LOSERS AND WINNERS

Intro: Read list of names: Jesse Owens, Olga Korbut, Cathy Rigby, Nadia Comaneci, Bruce Jenner, Mark Spitz, Mary Lou Retton, Greg Louganis, Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Flemming, Florence Joiner, Carl Lewis, Brian Boitano, George Forman, Dan Jansen, Babe Ruth, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Willy Mays, Nolan Ryan, Roger Staubach, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Dr. J., Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, David Robinson, Karem Abdul, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Byrd, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, David Eisenhower, George Patton, Norman Scharzkoph, Lee Iacocca, Andrew Carnegie, The Rockefellers, Sam Walton, Dave Thomas, Norman Vincent Peale, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Harry Truman, Barbra Streisand, Clark Gable. What do these people have in common? They're all WINNERS! We all love WINNERS! Can we think of any famous LOSERS? What is God's definition of winners and losers?

Matthew 10:38-39 & 16:24-26
"Lost" (apollumi) to destroy fully, to perish, to die.

The one who loses his or her pride, stubbornness, independence, self-reliance, selfishness, self-centerness and gives up to God WILL WIN!

Paul said in I Corinthians 9:23-27 and Philippians 1:21 & 3:4-9

A real WINNER is someone who is willing to LOSE themselves to serving God and man, as Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-28.

Conclusion: If you really want to WIN in the game of life you have to LOSE the idea that you can make it on your own. LOSE your fears, LOSE you guilt, LOSE your arrogance and give your life totally to God through surrendering to Jesus Christ!