Mark 8:34-38 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

John 12:24-26 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Now consider some statements made by Paul:

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Philippians 3:7-11 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned from the office of the presidency. He was forced to resign, forced to leave his position of Commander-In-Chief of the United States' powerful military. When he resigned, his transition was quiet -- there was no violence, no armed struggle, no civil war.

In November of 2000 we had a national election. When the election was finally over, Al Gore won the popular vote, but George Bush won the electoral vote. For several days prior to determining the final results, there were confrontations and heated exchanges as this nation witnessed a historical event. But when the results were determined, Al Gore conceded the election and George Bush became President. And the transition was quiet. There was no violence, no armed struggle, no civil war.

We just completed a hard fought, historic national mid-term election. It was a historic mid-term election. It was close, very close. A lot was at stake in many states and in the nation. During the campaigns the head-butting was often furious and mean. That was not only true in our state. It was true in many states. Even a casual listening to the political ads might convince you that many of the candidates hated each other. But when the results were in, the transition was quiet. There was no violence, no armed struggle, no civil war.

1. Let me ask you a question: fundamentally, what are the basic differences between a true democracy and many other forms of government?
   1. I realize there are several.
      1. I do not want to use our time this morning for a civics' lesson.
      2. I do not intend to use our time this morning discussing the virtues of a true democracy.
   2. I do want to challenge your awareness.
      1. For a true democracy to exist anywhere in our world among any people in our world, this is essential: people have to know how to lose.
      2. A democracy cannot exist where people do not know how to lose.
      3. Where people in power are certain that losing is not an option, where people in power must win at any costs, democracy cannot exist.

2. That is not just true of a democracy; it is also true of Christian existence.
   1. In this life, in this physical world, knowing how to lose is the foundation of Christian existence.
      1. As stupid as it might sound to some, in this physical existence Christianity achieves victory through losing.
      2. In fact, losing is the foundation of Christian maturity.
   2. Before you totally reject that idea, let me challenge you to think.
      1. At least within our culture, people know how to win.
      2. Americans do not have to learn how to win -- it is not something we have to be taught. Winning is the American goal in everything we do!
         1. The objective of all the recreational games we play is winning.
         2. The objective of all the competitions we have is winning.
         3. In America, success is winning.
            1. Success in business is winning.
            2. Success in selling is winning.
            3. Success in buying is winning.
         4. And if we are not very, very careful:
            1. Success in friendship -- is winning.
            2. Success in dating -- is winning.
            3. Success in marriage -- is winning.
            4. Success in the church -- is winning.
         5. And, again, if we are not very, very careful:
            1. Our all-to-common concept for winning is controlling.
            2. "I defeat you in business by dominating you."
            3. "I defeat you in dating by dominating you."
            4. "I defeat you in marriage -- by dominating you."
            5. "I defeat you in the church -- by dominating you."
            6. "I must be in control because I must win!"
   3. Most of us, if not all of us, know how to win; but most of us do not know how to lose.
      1. If you want grim confirmation of that fact, take a careful look at our relationships.
      2. Two things bear grim testimony to the fact that we do not know how to lose.
         1. The first of those grim things is the state of our marriages.
         2. The second of those grim things is the state of relationships in the church.

3. I seriously doubt that any of us begin to comprehend how indebted we are to the fact that God's knows how to lose.
   1. Mercy exists because God knows how to lose.
   2. Grace exists because God knows how to lose.
   3. Forgiveness exists because God knows how to lose.
   4. Mercy, grace, and forgiveness are not the acts of a controlling winner.
      1. They are the attitudes of the compassionate One who knows how to lose.
      2. They are the acts of kindness of the One who knows how to lose.

4. I seriously doubt that any of us begin to comprehend how indebted we are to the fact that Jesus knew how to lose.
   1. The life-after-death we say we want to go more than anywhere else Jesus left -- for us.
   2. The life Jesus lived on earth was the life of a loser -- and he lived it for us.
   3. Jesus' ministry on earth was the ministry of a loser -- but he did it for us.
   4. Jesus' death by crucifixion combined, in his day, two ultimate acts of losing -- death and crucifixion.
   5. He lost so we could be blessed.
      1. Because he lost, I can be redeemed -- freed from slavery to sin.
      2. Because he lost, I can be sanctified -- set apart for God and God's use.
      3. Because he lost, I can be forgiven -- my sins can be destroyed.
      4. If he had not been willing to lose and if he did not know how to lose, I could have none of these things.

5. A definite part of the heart of Christianity is knowing how to lose.
   1. There are many things I can never be, nor can you ever be.
      1. We can never be perfect, not in relationship with God, not in relationship with Jesus, not in relationship with God's Spirit, not with each other.
      2. We can never be sinless, not for a single moment of our lives.
      3. We can never be guiltless; at any moment in our existence, justice could rightfully destroy us.
      4. We can never have full knowledge and total understanding of God's will and priorities; God is so far above and beyond us that we will never know or understand everything about Him.
   2. But we do not have to become those things we are incapable of being.
      1. We do not have to be perfect; we have to love.
      2. We do not have to be sinless; we have to be forgiven.
      3. We do not have to be guiltless; we have to live in God's mercy.
      4. We do not have to possess perfect knowledge or perfect understanding; we have to be ruled by the faith that trusts God enough to become the people He wants us to be.
   3. But there is an essential reason that allows us to love, to be forgiven, to live in God's mercy, and to be ruled by faith in God.
      1. This is the reason: God knew how to lose.
      2. We can have that love, that forgiveness, that mercy, and that faith because God knew how to lose.

6. Knowing how to lose is the heart of:
   1. Christian love for God and for people.
   2. Christian service to God and to people.
   3. Christian compassion.
   4. Christian kindness.
   5. Christian mercy.
   6. Christian forgiveness.
   7. Christian gentleness.
   8. Christian patience.
   9. Christian self-control.
   10. Christian peace.

7. When Christians know how to lose, they become capable through God's strength to be a part of some special things in this world.
   1. When Christians who know how to lose are friends, their friendship is something special.
   2. When Christians who know how to lose marry, their marriage is something special.
   3. When Christians who know how to lose form congregations, the fellowship among them is something special.
   4. But those special relationships and experiences happen when they are formed by Christians who know how to lose.

I am so thankful that we can belong to a God who knows how to lose. I am so thankful that God gave us a Savior who knows how to lose. I am so thankful that God's Spirit lives within us in spite of the fact that each of us is so weak.

Do you know how to lose? Is it evident in the way you treat people? Is it evident in the your marriage? Is it evident in the way you treat other Christians?

How long has it been since you asked God to teach you how to lose? Are you willing to lose anything necessary to the God and Savior who blesses you because they knew how to lose?