Better to Lose Your Life Than Waste It

father I pray that you would not leave us to ourselves now in this room because if we were left to ourselves nothing of any eternal significance would happen and I come longing for deep lasting indeed eternal changes to happen people to move out of death into life like we've been singing out of darkness into light out of a wasted life into a unweighted life so don't leave us now come Holy Spirit come and help me be faithful to your word speak in the power of the Spirit and grant ears to hear hearts to believe I ask this in Jesus name Amen so what I would like to do now in our time together is persuade you or at least open you to the truth that it is better to lose your life than to waste it that's the sentence that you will hear over and over again it is better to lose your life than to waste it that was 17 years ago in at one day and I remember saying in that talk as I looked looked out on about thirty thousand students spread out across the the hills I felt for the first time I was fifty fifty four and as I as I looked out across them I felt for the first time in a big student gathering I'm old enough to be your dad now my oldest granddaughter started college this fall and I look out at you and I say I say I'm old enough to be your grandfather which has this effect on me there's there's another generations worth of weight behind my longing for you and my plea not to waste your life so that's what I'm here for is to persuade you open you to the truth that it's better to lose your life than to waste it here's another thing I would not have said 17 years ago if you have a Bible on your phone you might want to open it I know I don't assume you carry Bibles around on Friday night but I do assume you carry phones around if you don't have a Bible on it shame on you they're free what else would you use a phone for we're going to act scepter 20 and we give you a little background and then show you the paragraph where I'm gonna draw all my points that I hope God will use to shape the rest of your life we're in my Letus which is about 20 miles south of Ephesus Paul had spent three years of his life longer than he spent anywhere else as far as we know ministering to the people at Ephesus he had left and gone over to Corinth to spend the winter now he's hastening to get back to Jerusalem for Pentecost and he's in such a hurry that he knows if he stops in Ephesus to talk to the whole church he'll be consumed and so he wants at least to speak to the leaders of the church so he he puts in at my lead us a little south of Ephesus and he sends word to the church in Ephesus whom he loves very much and he calls the elders down and he gives them the talk that's found here in Acts chapter 20 it's a very moving scene here's why you get to the end of it verses 37 and 38 there was much weeping on the part of all they embraced Paul and kissed him being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken that they would not see his face again and they accompanied him to the ship now when I hear a pastor address his people for the last time I listen if I hear a dad old and dying gather his family around and address them for one last time I am listening because what I expect to hear is not only something that comes unfathomably from the heart but something that probably captures what I've wanted all my life what this pastor has all been about or what this fathering has all been about that's what I that's what I listen for and that's that's what I'm listening for when I read this section of Acts chapter 20 this is a very special text to me I've come back to verse 24 many times over my life and every time I come back it has the effect of making me want to sell everything and be a very radical Christian do something crazy go somewhere nobody expects me to go just utterly sell out to do something strange and wonderful that would make people say whew that's weird that's the effect that verse 24 has on me it makes me want to be utterly out of step with the American Dream the one that 17 years ago I pleaded with students not to buy don't buy it when I read this verse 24 that's the effect it has on me makes me want to stand on the housetops of every city and Americans say don't buy it everybody is trying to get you to buy this dream about your life and its end don't don't buy it go to x20 and let Paul say something else let me read verses 22 to 25 and then we'll focus in on verse 24 now behold I am going to Jerusalem constrained by the spirit not knowing what will happen to me there except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me and he was verse 24 but I do not count my life of any value or as precious to my self if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God and now behold I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again so my summary of these four verses is better to lose your life than to waste it so let me read verse 24 again and you listen carefully and say okay it's not a good summary is that a fair restatement of verse 24 and let me just say methodologically here how I think you should listen to me I think you should listen thinking like this if he can't show me in the Bible the points he's making there's no warrant that I should believe what he says okay that's my disposition coming to you I'm not asking you to believe anything John Piper beliefs I am asking you to take really seriously if I can show you in the Bible that what I'm saying is true so now the first test that you face is is the sentence it is better to lose your life than to waste it a good paraphrase of verse 24 so let me read it again for those of you don't don't have your Bible in front of you I do not count my life of any value or as precious to myself if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God I don't count my life of any value or as precious except for one thing I've been given a ministry to perform