of your soul. And let me put it another way. If you want the world and all its wealth, it's only temporary. It's money, it's knowledge, it's

honor its reputation. Everything that the world can give us and could give us ends with this life in this world. It ends with this life in this world. And that is why Jesus said, Whoever wants to save his life in this world will lose it, because all that is gained here has to be left behind here. You can't take the money; you can't take your wealth; the relationship; you can't even take your loved ones, your children, your spouse. They cannot live with you. And when the time comes, you've got to live. It's not an exchange; it's not a currency which you could use in the spiritual world. Though the soul that you have goes on, but the word that you earn, you have to leave it behind. So, that's why Jesus said, To lose the soul is to lose everything. If all I have is of the world, I have to go empty-handed. I shall be left with nothing at all. And this is where the scripture wants us to see the terrible aspects of such a loss. If my soul is lost when I die, I will go on to

Eternity with nothing, nothing that I hold on to. This life will be remembered, and I will be outside the life of God. My life will be dead to God. I will have nothing in eternity, and that will mean eternal separation from God. That is deadness; that is eternal misery in hell. And the Bible tells us again and again, and so we warn before it's too late. But perhaps I want to end this with an argument. I want to put this argument in another way to show the worth of the soul. Instead of saying that there is no greater loss than the loss of the soul, I would prefer to put it this way: that is to lose everything, even the word itself does not matter at all if your soul is right, if your soul is safe. Even if you were to lose all that you possess now, even if the whole world comes against you, your loved ones come against you. If your soul is at peace with God, you do not need to fear. Now that's the message Jesus had for us. So when Jesus predicted the time for

him to go to the Cross was near. He knew that the moment of trial would be too great for anyone to bear, such that he knew even the disciples who loved him would leave him. And he said to them, A time is coming, and in fact has come, that you will all be scattered, each to your own home. You will all leave me alone, yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. You see, he is thoroughly at rest. And same for the Apostle Paul. He said, For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Now, people don't understand what he is saying here, because to everyone, death is the final robber. It is the robber that robs me of my wealth, my possessions, my relationships, and everything that I've built in this life. But no, no, said the Apostle Paul. He said, To die is gain. Is to gain having Christ in your life is the key to facing death, because he alone conquers death, and he has conquered it for us. When that final day comes for those who are with him, in him, it will be well.

with our soul, so my dear friends, before I close, may I ask again, what is the condition of our soul? What are your thoughts? What are the contents of your thoughts? Are you realizing the price of your soul? Is your soul lost or safe? My last question this afternoon is, is there any hope for the lost soul? Is there any hope for the lost soul? Thank God, there is. Well, there is only one hope for the soul that is lost, the one who asked this great question about the soul possessed the answer, that is, he is the giver and the savior of our soul, the Lord Jesus Christ. And only he knows the value of the soul, and that is why he came from Heaven to Earth to pay the price of our soul, to redeem our soul from sin, and finally to reconcile us to God. And he simply asks you to believe what he has told you about your soul. And he said, If anyone wants to follow me, he has to deny himself. So stop thinking in terms of flesh and blood. Stop thinking in terms of the word believe what he

says and cling unto him. Accept the truths that he has laid plain about our soul. Give your lives to him and follow him, and there you will find peace with God. You will find contentment. You will find Everlasting B. And what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet lose his soul? What can he give in exchange for his soul? Give our lives to him, my dear friends. Give to the one who can save our lost soul and bring us to the very presence of God. Now let's go to the Lord in prayer. Now I want to give all of us this opportunity here, and for all of us who have heard this message, which is from the holy word of God, which is from the most important person in this world, that is our Lord Jesus Christ. If there is anyone here who wants to find Hope in your soul, that you want your soul to be safe by turning to the Lord Jesus Christ, and right there where you are sitting, can you just raise your hand now? I'll pray for you. Is there

any such person, if there are, just raise your hand, and I'll pray for you at this juncture because the call of the Lord is there. Is there any such person? Are there such persons who want your soul to be safe? Come, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you so much for this time that you have given us, the most important question that we should think through in our life, and that is the question of our soul. And many, many times, Lord, we are being deceived by the world, its riches, its wealth, its popularity, and everything that we wanted in this world. But as your word says, these things are fleeting. It goes away so fast. But you want us to turn our eyes upon your only son, Jesus, the shepherd and the overseer of our soul. Father, we give you the glory. I pray for you to work in the hearts of men, that we will be awakened to the value of our soul, and we will be awakened to know the savior of our soul, our Lord Jesus. Come, our Lord Jesus, be with us, be

with these people. Help them to know you and to respond to you and to live for you. And thank you so much. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. [Music]

What Can Man Give In Exchange For His Soul?

What Can Man Give In Exchange For His Soul?