In the “losers Chapel” everyone is a winner. (Daily Encouragement with Rev. Ike Idegbema) “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 10: 38-39 “Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” – William Gladstone I have met many supposedly Christians that always put their careers and personal comfort ahead of services to Christ. As followers of Christ, we must be willing lose something that we may consider valuable for the sake of following Christ. Because the moment we are saved we automatically join the “losers Chapel” where members are not ashamed to take their cross and follow Jesus and have they have no fear of losing anything: their careers, their wealth and social status for the sake of Christ and the gospel, because they know that ultimately they shall because in the “losers Chapel” everyone is winner. One of the respected statesmen in the history of Great Britain was William E. Gladstone(1809 -189). In a political career that lasted for about 62 years, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times and Prime Minister for four consecutive times. Gladstone was famous for five reasons among many others: his oratory, his religiosity, his liberalism, his rivalry with the conservative leader Benjamin Disraeli, and his poor relationship with Queen Victoria. He became known among his supporters and the British public as “The people’s William” or the “G.O.M” (“Grand old Man”, or according the rival Benjamin Disrael, “God’s only mistake”) He was devoted to his profession as a politician, but made sure that Christ always came first in his life. Story has it that at 2 o’clock one morning, while preparing for a key speech that was expected to be carefully worded because the difference it was going to make between victory and defeat for him and his party, he heard a knock on his door, answering a knock on his door, he found the mother of dying cripple who pleaded with him to come and preach the gospel to her dying cripple son. He went with her without any hesitation and spent the rest of the night reading and explaining the Bible to this dying cripple. After leading him to Christ, Gladstone held his hand until sunrise when the young man slipped into the presence of his savior. Gladstone went to the House of Commons with joy though tired and unprepared; he was satisfied with what had happened at the bedside of the dying boy. In his mind, he concluded that his career could come to an end that morning because of his inadequate preparation. But surprisingly, when he stood before Parliament, he spoke with such eloquence and power that historians later referred to that speech as the greatest oration of his life. In the conversation typical of Peter with the Lord Jesus, Jesus made these profound statements: …Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospels, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.(Mark 10:28-31) Jesus is saying instead of losing for following Him, you rather gain a hundredfold of what you have lost. That is amazing! Let us learn to put the Cause of Christ and the welfare of others before our own because it’s possible to serve without serving God, but it is impossible to serve God without serving man. According to William Gladstone, “Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” The time you spent in praying with people; visiting the hospitals, prisons and preaching on the street corner is not lost or wasted because God is able to make them up for you and even better. If you are willing to “Lose your life” for the sake of the gospel, you will “find it.” Just like Gladstone, you will become a real winner. Someone said, “You take no risk when you abandon yourself to God” Be encouraged.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 07:55:39 +0000
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