in a race to run and that's why I live and when that's over I'm over until I'm not over that's not over and that's why I live so run the race don't stop don't leave the course don't go backward if you do your life is wasted I do not count my life of any value but for this one thing isn't that saying better to be faithful and die then unfaithful and live better to lose your life than to waste it my goal in life is not to stay alive my goal in life is to stay on course and if I'm off I'm gone that's that's my understanding verse 24 he's gonna say it again in Philippians chapter 3 verse 8 I count everything is lost because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I might gain Christ so one of those things that Paul counts as rubbish one of those things is staying alive living 80 years making 80 million dollars never having a sick day all the while running through Meadows off course toward a cliff I count that as rubbish that kind of success 80 years no sick days 80 million dollars Field of Dreams dead that's a wasted life better to lose your life than to waste it like that one of the songs we were singing reminded me of Psalm 63 verse 3 your steadfast love O Lord is better than life that's an amazing statement your steadfast love is not designed to keep me alive necessarily it's better better than life so there's a path that leads to everlasting enjoyment of the love of God better to lose your life and go off that path I do not count my life of any value nor as precious to myself if only I may finish my course that I received from the Lord Jesus and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to bear witness to the gospel of the grace of God now here's what I want to do with the time we have together I want to ask two questions the one question is what is it like to have that maxim flying over your life better to lose your life than to waste it what's it like what does it look like when you when you live if that's what you really believe that's my first question what is it like I've got five answers to that question that I see in this text and the last question very briefly is why why is it better to lose your life than to waste so what does it look like and why would you do first question what does it look like answer number one it looks like being mastered by a person and a power that is not your own it looks like you being overpowered mastered controlled by a power and a person not your own chapter 20 verse 22 and now behold I am going to Jerusalem constrain the the literal translation bound like feet are tied bound by the spirit not knowing what will happen to me there so the Christian who says better to lose your life than to waste it means for Jesus sake this is true and I cannot say that in my own power anybody in this room that authentically says for Jesus sake better to lose my life than to waste it any of you says that from the heart did not say it in your own power now how do I know that first Corinthians chapter 12 verse 3 goes like this this is the same author Paul no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit so I know something absolutely sure as I look at you if you say from the heart it's really you so to really hold two moves you grips you this is you if you really say he's Lord of the universe he's Lord of my life he's Lord of this University he's Lord of my future the Holy Spirit is in you that's an awesome statement because he's God I know that to be the case cuz he said so you can't say that not from your heart not meaning not in any kind of life-changing authentic way you can't say it without the holy spirit that's a sweet thing to know sometimes you you kids can I call you kids up I shouldn't sometimes you young adults you people who were who were saved when you were 6 or don't remember when and you love Jesus today feel a little bit odd about that you know it is far more important that you interpret your experience from the Bible than from your memory far more important so I don't remember trusting Jesus at 6 years old my mama said I did if you can't even remember it how can you testify with any kind of bells and whistles guess what I know exactly what happened when I believed though I can't remember it because I'll learn it from the Bible which i think is ten thousand times more important than remembering it the Bible says Little John Piper by the power of Almighty God at six according to his mom said I need you please forgive my sins you are Lord and a miracle happened he called me what are the song lyrics not really the grave now wondered if people who wrote that because the next line said I was buried in shame and I thought hmm you were buried in way more than shame that's true that's fine I sort of make sure come on whoever wrote that song bless you I loved it I was singing it you were buried in every way and you were dead stone-cold dead a la Bob Dylan back in his good old days before he had a Nobel Prize in his hand I'm losing my place here now getting off manuscript I'd be careful so my first answers of the question what is it like to live better to lose your life than to waste it it's like being mastered by a power not your own and I get that from verse 22 second answer to the question it's like not knowing or being okay being at rest being content not to know what tomorrow will bring so let's look at verse 22 again and now behold I'm going to Jerusalem constrained in the spirit not knowing what will happen to me there the unweighted life that looks death in the face and says you know threat to me better to lose my life than to waste it that unweighted life talking to death like that does not need to know about tomorrow who cares I don't need to know because whatever comes he's with me he's for me Abraham according to hebrews 11:8 by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going when I was preaching through the book of Hebrews at the end of the 90s I think it was 1997 