Lose Your Life to Save It: Kingdom Values

Now we're ready to hear the Jesus alternative. Listen to the other voice. Listen to the word of Jesus. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? Jesus is saying that a lot of the world's winners are going to be losers at the end of the day. [00:48:23] (43 seconds)  #LoseToWin

You see, the values of the kingdom of god are counter cultural to the values of the world. So Jesus consistently takes the values of the world and flips them over. Repeatedly, Jesus says things like, the first will be last and the last will be first. Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled, but whoever humbles themselves will be exalted. And perhaps nowhere is that more clear than in our text today. Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. [00:41:46] (60 seconds)  #KingdomUpsideDown

The world says you've arrived if you're famous or greatly admired. Jesus says, blessed are the persecuted and be encouraged if people speak against you because of your love for me. The world says strive to climb the ladder of success. Have lots of people under you who will wait on you hand and foot. Jesus says, whoever wants to be great must be the servant of all. The world encourages upward mobility. Jesus teaches and demonstrates downward mobility. [00:40:51] (55 seconds)  #ServeToLead

Think about a spouse who stays with their partner under very difficult circumstances out of love for Christ. Think about a person who has very little yet shares with others who have even less because they are rich in faith. I tell you great in the eyes of Jesus are such people. The world may call them losers, but Jesus calls them winners. And one day, everyone will agree with Jesus. [00:53:25] (51 seconds)  #HiddenWinners

He actually was god, and yet he became a servant. And as Paul says in the book of Philippians, he humbled himself. He dies on the cross for the sin of the world. Therefore, Paul says, god highly exalted him and placed put him to the highest place and gave him a name that is far above every other name. So the devil exalted himself and god humbled him. [00:51:13] (42 seconds)  #HumbleThenExalt

So how do we get there? How do we find the strength to swim upstream and the courage to be different than our society. Let me give you a few clues. First of all, you and I need to feed our minds on the right stuff. The voice of the world and the voice of the devil is always screaming in our ears. We must learn to hear the voice of the savior. [00:54:16] (46 seconds)  #HearTheSavior

Invest in those things that will outlive you. Invest in god and in his kingdom. And third, discover the joy of being all in. The abundant life that Jesus promises begins today, but you only discover that when you jump in with both feet. I've observed over the years that people who sacrifice greatly for the cause of Christ almost never think about what they've given up. Why? Because they have received far more than they have given. [00:55:51] (57 seconds)  #InvestInEternity

The world loves to label people as winners and losers. Think of who the heroes of our society are, professional athletes, movie stars, billionaires. So what makes a winner a winner? Money, fame, beauty, achievement, and usually a lot of self promotion. That's what makes a winner. And the rest of us, well but, oh, so many of us aspire to be winners. People line up by the thousands to be on American Idol or America's Got Talent. [00:42:57] (64 seconds)  #RedefineSuccess