All right, so in Ecclesiastes chapter three, very famous passage in the Bible there,
if you look at verse number one, I'll just start again, verse number one,
to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
And it's hard to read the following words, it's hard to read because, you know, obviously,
I was going to preach on the Strange Doctrine series, I'm going to continue that, but
now's not the time, you know, I've got to change the sermon to just,
in light of the recent situation that's occurred.
But it tells us here that there's a time for different elements to our life.
There's a time for positive things and there's a time for negative things.
This is the way of the world, unfortunately, you know, unfortunately, we live in a
sin-cursed world. Unfortunately, there are hardships and sorrows and loss.
And it says in verse number two, a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted, a time to kill,
a time to heal, a time to break down, a time to build up, a time to weep,
and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
Sorry, brethren.
Let's look at verse number six, a time to get and a time to lose.
I apologize if during this sermon I stop just to recover.
But we see there in verse number six that there is a time to lose.
The title for the sermon this evening is The Purpose of Loss.
The Purpose of Loss.
You know, when people lose their loved ones,
people often ask the question, why? Why does this happen?
You know, why does God allow these things to happen?
And, you know, that question is often asked by the non-believing world, by the believing world.
It's the same question when we suffer the loss of people that we care about,
loved ones, family, friends.
There is a purpose for loss, though.
And the answer to the question why, you know, it's a strange paradox.
You know, there's actually a very easy answer to the why.
But then also there's a very hard answer to why.
It's both hard to answer and it's both easy to answer in light of God's word.
Okay, and that's the strange paradox of this question, why?
It's a natural question to ask.
And why is it that God allows us to lose such precious things?
And there is a purpose behind it.
And what I'll get to turn to, if you can keep your...
Actually, we won't go back to Ecclesiastes,
but if you can please turn to Romans chapter 5.
Turn to Romans chapter 5.
And first I'll answer the hard question, why?
Why?
You know, it's a hard question to answer because when we ask the question why,
we are, you know, we're focused on a current situation.
We're focused on what may have developed
and the personal loss that there might be to us.
And the question is like, why me?
And why is it that seemingly others get to benefit
and to be blessed in a certain way?
And I've suffered loss.
And again, you know, it's not a bad question.
It's not a sinful or wrong question.
It's a natural question of man.
And I'm going to...
While you'll turn to Romans 5,
I'm going to read to you from Isaiah 55, verse number 8.
Isaiah 55, verse number 8, very famous words.
Words of God, he says,
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God is telling us that we cannot contemplate, you know,
contemplate, you know, our thinking is limited in this earth.
You know, we know of God, we know of creation,
we know of the world, we know of heaven, eternity,
in light of what God has revealed to us in his word.
Brethren, if we did not have his word,
we would not know anything.
You know, we would be relying on the evolutionists.
We'd be thinking we're apes that were evolved.
You know, we would think we're bacteria with no purpose on earth.
You know, God has revealed his truth to us in his words.
But even then, God says that his thoughts are above our thoughts,
his ways are above our ways.
And that's a hard question to answer.
Why does God allow certain things?
Well, we really don't know because, you know,
God's thinking is beyond our thinking.
Why does God allow certain things?
And that's a hard question to answer.
But at the same time, what this does is it draws us to understand
that we are limited human beings.
We've a limited level of understanding,
and it's a beautiful thing to know that we worship and love a God,
and a God loves us, a God that is above our thoughts.
Why would we want to worship a God that is limited to the thoughts of a man,
or limited to the ways of the man, you know?
The fact that he is all powerful and all knowing,
and we cannot always understand why he allows certain things,
it just demonstrates to us that we serve a mighty, a powerful God,
and yet he loves us so much to reveal himself through his word,
and loves us so much to sacrifice his only begotten son on our behalf.
And so it is a hard question to know because we don't know God's thoughts,
and we're all learning, we're all on this journey of learning,
and one day we're going to be in heaven,
I believe we're still going to be learning in heaven.