this happened I'm preaching through chapter 11 I get about four years to get through Hebrews there was a young seminary student who always sat with his wife and kids right over there in the sanctuary and I knew he was wrestling with whether he should go into missions or pick a pastor or teacher or he was wrestling with missions especially and he told me all this later he said the night before the sermon when this happened I was with and I won't tell you the relative one of his close relatives not not his immediate family close relatives and he was saying that they were contemplating Bible translation maybe in Southeast Asia and they would all move there forever and this relative said just crazy that is the craziest thing I ever heard you got two little children you got a wife and you're gonna move to some unsafe country in Southeast Asia that's just crazy he was very distraught he didn't he didn't want to go against anybody's will then came to church 6 morning heavy hearted and I'm preaching on this text 11 8 Abraham went out not knowing where he's going and he told me that at one point in the sermon I looked right at him like I'm looking at you right there I'm just looking at him and I said he went out not knowing where he's going that's crazy I looked at him that's crazy he's he's in Thailand he's been in Thailand for 15 years whatever 90 you know 2017 years he took that as a word from God like Abraham went out not knowing where he's going I'm about to go not knowing what's gonna happen and this relative says it's crazy and pastor John says it's crazy and he falls it up with its glorious that's what it is it's crazy glory it's the way Jesus was it's what he calls us to be when we live our unweighted lives we don't need to know I'm my guess is you'd like to know what's the semester gonna bring what's this relationship gonna bring what's this marriage gonna bring what's gonna be like to have kids guess what you'll never know till you get there that's scary marriage is scary that's why it's a covenant that you can't break because it never turns out the way you think it will ever that's why the disciples said better not to marry no backdoor I mean you're laughing that's exactly why they wouldn't marry there's a lot of people who think divorce is the only reason I would get married I signed a contract with lots of loopholes in it because this could really turn out bad I don't like that thinking but that's another sermon I have to come back for that one okay number three got five answers this is number three on what it's like what what is it like to believe it is better to lose your life than to waste it answer number three it is like being courageous enough not to stop running when the racecourse leads their suffering it's it's like being courageous so that when the racecourse turns through fire you know I'm out of here no not following him like that no way so look at verse 23 not knowing what will happen to me there so he confesses ignorant mainly but then he adds this except there's one thing I know except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me so it's not just that the racecourse disappears over the hill of the future into an unknown which it does like you don't know what's gonna happen in nine o'clock tonight but it also definitely takes turns through suffering that's a known that's a known quantity for Christians that's not unknown that's why Jesus said count the cost you know if you're gonna build a tower don't build a halfway and they couldn't build it guess I'm out of here don't don't do that don't go up against an army that you can't defeat count the cost if you can't be a Christian don't be a Christopher gonna say stop playing games get out of here don't fool around count the cost so we know that this is part of the price this is the cost here's acts 14:22 in all of his churches Paul said through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God that was discipleship 101 you lead the discipleship group here with baby believers you better say right out of the gate suffering on the way because Paul said through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom next 1422 he said to Timothy second Timothy 3:12 indeed all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted not a few all of you if there's no blowback in your life you're hiding godliness especially in 21st century 1917 America and Jesus said matthew 10:25 if they have called the master of the house Beelzebul devil how much more will they malign those of his household so Paul got more specific I mean the Holy Spirit got more specific with Paul and said the Holy Spirit testifies to me that in every city imprisonment and afflictions await me so whether it's imprisonment or whether it's afflictions of another kind it'll be something the race course of the Christian life leads through suffering if you can honestly say with Paul better to lose my life than to waste it it will mean being content not only with uncertainty about the future but with the certainty that is gonna hurt if you follow Jesus so better to lose your life than to waste it let me say a word specifically to the women among us my experience of 40 years now of recruiting and shepherding young men and women for radical risk-taking ministry some I've this has been a burden of mine I want to call young men young women to risk their lives for Jesus anywhere and I don't know how I'm gonna leave that totally up to you and him but I'm that's part of my calling I had a dad say to me one time when your son was getting on the plane to go to his Beck stand he turned to me at the airport said if he doesn't come back I will kill you that's what he said he wasn't laughing he wasn't joking if he doesn't come back it's your fault and I'll kill you so he said so that's what my life has been devoted to trying to get you to make your dad that meant hopefully not I mean I'd like you all to have dads