Don’t Lose It! – Pastor Stacey Shiflett

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Don’t Lose It!

  • 2 John 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

Intro: I hate to lose stuff. We all do. Some lose money in the stock market. We drop things and can’t find them.

We have quite a few statements and idioms in our language about losing things.

  • One of the worst things to be called is a loser.
  • You can lose your temper. That actually means you found it.
  • You can lose your mind. Which means you voted Democrat.
  • You can lose your head.
  • You can lose your shirt.
  • You can lose your lead.
  • You can lose your place – both in line and in your book.
  • You can lose the use of your limbs, your eyesight, your hearing, or your taste (covid).
  • You can lose it. Meaning a lack of self-control.

You can: lose weight, lose sleep, lose patience, lose faith, lose heart, lose face, lose touch, lose out, lose time, lose count, lose the battle (story of boy on the church van)

There are several parables about people that lost things.

Luke 15 is one of the most familiar passages dealing with

  • The Lost Sheep
  • The Lost Silver
  • The Lost Son

Notice our text verse:

  • 2 John 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

               A. The Diligence – look to yourselves

               B. The Danger – that we lost not those things

               C. The Delight – that we receive a full reward.

I. Some Things You CANNOT Lose

               A. Our Salvation from God

  • John 6:39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
  • Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

John 19

  • 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
  • 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

               B. Our Standing with God

Ephesians 2

  • 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
  • 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

               C. The Spirit of God

There’s no question about it – you can never lose the indwelling of the Spirit.

  • Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

You can QUENCH the Spirit.

You can GRIEVE the Spirit.

You can lose the FILLING of the Spirit.

You can fail to WALK in the Spirit.

You can refuse to be COMFORTED by the Spirit

But there is no possible way you can lose the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, God chose a tabernacle for His people.

In the New Testament, God chose a people for His tabernacle.

I Corinthians 6

  • 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
  • 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

We are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. SEE Romans 8:23

If you did not have the Holy Spirit, you wouldn’t be saved. SEE Romans 8:9-16

II. Some Things You CAN Lose

               A. Rewards

2 John 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

  • SEE I Corinthians 3:11-15

               B. Song

Psalm 37:1

  • 1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
  • 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
  • 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
  • 4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?

               C. Joy

  • Psalms 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

               D. Testimony

  • 1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

               E. Influence

  • Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

               F. Instruction

  • Proverbs 4:13 Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.