You know, we'll have a greater capacity to learn,
we'll have a greater capacity to not be sidetracked by false teaching or false thoughts,
but I actually believe for all eternity we're just going to continue
learning about the greatness of our God,
and understand at that point why God has allowed certain things.
We know that God is a just God, we know he's just, you know?
So the question about why, why this loss?
Well, the answer basically, the hard one is we just know he's just.
We know that somehow the books are balanced.
You know, whether it's now that we're going to learn that,
or whether we're going to just learn that sometime in eternity,
we know that God is just and he's got control over things,
he allows things to happen, he sees the hardship,
he sees the sorrow that we go through,
and somehow the Lord's going to balance those books.
Well, whatever way that looks like, brethren.
Okay?
We know that's the case.
But then there's the other answer to why, and it's a very easy answer.
A very easy answer to why we suffer loss.
Why is it that we go through sorrow and hardships?
Well, look at Romans chapter 5 and verse number 12.
Romans chapter 5 and verse number 12, which says,
whereas, sorry,
wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin.
And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
For until the Lord's sin was in the world,
but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over them that had not sinned
after the similitude of Adam's transgression,
who is the figure of him that was to come.
Drop down to verse number 21,
that as sin have reigned unto death,
even so might grace reign through righteousness,
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
So why is it that we suffer loss, brethren?
Because we live in a sin-cursed world.
That's why, ultimately that's why,
when our great-great-great-great-grandfather Adam
and our great-great-great-grandmother Eve
took of that tree and disobeyed the Lord,
and ate of that fruit,
and brought this sin nature upon man,
this is why we just live in a sin-cursed world.
We're going to live in a world that has hardships
and sorrows and loss,
and you know, brethren,
there's nothing we can do about that.
You know, this is the world we live in.
And some of us will suffer greater loss than others.
You know, some of us will suffer
different hardships to others.
And whenever you go through hardship and loss,
just remind yourself, well, I know why.
I know the answer.
This is an easy answer, in fact,
because God has cursed this earth.
God has put his judgment upon this earth
because of the disobedience of man.
And you know, we can't just point fingers at Adam and Eve,
because you've sinned against the Lord.
Because I've sinned against the Lord.
You know, and this is just part of the consequences,
you know, whether directly or just indirectly,
the natural consequences of sin is death.
You know, our bodies are corrupted.
You know, no matter how much,
I think we should look after our bodies,
but no matter how much you look after it,
they're going to degrade.
They're going to perish.
They're going to get sick.
They're going to pass on.
And again, this is just the reality of reminding us
that we live in a temporal world,
which is just a vapor.
It's here now, but it'll be gone,
you know, it'll be gone one day,
and we'll be able to focus on eternity.
Okay?
Now you're in Romans chapter 5,
please go to Romans chapter 8.
Romans chapter 8.
So you can see loss, the question why,
is both hard when you want the direct answer,
why me and why this situation exactly,
but then it's also very easy,
because we understand that God has cursed this earth,
and this is the consequences, you know,
death and loss and sorrow and grief.
These are the natural consequences of this loss,
or consequences of the curse that fell upon this world.
But just a reminder here in Romans chapter 8
and verse number 22,
it's not just mankind that is suffering.
It's not just human beings that is suffering.
It says in Romans 8 22,
it says,
The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
The whole creation is suffering, brethren,
because of man's sin,
the animal kingdom, the natural world,
you know, the natural laws of creation,
you know, it's all suffering,
it's all degrading,
it's all travailing during this time until now.
Verse number 23 says,
And not only they, but ourselves also,
which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body.
And so we are going to suffer,
we are going to groan,
all of creation is groaning until the redemption of this body,
until the Lord comes back and gives us the new resurrected body,
which can never die,
which can never be corrupted, okay,
with this incorruption,
glorious body that God will give us through the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Okay, and so that's basically your answer, brethren.
You know, again, I cannot answer specific individual basis why,
because that's a hard question.
You know, the Lord's thoughts are higher than our thoughts,
His ways are higher than our ways, you know,
but in a general sense, it's actually very easy.
