What Does It Profit a Man to Gain the Whole World?

Then Jesus told his disciples,

in the glory of his Father,

and then he will repay each person

according to what he has done.

Truly, I say to you,

there are some standing here

who will not taste death

until they see the Son of Man

coming in his kingdom.

Amen.

This is God's holy word.

It's great to be with you tonight.

If you notice in the bulletin,

the title is a little bit awkward.

It kind of went to a different line.

I think when I first picked up the title,

it was like,

what does it profit a man, dot, dot, dot,

the ellipsis.

But we'll end up putting half the question

instead of the whole question.

But I think it's a very important question

that we're answering tonight

of Jesus' question.

What does it profit a man

to gain the whole world,

yet forfeit his soul?

We all probably have this idea

of what an amazing life would look like.

Many of you may know,

I don't know if all of you would know

the name Tom Brady.

Tom Brady, a lot of you,

some of you,

yeah, as American football players,

many of you know I love American football,

coach at the University of Edinburgh,

American football team.

Tom Brady is considered

maybe the greatest NFL player

to have ever played.

He won like seven Super Bowls,

just retired after 23 years,

not long, a couple years ago.

Three MVPs.

There was actually,

there's a show in the U.S.

called 60 Minutes,

and it's like an hour long,

60 Minutes, clever name,

where they're interviewing people,

special stories,

those kind of things.

Well, after he'd won

his third Super Bowl,

he'd just signed

this massive $60 million contract,

which in 2005

was a whole lot of money.

He was,

his partner was a supermodel

that many of you may know

named Giselle.

He had everything

that you would consider

like a fulfilling life.

He had money, fame,

beautiful woman,

family,

this great, incredible

pinnacle of his career.

He actually went on

to have an even better career.

And as they're interviewing him,

they're asking him

about these things,

and he says,

to me, I look at this and say,

there's got to be more

to life than this.

You should really go look

to YouTube and look this up,

Tom Brady 60 Minutes.

It's really sad in some ways,

but also very insightful

that here you are

seeing a guy

who has reached the pinnacle

of everything that we would say

is an amazing life.

And he's like,

there's got to be more

to life than this.

And the interviewer actually asked him,

well, what do you think that is?

He said, I wish I knew.

And we're just like,

oh, we do know.

We know what your soul

is crying out for.

But he's saying,

there's got to be more

to life than this.

And this really hits

on what Jesus is talking

about here with his question.

What does it profit a man

to gain the whole world

and yet forfeit his soul?

Why did Jesus ask this question?

Well, if we look at the context,

the setting here,

Jesus has fed the 5,000.

He's walked on water.

He's performed a bunch

of miracles.

He fed 4,000 more.

And then it's quite interesting.

At the beginning of chapter 16,

it says the Pharisees

and Sadducees came up to Jesus

asking him for a sign from heaven.

So after he's done

all of these things,

they're like,

but show us a sign from heaven

that would authenticate your message.

It's like, seriously?

Sometimes evidence

for Jesus' identity

is just not enough for people.

And there will always be skeptics,

but they have witnessed,

they've seen,

and they're asking for a sign.

And later Jesus asks his disciples,

who do people say that I am?

And they tell them the rumors.

Some say you're John the Baptist,

come back from the dead.

Some think you're Elijah or Jeremiah

or some other prophet.

And then he responds,

but who do you say that I am?

Now that could have been

the question we talked about tonight,

question Jesus asked,

maybe the most important question,

who do you say that I am?

And in that moment,

Peter says,

you are the Christ,

the son of the living God.

And it says in verse 21

of chapter 16 in Matthew,

from that time,

Jesus began to show the disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem

and suffer many things.

Jesus must go and lose his life.

And Peter actually rebukes him for that.

He says, whoa, whoa, whoa,

this will never happen to you.

I think you're misunderstanding

the scriptures, Jesus.

Now he didn't say that,

but that's what he's implying.

You're the Messiah.

You're going to go to Jerusalem

and deliver us,

not go to lose your life.

What are you talking about?

And Jesus then rebukes him

and says, get behind me, Satan.

And then he says something

that's very important

for our passage in verse 23.