who totally would jump up and down stand on their head that you're obedient to Jesus but but not all dads are like that so I'm I'm out to get men and women to risk their lives in the cause of Christ in making much of him and my experience has been that I haven't done a statistical analysis but as often and probably more often in marriage or in singleness the woman has been made ready for this challenge before the man that is she is pulling at the reins to go and he's got way questions now I don't say that for the puffy women up I say it for this reason I want to make sure youth you know you don't get a pass on courage and risk I say it to direct your attention to proverbs 31 25 one of my favorite woman verses I like women verses because I like certain kinds of women not other kinds this test yourself wouldn't matter to you whether I like you or not but proverbs 31 25 says strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come future I laugh at you you know what that means she laughs at the time to come she has no idea what's coming and those were hard days in 3,000 years ago there are hard days today too we just think we have more solutions for all the hard things Peter said the same thing listen what he said to the women in chapter 3 first Peter this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands as Sara obeyed Abraham calling him Lord and you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening so you women are a daughter of Sarah and I could I could if I wanted to and I will right now put in the parentheses and you men are sons of Abraham you an are daughters of Sarah if you do good and don't fear anything that is frightening so better to lose your life than to waste it means being women and men of courage who don't stop running the race of obedience when it passes through fire and your kids die husband dies and the wife gives her life to the people who kill them Elizabeth Elliott there are great lives to be live they really are number four fourth answer to the question what is it like to say and mean better to lose your life than to waste it it's like living to make much of the greatness and the glory of the grace of God as your supreme treasure like living to make much my life is about making much with my actions my words my music my computer skills my acting my nursing - my life is to make much of the glory of the grace of God that's why of all the planet to make him look good especially his grace by which I live the only reason I'd ever have happiness forever is because of this grace I live to make much of this grace verse 24 I do not count my life of any value or as precious to myself if only I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus and then here's how he defines the ministry to testify to the gospel of the grace of God I live to testify to grace I live for one reason to make grace look as great as it is in Jesus so we don't all have the same ministry form same form of ministry but we do all have I think the same aim the same ultimate aim of ministry namely to magnify the glory and the greatness of the grace of God in Jesus that's the race course that you're all on different it takes different turns it has different kinds of afflictions different kinds of whether they're kinds of ups and downs for everybody but the course is I am aiming with my life whatever I do to make much of the greatness and the glory of the grace of God Ephesians 1 5 and 6 is my favorite go-to place for the última see of this God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will to the praise of the glory of His grace that's the ultimate meaning of life God from eternity predestined that a people would be his by adoption through redemption why unto the praise of the glory of His grace the ultimate reason why we are all in existence is to make the glory of the grace of God look like it really is in a fallen world so what a wasted life is is a life that a wasted life is is the life that leaves that racecourse and fails to magnify the grace of God last answer on this first question and then the last question is very short why what does it look like to say and mean better to lose your life than to waste it it means that this spirit constrained person this courageous person who's going into the unknown this suffering embracing person has the mindset that says I will not live for the American Dream neither as a college student nor a midlife er Nora 70 something I'm not I'm not going to live for the American Dream I'm going to Jerusalem do you want to know where were you gonna get that from the texts okay the texts written 2,000 years ago says don't live for the American Dream when there was no America verse 22 and now behold I am going to Jerusalem but Paul we say maybe how about you're getting old how about a little cottage on the Aegean Sea you're already more fruitful in your ministry than most people in five lifetimes I mean you've done enough you've risked your life often enough you've been in every prison in the Roman world almost what it's time to rest Paul let the last 20 years of your life be travel and golf and shuffleboard putzing around the garage digging in the garden goodness gracious let Timothy have a chance he's young don't go to Jerusalem Agra bus Agra bus said in the last chapter what's going to happen to you there they're gonna bind your hands and they're gonna bind your feet and they're gonna hand you over to the Gentiles and that means Romans and you don't have any idea what that's going to mean don't go to Jerusalem dream a better dream and buy all me don't go to Rome for goodness sakes and get that crazy plan out of your head at your age of going to Spain for goodness sakes it's just not American Paul it's not the American dream of the sunset years and you may wonder why we're more mainly students in this room why are you talking to us about sunset years because like I said 17 years ago there are