You know, we are all going to suffer loss,
we are all going to suffer turmoil and difficulties
and persecution and strife in this life because of man's sin, okay,
because of man's sin.
And so the purpose of my sermon isn't so much the question why,
but again, the title for the sermon this evening is The Purpose of Loss.
You know, because we experience loss,
what is it that we can learn from this period of loss?
You know, one thing that I had to learn as I grew from a child
to a teenager to an adult,
is every time there was some hardship and difficulty and problem,
you know, I found myself being able to ask the question,
well, Lord, what is it that you want me to learn?
You know, Lord, what is it that you want to develop in my life?
What is it, Lord, that you're trying to show me?
Okay, and we are thinking about the loss of a church member,
you know, well, you know, the child of a church member,
and we want to think, well, Lord,
what is it that you want us to learn from this situation?
What is the purpose of this loss?
So can you please turn to John chapter 14, please.
Turn to the book of John, John chapter 14 and verse number 26.
And I'm sure everything that I'm going to preach tonight,
brethren, you already know.
There's nothing new in this sermon that you don't already know,
but we do need to be reminded from time to time of loss
and why God allows us to go through loss.
What is his purpose behind it?
You're turning to John 14, 26.
I'll read to you from Matthew 5, 4.
Jesus says,
Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
Brethren, it is right to mourn.
It is right to cry unto the Lord.
It is right to shed some tears.
It is right to experience some sorrow because the Lord will come in.
The promise of the Lord as a child of God is that he's going to come in
and comfort us, brethren.
The first point that I have for you, the purpose of loss
is to find comfort in the Lord.
I mean, what a great thing to think that the God of this universe,
again, a God whose thoughts are above my thoughts,
wants to comfort me or wants to comfort others,
wants to comfort human beings, wants to comfort his children.
You know, and what a great thing to experience the comfort of the Lord.
But you can only experience the comfort if you first mourn.
And you can only mourn if you first lose.
And so sometimes the Lord will allow a loss to take place
because it will cause us to be mournful, to be sorrowful,
to reach out to the Lord and seek the comfort from the Lord.
It's great to have comfort of family.
It's great to have comfort of friends.
It's great to have comfort of the pastor, of people that you know.
That's one thing.
It's great to have the comfort of people,
but it's even better to have the comfort of the Lord,
the Lord's comfort, His hand to help you in a time of difficulty.
You know, in John 14, look at verse number 26.
John 14, verse number 26, Jesus says,
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name,
He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you.
Sometimes we don't think about the Holy Spirit.
Hey, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us,
each one of us that are saved.
And, you know, we think about,
well, it's the Holy Spirit's job to encourage me to walk righteously.
Amen.
You know, it's the Holy Spirit's job to develop the fruit of the Spirit in my life.
You know, amen.
You know, it's the Holy Spirit's job to teach me God's word.
Amen.
You know, I agree with all that,
but sometimes we forget that His title,
one of the main things the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives,
is to be the Comforter, to bring us comfort.
And then he says in verse number 27,
Boy.
You know, it's a hard thing to think about when your heart is troubled,
when you are going through sorrow and sadness.
But the Lord Jesus Christ wants us to know
that when we are dealing with fear, being afraid,
when we are dealing with troubles,
you know, that we have the Holy Ghost in us.
God did not leave us comfortless.
He gave us the Holy Ghost.
His presence is in each one of us.
You know, and so please remind yourself that God has left,
you know, His nature within you,
you know, the trying nature of God, the Holy Spirit,
resides in you in order to give you comfort.
Okay, what an amazing thing.
You know, sometimes we may think that God seems so distant and so far away,
and if I can only have the comfort of God,
well, God is indwelling each one of us right here.
He wants to give us comfort right now.
We have the comforter in our hearts right now.
And as I said, point number one is to find comfort in the Lord.
To find comfort in the Lord.
Can you please turn to Psalm 23?
Again, most of these passages that I'm turning to Brethren
are just famous passages,
passages that are often read when we are seeking comfort.
Psalm 23, please.
Psalm 23 in verse number one.