For you're not setting your mind

on the things of God,

but on the things of man.

And if we're honest with ourselves,

we often many times

can recognize this in our own lives

where it's like,

I know, I wish I was setting my mind

more on the things of God.

I'm thinking more

about the things in this life,

the things of man.

We're all tempted to do this.

It's something that's really

our default mode

to really more focus

on the things of man,

the things in this world.

We recognize this often.

We want this to be different.

But that's the setup

for Jesus' response here

in his question.

What does it profit a man

to gain the whole world

and yet forfeit his soul?

Or what can a man give

in exchange for his soul?

When he's asking this question,

he's actually giving us

the rationale for his statement

about the nature

of being his disciple.

So if you're trying

to gain the whole world,

you're not going to be

setting your mind

on the things of God

because his disciples,

he says,

to follow him,

he says,

you must deny yourself,

take up his cross,

and follow me.

To be his disciple,

you must deny himself.

We have to learn

to say no to ourselves.

This word literally means

to refuse or to resist

or to reject ourselves.

It's the idea

of forgetting oneself,

to lose sight of yourself

and your own interests.

It's like,

I'm an afterthought.

But it's actually,

denying yourself

is the same way later

as we'll see Peter

is denying Jesus

where he says,

I do not know this man.

It's kind of looking

at ourselves and saying,

I don't know this person.

It's an,

I'm an afterthought.

I'm not the main thing,

the center of the universe

like my default nature

thinks I am.

John Stott says,

this isn't just denying

things to myself

like to say no to sweets,

which I can have

a problem doing,

but it's to deny myself

to myself.

To deny myself

to myself.

It's denying my agenda,

denying trying to gratify

the pleasures

that are selfish.

Instead,

I must think about others,

put others before myself.

It's where we come

and say,

here's my plans,

Lord.

I lay them down

on the altar

to present them

before you

and say,

not my will,

but your will

be done.

To be his disciple,

we must deny himself,

it says.

And then it says

we must take up his cross.

The cross,

as we know,

is a symbol of shame

and humiliation.

And it's really hard

to imagine

what they would have

been thinking

when they heard this

because they did

understand the imagery.

They understood

that the cross

was a convicted prisoner

being marched

outside of town,

being led to pay

what was called

the supreme penalty.

It was a slave's death,

a traitor's death,

some common euphemisms

for taking up your cross

or for the crucifixion

was called

the extreme penalty,

the most severe punishment,

and there were Latin words

that are used

for these things

that I didn't dare

try to bring in

because I don't know Latin.

But the slave's punishment,

the wretched death,

all of these things

that they would have understood

when they heard

Jesus saying

you must take up

your cross.

Paul talks about

what this looks like

in Galatians 5, 24

when he says,

and those who belong

to Christ

have crucified

the flesh

with its passions

and desires.

So it's where we put

our sinful selfishness

on the cross

and say,

not my will

but your will be done,

dying to these desires,

dying to these passions,

crucifying them.

And also,

I think one of the reasons

he said that Jesus said this

is because crucifixion

was a slow death.

And so being his disciple,

taking up his cross,

is learning to die

to the flesh,

which is a slow

and painful process.

It's a slow death.

Luke even adds

when he records this

that Jesus said

that he must take up

his cross daily.

Our default mode

is to wake up

and to put ourselves

back on the throne

instead of back on a cross.

And Luke says

we must,

he records it

as we must take up

our cross daily,

learning to say

it is not about me

but embracing a life

that is about Jesus,

another's agenda

instead of my own.

So if you would come

after me,

if anyone would come

after me,

let him deny himself,

take up his cross

and follow me.

Follow me is

I go where you go,

Jesus.

I do what you do.

This is all about

following our Lord

and doing as he commanded.

And in following him,

we find our true lives.

We find our true selves.

Trading our agenda

for a lasting

and better one.

It's letting Jesus

set the direction

for our lives.

That's what it means

to follow him.

And it's how we truly

gain life.

But it comes through

denying and dying.

I don't know where

I heard that

but just putting

those two words together,

it's actually really helpful.

denying and dying.

That's what it means

to follow Jesus.

Jesus is the Messiah.

