The Value Of A Soul

The Value of a Soul

Adapted from a sermon by Adrian Rogers on; the Love Worth Finding Program.

1-8-2006

First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan

Rev. Bruce A. Shields

www.TawasBaptist.org

Introduction

• Welcome guests

• Encourage speakers for the week of renewal

• Listening to God (Thank Patti C.)

Scripture Reading

Mark 8:34-38 (Topic - The Value of a Soul)

“34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life[c] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."

Prayer for the Holy Spirit and understanding

1. What is the value of your soul

God has created many aspects to our souls. We are multidimensional beings which were created in His image;

A. Creativity: The crowning work of Almighty God.

B. Potentiality: You can be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Being transformed into His likeness is not the same as trying to be Him. That’s where Lucifer made his mistake. He wanted to BE GOD.

But we are called to be transformed into His LIKENESS, not to BE God, but to be LIKE God in character.

(Illustration of a toy egg)

C. Durability: Eternity is endless, dateless and measureless.

The soul that God has given us will be in heaven or hell throughout eternity.

This has already been determined.

It is not a question of IF we are going to live forever, just a question of where.

D. Rarity: Each soul is unique – there is no one else like you.

E. Desirability (or worth): Our Father in heaven desires us to be with Him! We are valuable to Him.

The price a purchaser is willing to pay for something determines its worth or value.

Obviously, the higher the price, the more valuable something is.

The blood Christ shed on Calvary shows our worth or value to God.

What would you allow yourself to be tortured and crucified for?

Some of us feign from simple embarrassment when it comes to God and the gospel, unwilling to pay the price for relationship with God.

But Christ did not hesitate to pay the price for your soul, because you ARE that valuable to God.

But there is another who recognizes our worth to God. And therefore tries to purchase us daily with incentives of acts against God.

2. A Foolish Transaction:

The Devil bargains for our souls, but we need to remember what the scriptures teach us about the value of our soul:

A. Even if you could gain the whole world, it’s not worth your soul. You would be getting ripped off! You are more valuable to God than this world can afford.

(Guitar on eBay story)

B. What you gain you can not keep.

C. It would never satisfy you anyway. God made you for Himself. Your element is God; as water is the fish’s element and the air is the bird’s element, God is what we need.

The Chess Game

A visitor to an art gallery noticed a painting of a chess game being played between the devil and a young man.

The visitor, who was a chess master, saw from the board that the devil had his opponent boxed in, and was ready to pounce.

It was the young man’s turn, but his case seemed hopeless.

But the chess master, after much study of the board, discovered that there was a move which would enable the youth to escape Satan’s clutch.

You see, when adversity comes, when the devil has us cornered, when he is coming at us full force and the storms in our lives are raging, when the waves are coming over the sides of our boat, no matter how desperate our case,

When we turn to the Master for our next move, He will examine the board of this life and guide you.

No matter how desperate the case looks to us – if we will repent and invite Jesus Christ into our hearts as Lord and Savior, the master will be there to guide us.

3. When we are transformed

Ezekiel 18:1-4

“1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 "Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message." 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”