And even though this is a very famous psalm,
there is one point that I want you to realize as we're looking at this.
Because when we are going through hardship and sorrow and loss,
the thought may be that,
well, Lord, I will be comforted if you deliver me from this loss.
I will be comforted if you just remove the burdens,
if you remove the sadness in me, Lord, then I will be comforted.
But that's not how comfort works.
In Psalm 23 verse number one, it says,
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for my name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Brethren, where is it?
When the Psalmist says,
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me,
is he speaking there about the still waters?
Is he speaking there of the green pastures?
No, he says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
You see, the comfort of the Lord is not just this idea of deliverance.
You know, when God just delivers me out of all my problems,
all my hardships, that's comforting.
No, you know what?
Even when you're in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death,
God says that he is with us.
That is where you find comfort.
When you are sorrowing, when you are sad, when you're facing grief,
you remind yourself that the Lord is here with me,
he's not leaving me comfortless,
he's going to be with me, he's got his rod, he's got his staff,
and these things are going to comfort me.
In the midst of the valley of the shadow of death.
Okay?
So, you know, I'm sure all of us have experienced this week
some level of grief for our friends,
for the church families that are suffering.
And, you know, remind yourself, brethren, that, you know,
let's not remove ourselves from the valley of the shadow of death too quickly.
Okay?
Let's stay here, you know, for the time being.
Let's mourn with our brethren.
You know, let's be sad, let's shed some tears,
but at the same time knowing that God's comfort will come,
you know, his promise is,
he will comfort us in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death.
Can you please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 1, please?
2 Corinthians chapter 1.
What's another reason why we experience loss?
What's the purpose behind it?
Well, I don't know about you, brethren.
I can look back at my life and remember what I was like
and then look at where I am today.
Right?
Like, the person I was as a child is very different to the person I was as a teenager.
The person I was as a teenager is very different to the person I was in my 20s.
The person that I was in my 20s is very different to the person I am in my 30s
and now I'm almost 40.
Right?
You know, and we mature and we grow and we develop.
And I remember just as a child not being very empathetic to other people.
And I don't know why that is.
It's just, you know, these are things that you've got to grow and develop in your life.
And, you know, I'd look at certain people and I'd see a struggle they would go through
and a sadness and a grief and I'd be completely unaffected
because my life is going swell.
You know, as a child, you know, things, you don't have a lot of responsibilities
and, you know, you're having fun and whatever, you know.
And one thing that the Lord does want to develop in us, though, is empathy toward others.
To be empathetical toward other people.
And in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse number 3, it says,
2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse number 3, it says,
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.
But then it says this,
who comforteth us in all our tribulation.
Now, the next bit.
So we looked at God of comfort, okay, point number 1.
But then it says,
that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us,
so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
And so point number 2, brethren, the purpose of loss
is to develop empathy toward others.
To develop empathy toward others.
When we see others going through hardship, going through loss,
that we would look at the comfort that we have received by God
in past troubles that we've experienced,
and we can take that same comfort and give it to other people.
You know, maybe you've gone through some difficulties
and others have stepped in and comforted you.
Maybe you've experienced the direct comfort of the Lord
or the Lord has sent other people to comfort you.
You know, you've experienced some of that.
Well, now it's time for you to take that same comfort and give it to others.
You know, and so the Lord allows us to suffer loss
so we can be a blessing and a benefit to other people around us as well.
What an amazing thing to think that God will utilize us.
And I'm not perfect, brethren.
I've got my problems.
I tell you what, you know, I don't know how I'm a pastor of two churches.
Somehow the Lord sees fit to do that.
And I think, well, you know, Lord, how can you use me to comfort other people?
And sometimes the Lord's just going to have to put you through some turmoil
and some difficulty so you can experience the comfort of God
and then God can then use you to be a comfort to other people.
What a great thing that God can utilize us as these tools of comforts.
So point number two, brethren, the purpose of loss
is to develop empathy toward others, others that are suffering,
so we can come alongside them and bless them,
that we can bring them up, that we can show them love,
you know, and the comfort that the Father has already given us.