They thought the Messiah

was going to come

and take power

but instead

he is saying

I must lose my life.

The way of the kingdom

is to lose your life

so that others

might find it.

Jesus says

whoever tries to save

his life will lose it

and whoever loses

his life for my sake

will find it.

This word life here

is not life

where it's like

breathing in and out

and life as opposed

to death

but it's actually

the word where we

get the word soul

or psyche.

It's your very identity.

Who you think you are.

Your core.

Your inner person.

You must be willing

to lose that

for Jesus' sake

and when you do that

you truly find it.

In other words

for the Christian

we let go of our lives

and we let go

of anything

that we're trying

to build our identities

on besides Jesus

besides Christ.

It means that

we subordinate

our thinking

about our own

personal issues

and serving ourselves

subordinate that

to Jesus

where it's about

serving Jesus

his interests

his agendas

his thoughts

obeying his commands.

So whether that's

our careers

whether it's

relationships

comfort and leisure

making a name

for ourselves

whatever we think

success is

it's all laying that

at the feet of Jesus

and say

this is not about me

but this is about you

losing your life

in order to gain it.

So why would we embrace

this self-denial

and this self-death?

And Jesus gives the answer.

What would it profit you

to gain the whole world

and yet forfeit your soul?

Or what can you give

in exchange for your soul?

We know that

the right investment

is investing

in the soul.

The way of the world

is meaningless

and vanity

and yet our default mode

is to go that way

and so we must learn

to deny ourselves

take up his cross

daily and follow him

because

what can we give

in exchange for our souls?