whole industries to the tune of billions of dollars that are designed to prepare you for that and to get you to think about it for the next 60 years so that you will buy it and they will profit from it when you do now don't misunderstand if you're 52 and you've made a bundle that's just fine if you want to quit your job it's just fine call it retirement if you want I don't like the word but you can't I get it so you quit your job at 52 like mrs. Punta Gorda did and I'm just fleeting that you don't go collect shells that you give yourself to something way crazy crazy for a 52 year old or a 62 year old or a 72 year year-old that's what I'm believing I don't care when you quit your job and call it retirement that's irrelevant what matters is what you do with it speaking to a group last night about this and I quoted this wonderful passage from Proverbs the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn which shines brighter and brighter until the full day the Christian life is not moving toward night it's moving toward noon there are no sunset years there's only 11 to noon which means that you don't have to scramble to bring heaven into this world which is the entire mindset of the world that's spending billions of dollars to get you to buy the dream or prepare to buy the dream they don't believe there's any vacation on the other side of the grave so you bring it all into this side you got to it's your last chance it's your last chance to get the dream and you look at me say excuse me last chance noon is the beginning of vacation it's Friday but they don't believe that and therefore they have to cram it all into this life and play like idiots for the last 20 years of their life spending time in Phoenix of all places getting their leathery wrinkled skin tan so that they look ridiculous like alligator purses and they wear the clothing to show it is just ridiculous and I'm just pleading with you you need to go there you don't need to do that okay those are my my five answers - what's it like one last page and answer why is it worth it to do that walk why should you take Pipers paraphrase of acts 20:24 and wave it over your life from now till till eternity better to lose your life than to waste it and here's here's my answer it is better to lose your life than to waste it because when you lose it while not wasting it you don't lose it you gain it better to lose your life than to waste it because if you lose your life while not wasting it you don't lose it you gain it and I'm sure that calls to my numerous texts for you and when you gain it you gain it crowned which means the race has been won everybody who stays on course and loses his life 1/3 of the way as you thought it would be it would be or halfway or full way everybody gets the crown if you're on the track and people die we just buried a girl at our church last week 24 years old out of nowhere out of nowhere she's found with heart condition gone grew up at our church Stephanie there's one other place in all of Paul's writings where this phrase finishing the course occurs and it sheds light back on this text let me read it to you it's 2nd Timothy 4 verses 7 and 8 and it goes like this I have fought the good fight I have finished the race there's the phrase I finished the race I have kept the faith henceforth there is laid up for me a crown that's where I got the idea that if if you lose your life midway through you win it and you win it crowned there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day and not only to me but to all who have loved his appearing so better to lose your life than to waste it is because when you lose your life while not wasting it you get the crown you gain your life you get in your life crowned everybody who finishes the unroasted life whether at 22 or 82 wins wins the crown and this crown of righteousness will be put on your head by the king of kings these are breathtaking realities you will share his righteousness you will share his rule you will share his glory this slight momentary affliction on this route this race this ministry this slight momentary affliction is working for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison you're gonna look back someday if you don't waste your life after a thousand temptations and you're gonna be so glad so thankful that you lost your life instead of wasting it so let me sum it up in one minute if the mindset that says better to lose your life than to waste it means being under the control of a power not your own namely the Holy Spirit being courageous in the face of the unknown which is coming we don't know what's coming unknown is coming overcoming the fear of the course that runs through suffering living to make much of the glory the grace of God is your supreme treasure and putting the pedal to the metal in ministry between 60 and 80 and living in sync with that dream between 620 and 60 age 20 and 60 and if losing your life while not wasting it means you don't lose it but you gain it crowned then my obvious plea to you is don't waste your life because it's better to lose it than to waste let's pray we end where we began Lord that the Holy Spirit is the power that enables us to say Jesus is Lord and therefore the Holy Spirit is the power that enables us to say better to lose my life than to waste it I pray that these students will walk out of here and and the and the older folks will walk out of here tonight saying okay I'm persuaded not sure what it means particularly but I am NOT going to waste my life absolutely will not waste it I pray that will be the resolve of every person in here for the glory of Jesus Christ in his name I pray

Channel: Desiring God

Views: 45,026

Rating: 4.9553075 out of 5

Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism, The Unwasted Life, Sermons by John Piper

Id: r2ogYRzlCwY

Length: 47min 46sec (2866 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 02 2017