Can you please turn to James chapter one, verse number 17.
You know, when I heard the news of the loss,
you know, being saddened, yeah, you know, lots of thoughts cross your mind.
I'm sure we experience very similar thoughts
and your heart goes out to those that are sad,
your heart breaks to those that are sad.
But I also found myself learning to appreciate what I have,
that for others they can lose it and, you know,
I can have things that people have lost.
And sometimes it just doesn't seem fair, it just doesn't seem right, you know.
But in James chapter one, verse 17, it says,
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness, near the shadow of turning.
Third point, the third purpose that we, you know,
of suffering loss is that we can find appreciation
in what we do have, find appreciation in what we do have.
You know, when I heard the news of the loss of the child,
you know, like I said, my heart was breaking for them,
but then, you know, I just looked at what I was blessed with by God.
As I said, it doesn't seem right, you know, 11 kids, it doesn't seem right.
But then, you know, it's caused me to just love what God has given me, right,
the gifts that come from the Father.
It's easy to take life for granted, isn't it?
You know, we think we're just going to wake up tomorrow morning.
We think we're just going to get up, go to work, whatever it is that we do.
You know, I just think my kids are going to get up and do their chores
and do their schooling and life and, you know,
and even though we don't intend to take things for granted,
and we are thankful for what God has given us,
it's very easy, it is very easy to take things for granted
and not thank God, you know, not consider the blessings,
you know, the great joy that God has given us.
Whatever that is, you know, whether it's children,
whether it's just a good steady job,
whether it's just, you know, good steady finances
or, you know, it's just good relationships,
you know, even a good church,
it's easy to take a lot of these things for granted
and one of the reasons God allows us to suffer loss
is so we can look at what we do have and say,
well, I don't want to lose what I have here.
You know, I see where others are suffering and,
oh boy, you know, I don't want to suffer that, Lord.
I don't want to suffer that.
And you can look back and just appreciate what you do have.
You know, in Philippians 4 verse 12, I'll just read it to you.
Paul says, I know both how to be abased.
I know how to abound.
Paul says, look, I know what it's like to be lowly
and not have much and, you know, to lose things as it were, right?
But he also knows how it is to be abound
and have plenty things, have much.
But he says everywhere and in all things,
I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
And then he says, I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
You know, the apostle Paul had a good balance there.
You know, he could look at his life
and there were times that he was being blessed
and he had the heavenly gifts from the Father
and he's able to rejoice in that.
But then there's other times when he suffered loss,
other times when he's suffering
and, you know, he has needs and he needs comfort.
But you know what?
He says, in whatever situation I find myself in,
I find that I can be strengthened by God.
I can be strengthened in him.
You know, Paul was able to appreciate
whatever situation he found himself in,
having much and having little.
And again, sometimes when you see
someone experience great loss,
you know, you look at what you have
and, you know, you just learn to appreciate
and be thankful for what you have
because these things can happen to anybody.
You know, these things can happen tonight
on the way home.
You know, life is so precious.
Life is so precious, you know.
And I don't know if this gives any comfort to the family
but they had one day, you know, with that child.
You know, it's about appreciating that day that they had.
You know, that one day with that child
means more than, you know,
not having that second child at all.
You know, the thought there might be,
well, you know, should that second child
have even entered into this world?
Well, praise God that it did.
There's one day of appreciation with that child
to hold that child in the arms.
You know, and to thank God for the precious gifts that He is
and He is a precious child.
He is a precious gift.
You know, even if it was one day,
it is something that we need to learn.
We need to learn, brethren,
even the small things that we have in life
that get taken away very quickly
to just learn, appreciate what God has given us
even if it's for a very brief moment of time.
Can you please turn to Romans chapter 12?
Romans chapter 12.
What's another purpose for loss?
Well, if you look at Romans 12 and verse number 12,
Romans 12, 12, the Bible reads,
rejoicing in hope, patience in tribulation,
continuing instant in prayer.
Look at verse number 13.