The word soul here

is the exact same word

that's translated life

in the previous verse

but often when we hear this

deny yourself

take up his cross

follow me

whoever loses his life

for my sake

will gain it

we tend to hear this

disregarding the things

of the world

material things

and we see this

as a test of our faith

or maybe even

a deep burden

instead of understanding

that he's showing us

what it means

to flourish

to have a beautiful life

to have a life

that is true life

indeed

we hear these things

about denying ourselves

why is it

that that is such

a burden

instead of Jesus

saying

let me show you

the way to find

true life

because what does it

profit a man

to gain this whole world

and yet

forfeit

the soul

he's not trying

to deprive us

he's trying to show us

true

abundant life

and Jesus gets down

to the very heart

of things

when he says

gains the whole world

he's talking about

when we try to gain

everything the world values

anything that we would

set our hearts on

here on this earth

and you know

we all

dream

hear stories

of celebrities

or musicians

or whatever

the famously rich people

and how they've come

into this wealth

and we then hear

how miserable they are

at some point

how they turn to a life

maybe of drugs

and alcohol

or just

broken relationships

by the way

Tom Brady and Giselle

are divorced

it's like we hear

these stories

of just

relationships

broken lives

we hear all these things

of people who've gone

after the world

but we're like

but I think I'd do it

a little bit differently

I don't know that

that would happen to me

maybe that's the cross

you should give me

Jesus is

seeing if I can handle

wealth

we just think

things would be

different for us

but guys

this is

this is not a new

problem

I mean obviously

it wasn't new

with Jesus

he's talking about

addressing people

that try to gain

the whole world

but in Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 2:1–11

chapter 2

verses 1 through 11

which is attributed

to Solomon

who was at the time

known as the world's

wisest and wealthiest

person

this passage

Ecclesiastes chapter 2

Ecclesiastes 2:1–11

verses 1 through 11

Solomon says

I said in my heart

come now

I will test you

with pleasure

enjoy yourself

and he goes on to say

that here are the things

that he pursued

he said

I made great works

I built houses

and planted vineyards

for myself

I made myself

gardens

and parks

and planted them

with all kinds

of fruit trees

I made myself

pools

from which

to water

the forest

of growing trees

I bought male

and female slaves

and had slaves

who were born

in my house

had great possessions

of herds

and flocks

more than anyone

who was before me

in Jerusalem

he said

I also gathered

for myself

silver and gold

and the treasure

of kings

and provinces

I got singers

both men and women

I had entertainers

people

both

and had many

women and concubines

the delight

of the sons of man

so I became great

and surpassed

all who were before me

in Jerusalem

also my wisdom

remained with me

and whatever my eyes

desired

I did not keep

from them

I kept my heart

from no pleasure

for my heart

found pleasure

in all my toil

and this was my reward

for all my toil

then I considered

all that my hands

had done

and the toil

I had expended

in doing it

and behold

all was vanity

and striving

after wind

and there was

nothing to be gained

under the sun

he said

I went after everything

I gathered anything

that my heart wanted

and all was vanity

and striving

after the wind

and we don't believe

that do we

like we think

it would be different

if it was me

or maybe it's just me

but like we really think

we would be different

but yet Jesus is telling us

if you try to gain

the whole world

you forfeit your soul

and the way for true life

is deny yourself

take up your cross

and follow me

what does it profit a man

to gain the whole world

and yet forfeit his soul

and have you ever wondered

why this is the way

of the kingdom

the nature of the kingdom

wouldn't it be possible

that Jesus denies himself

for us

and instead of us

and takes up his cross

for us

instead of us

why did he have to call us

to the same life

why would he tell us

that we must do this

as well

I think a few reasons

one I think

because he knows

the human condition

he understands

our sinful nature

we would pursue

the things of the world

at the expense

of our souls

if he didn't command us

to do this

we would twist everything

and make it about us

I mean

have you ever been around

anyone who's like

we would consider

a little narcissistic

where they make everything

about themselves

miserable people

to be around

but yet you flip that

and turn someone

who is other centered

someone who wants to serve

who genuinely is about

other people

and they're amazing

to be around

we love those kinds

of people

Jesus knows

when he's telling us

that it's not about ourselves

to not deny ourselves

take up our cross

and follow him

that it's the way

of life

he also knows

that

this is just

the nature of the kingdom

because this is his nature

he tells us that

because when we

lay down our lives

for others

putting needs

before our own

we're demonstrating

God's very nature

God's very heart

we're displaying

his glory

to the world

that's what he himself did

that is the way of life

and he knows best

and then I think

a third thing is

he really just knows

what will satisfy us

he created us

and he knows

where true life

really is

and he's just telling us

the way of that

as a little side note

I came across

this article online

as I was looking up

something else

I was like oh

this is kind of appropriate

the title of the article

was Serving Others

in Brain Health

the Neurological Benefits

of Altruism

it sounds really interesting

article

it says this

the effect of serving others

on the human brain

is more profound

than most people realize

altruism activates

the same reward circuitry

that responds to food

and sex

drops cortisol

floods the brain

with dopamine

and oxytocin

and in older adults

measurably slows

cognitive decline

helping someone

isn't just a nice

thing to do

neurologically speaking

it's one of the most

potent brain

health interventions

available to you

God designed us