Distributing to the necessity of saints,
given to hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you.
Bless and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice
and weep with them that weep.
Be of the same mind one toward another.
Mind not high things,
but condescend to men of lower states.
Be not wise in your own conceits.
You know what the Bible's telling us here?
Look at verse number 15 again.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice.
You know, when people are blessed
and they're doing well,
it's not right for us to be envious of others
and say, well, God,
why is it that this person has
and I don't have that?
That's not right.
Hey, if someone's rejoicing and doing well,
we ought to rejoice with them.
Praise God that our brother or sister
and the Lord is able to have something of the Lord,
a precious gift from God,
we ought to rejoice.
But then when someone is weeping
and someone is suffering loss
and weep with them that weep,
say, how can I make it?
How can I comfort my brethren?
I don't know how to comfort Pastor Kevin.
You know what?
Step number one is learn just how to weep
with them that are weeping.
That's it.
You know, for many people,
it's just knowing that there are others
that are suffering, you know,
that have a love for them
and have an understanding of that loss,
that can go a long way
just learning how to weep with them that weep.
And you know, sometimes men,
we are just, we're pathetic
because we think weeping is a weakness or something.
You know, that's not the case.
You know, Jesus Christ wept
at the loss of his friend Lazarus.
You know, our Lord Jesus wept.
It's a manly thing to weep.
You know, it brings comfort to others
when they know you are suffering
because it demonstrates the love
that you have toward other people.
The point that I was trying to drive their brevity
back to verse number 13,
distributing to the necessity of saints.
Point number four, the purpose of loss
is to bring unity between brethren.
To bring unity between brethren.
Distributing to the necessity of saints.
You know, thank God for this church
and thank God for the brethren up there
at New Life Baptist Church
because our friends had a necessity, okay,
a necessity of the funeral and burial costs.
And I thank God for everyone that has contributed.
And if you're not in a position to contribute,
don't feel bad, okay.
Just, you know, keeping,
the most important thing
is to be keeping the situation in prayer.
But thank God that the funds have come in.
We've been able to distribute
to the necessity of the saints here
and help the brethren.
You know, and when you're able to just,
you know, sacrificially give of yourself
and help someone else,
you know, that demonstrates a great love,
a great unity that we can have between brevity.
It gives us an opportunity to serve one another
in a time of loss.
You know, if there wasn't that loss,
we would not have the opportunity
to distribute to the necessity of the saints.
But that loss allows us to do that, okay.
It allows us to do that
and, you know, in this sense,
a financial sense, be a great help.
You know, spiritually and emotionally
be a great help.
Weep with them that weep.
Look at verse number 16 again.
Be of the same mind one toward another.
We ought to be thinking about each other
and sometimes that time of loss
will cause us to think about others,
to stop thinking about ourselves all the time.
Don't we always think about ourselves?
You know, sometimes we need to think about others.
You know, and that's another purpose of loss
is to bring love and unity between brethren.
You know, your heart ought to break
when you see the suffering of the brethren.
Now, your heart ought to break.
And sometimes when we see these losses,
these great losses,
it helps us to forget the smaller inconveniences
that we are going through.
You know, maybe some of you guys today
are struggling to pay a bill
and it's caused you some headaches
and some stress and some worry.
I just don't have the finances
to take care of this bill.
But then when you see the loss of others,
that pales in comparison.
It's like, who cares?
You know, who cares about a little bit of money?
If I cop, you know,
we should pay our bills on time,
but if we cop a late fee,
I'm not suffering like others.
Again, it causes us to put less focus on self,
you know, and think about other people.
It's actually a benefit.
You know, it's a benefit.
You know, maybe personal conflicts
that you have with other people.
You know, again, it pales in comparison
to the loss of a loved one.
You know, you might have a vehicle
and it's on the verge of breaking down
or it's broken down.
It's causing you headaches again, right?
How am I going to get to work
and how am I going to get around?
But then you see the loss of a loved one
and who cares about the vehicle?
Who cares?
You know, that loved one will not return.
That vehicle, there's billions of vehicles
that you can replace it with.
But what it does, brethren,
it causes us to be less focused
on the small matters that seem to bother us
every single day of our lives
and put our attention on the brethren,
on other people.
You know, the Lord wants us to be loving
and thinking and serving other people.
And, you know, sometimes it's the loss
that drives us to do that,
that forces us to do that.
And you know what?
Every time you serve the brethren,
you are ultimately serving Jesus Christ.
Every time.
That's what's wonderful
about serving the brethren.
That's what's wonderful
about looking after the children, right?
And giving them a drink of water
or giving them a drink of juice or something.
Because Jesus Christ will one day say to you,
you know, what you did to the little children,
you did it as unto me.
You know, and it's a great thing
to be able to serve the brethren.
And sometimes God allows loss in our lives
or in the life of our brethren
so we can be forced to go there
and serve them and love them
and have the unity
that we also have between brethren.
Can you please turn to
2 Corinthians 4?
2 Corinthians 4, verse number 17.
Point number five,
the purpose of loss
is to set our hopes on eternity.
To set our hopes on eternity.
We should not set our hearts on this earth.
We should not set our hearts
on these temporary matters
that we have here.
And we know we need to still experience life
and we need to experience the earth.
We need to live out our lives,
you know, for the glory of God.
You know, but always remember
that whatever difficulty and loss
and hardships and afflictions
that you suffer,
it's just not going to compare
to the glory of heaven.
It's not going to compare, brethren.
We're going to get to heaven
and we go, is that all?
It's hard to say because, you know,
we don't want to downplay sorrow and grief.
But again, it draws us away
from thinking of temporary things
and having our minds on eternity.
What a wonderful thing when we know
that a brother in the Lord has passed away
or a little child has passed away
because I know exactly where they are.
They're in the hands of the Father.
They're with the Father right now.
They're in eternity right now.
And sometimes a loss can help us to think,
well, you know what?
I know that loved one that I'm grieving over
is right there close to Jesus Christ.
You know, they're having the best time
of their life right now.
You know what?
I can't wait to meet them.
Boy, I can't wait to meet little Andrew.
You know, it's not going to happen here,
but it's going to happen in eternity.
You're in 2 Corinthians 4, verse number 17.
2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse number 17,
which says,
For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory,
while we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen.
For the things that are seen are temporal,
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We're being commanded here, brethren,
to set our eyes on eternity.
You know, understand that this life is,
yes, is for living,
but let's live for Christ,
knowing that, you know,
we're going to be rewarded in heaven,
we're going to be able to be given crowns and rewards,
and we'll be able to cast those crowns
to the feet of Jesus Christ,
and give him glory,
and give him honor,
and all the loved ones that have gone before us
that have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ,
or yes, even little children,
very biblical, okay?
Scripture, one day I'll teach on this topic,
even little children that pass away
are with God the Father,
are in heaven right now,
and I cannot wait one day to be gathered together,
you know, in that universal,
that truly universal church,
that truly church of the firstborn
that is in heaven,
you know, and I think about eternity,
and I think about, you know,
the great, you know, experience to see God,
and to be in God's presence,
is to speak to God,
and you know, not just speak to him
through the word and through prayer,
but face to face,
but then all the loved ones
that have gone before us,
you know, all my relatives,
or friends that are saved,
all the little children that have perished,
you know, in the womb of the mother,
or you know, as in this situation,
lived a short period of life,
you know, we're going to be reunited
with them one day,
you know, and loss helps us to lose
our attention and our affection
on these temporal matters,
and set our eyes on eternal matters,
to set our eyes and our hopes,
our dreams on eternity.
So brethren, just in conclusion,
what is the purpose of loss?
Well, I hope I've given you some ideas there.
Let me just repeat those five to you once again.
Number one, it's to find the comfort in the Lord.
Number two, it's to develop empathy toward others.
Number three, it's to find appreciation
in what you do have.
Number four, it's to bring unity
between the brethren,
and number five, it's to set your hopes on eternity.
Let's pray.