so that even serving

other people

is good for our own health

now they probably

were thinking

this is an evolutionary thing

this wasn't a Christian article

but Jesus

when he's telling us

these things

he knows how we're made

because he made us

and he's not

giving us a burden

or placing on

like just

just take it for the team

and trust me

it's like no

like this is the way

of the kingdom

and it is good

and it is right

and lovely

and praiseworthy

when we live

for something

beside ourselves

it actually blesses us

in ways that we don't

even totally understand

so want us to get

the fact that

Jesus is not being cruel

or giving us

a terrible burden

when he calls us

to deny ourselves

and take us across

and follow him

but it's literally

for our good

and for his glory

we feel

because it's such

a hard battle

that it's a loss

for us to follow

this way

but David Livingston

the well-known

Scotsman

missionary

in South Africa

says this

people talk

of the sacrifice

I made

in spending

much of my life

in Africa

is that a sacrifice

which brings

its own blessed reward

and healthy activity

the consciousness

of doing good

peace of mind

and a bright hope

of a glorious destiny

hereafter

away with a word

in such a view

and with such a thought

it is emphatically

no sacrifice

say rather

it is a privilege

anxiety

sickness

suffering

or danger

now and then

with a foregoing

in the common conveniences

and charities

of this life

may make us pause

and cause the spirit

to waver

and the soul

to sink

but let this only

be for a moment

all these are nothing

when compared

with the glory

with which will be

revealed in

and for us

and then he says

I never made

a sacrifice

this is what

it looks like

to set your mind

on things above

to understand

that losing

our life

means saving it

focusing on

eternity

is the blessed

life

and following

the example

of our Lord

who lost

his life

emptied himself

so that we

could have life

in his name

as we've been

talking about

that being

united to Christ

means that we

have a relationship

with God

and then he calls

us to do the same

and that is a life

that is the opposite

of having a

superiority

mindset

but it is one

that gives us

humility

when we trade

our agendas

for his agenda

it's saying

it's not about

me

the way I

spend my time

the way I spend

my money

it is not about

me

but how can I

use these gifts

that God has

given me

to serve

and bless

others

and if you

think about it

think about how

like when we

are pursuing

the ways

of the

or the things

of this world

pursuing like

a way to

gain the world

think about

the worry

and anxiety

that causes

worry is like

saying

I think

I know

how a good

God

would

what he

would do

in this

situation

and I'm

afraid

you're just

not going

to come

through

in that

way

I mean

think about

the people

we know

that have

walked away

from the

faith

because God

didn't come

through for

them in the

way that we

thought he

should

but instead

we've got to

learn we

don't know

better than

God

so we trade

our agendas

for his

and it allows

us to say

okay God

in this

thing that's

going on

what are you

up to

what do you

want me to

learn from

this how

are you

wanting to

show yourself

to me

in a way

that we

will be

glorious

we must

learn to

set our

minds on

things of

God

not on the

things of

man as he

told Peter

and this

changes the

way we see

everything it

changes even

the way we

see suffering

which

suffering is

one of those

things that

is like

I was

actually supposed

to preach

this sermon

a few weeks

ago and

because of

some things

some crisis

going on in

our family

I'm preaching

it three weeks

later it's been

three weeks of

hard suffering

and it's very

tempting to

to doubt

the goodness

of God

to doubt

that his

way is the

best way

but in those

times we

understand that

he really knows

what's good for

us and we

can see from

his word

and when we

cling to him

and his

word that

this suffering

is producing

wisdom

it's producing

joy in ways

that we never

would have

understood

it's producing

endurance

as scripture

says

it's producing

a courage

that maybe

we needed

but it's also

producing a

humility

and we just

have to cling

to those

things and

say God

you know

what's best

more than

I do

and so I

trust you

in that

setting

our minds

on the

things of

God

not the

things of

man

changes

the way

we see

all of

life

helps us

to learn

to see

life in

the way

that he

sees it

and that's

the nature

of the

kingdom

to deny

ourselves

take up

our crosses

and follow

him

greatness

comes by

being last

saving your

life means

we lose

it

and Jesus

establishes

kingdom

by losing

his life

he calls

us to

do the

same

and this

is the

abundant

life

it is

not

drudgery

it's not

a burden

doesn't mean

it's always

easy

but it does

mean it's

good

and it

will glorify

him

and be

for our

benefit

let's

pray

father

we

we just

acknowledge

right now

together

that we

are prone

to try

to gain

the world

to try

to go

after the

ways of

this world

to find

success

in the way

of the

world

to find

success

and

even more

than that

lord

we

we wake

up

every day

wanting

to be

the center

of the

universe

to say

it's

about me

we don't

wake up

wanting

to serve

we wake

up

wanting

to be

served

and so

I pray

that you

would help

us to

cling

to you

and your

word

and the

promises

and the

wisdom

and the

goodness

of this

passage

that says

what would

it

profit

you

to gain

the whole

world

and forfeit

your soul

but instead

losing our

lives for the

sake of

really finding

it

to deny

ourselves

to take

up our

crosses

and follow

you

that is

the way

of true

life

that is

the way

to abundant

life

help us

to trust

you in

that

so that

when we

wake up

in the

morning

we will

really try

to crucify

the flesh

with its

passions

and desires

as Paul

says

but this

is a

daily

thing

Lord

and we

need your

grace

to do

it

so please

grant us

that grace

to grow

in these

things

help us

to do what

you said

and set

our minds

on the

things of

God

and not

on the

things of

man

please help

us to do

this

we pray

in Jesus

name

amen

amen

amen