THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY
INTRO.- Good deals are where you find them.
ILL.- It’s been said that our mammas of the past did not hesitate to bargain. Questioning a price was standard procedure. One mamma asked, "How much are these cucumbers?" "Two for five cents." She pushed one aside and asked, "And how much is this one?" "Three cents." "Okay. I’ll take the other one."
ILL.- Someone said, "Never buy a portable TV set on the sidewalk from a man who’s out of breath."
ILL.- Some years ago New York City’s Mayor was urged by Manhattan officials to buy some property thought to be an "extraordinary opportunity for the city." The mayor said: "If they’re selling elephants two for a quarter, that’s a great bargain. But only if you have a quarter--and only if you need elephants."
ILL.- The Oklahoma farmer had been taken in so many times by the new car dealer that when the dealer wanted to buy a cow, the farmer priced it to him like this:
Basic Cow $200.00
2-Tone Exterior $ 45.00
Extra Stomach $ 75.00
Product Storage Compartment $ 60.00
Dispensing Unit 4 Spigots $ 10.00
Genuine Cow Hide Upholstery $125.00
Dual Horns $ 15.00
Automatic Fly Swatter $ 65.00
Total $595.00
Good deals. A cow with lots of options.
ILL.- Perhaps you heard that lotto winner about a week ago. The big lottery was worth over $300 million dollars. A 20-year-old girl bought her first lottery ticket and won! She was one of three winners. She opted for a one-time cash settlement and took home something like $49 million. The TV news said that if she would put that money in the bank and draw just 5% interest she would receive $2 million dollars a year. WHAT A DEAL! Sounds like a good deal.
I Tim. 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..."
The love of money leads to all kinds of evil. Getting a large sum of money dumped on us may or may not be a good deal. But I’ll tell what is a good deal: Christ and Christianity!
ILL.- Before Lewis D. Morse left for the mission field in India, he was asked by a group of students at Acadia College, "What are you going to do about the religions of India when you get there?" Morse said, "If I find a religion in India that is better than Christianity, then I will accept it and do my best to live up to it."
Many years later Morse went back to Acadia College and said, "I found no religion in India, nor anywhere, that so meets human needs, and satisfies the hunger for God, as the truth of Jesus Christ."
Brothers and sisters, you are sitting smack dab in the middle of the best deal there is: the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church! THERE IS NO BETTER DEAL!
PROP.- Let me share just a few of the things that make Christ and Christianity the deal of the century.
1- The power of prayer
2- The compassion of the church
3- The beauty of baptism
4- The excitement of eternity
I. THE POWER OF PRAYER
Matt. 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
Matt. 7:11 "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"
ILL.- One evening six-year-old Bobby asked his father for a puppy. "Sorry, Bobby," his father said, "not now. But if you will pray real hard for two months, perhaps God will send you a baby brother."
Little Bobby prayed real hard for a month, but nothing happened so he quit praying. But he was very surprised a month later when a baby boy arrived at their home. As he was looking at the baby beside his mother, his proud daddy pulled back the covers a little to expose another baby. TWINS!
His daddy asked, "Aren’t you glad that you prayed for a baby brother?" Little Bobby replied, "I sure am, but aren’t you glad that I stopped praying when I did?"
The power of prayer is one of the many things that makes Christianity so special. We have a Heavenly Father who loves us beyond human understanding and is willing to give to us when we ask in humility.
Brothers and sisters, believing in prayer makes a difference, but believing prayer makes even more of a difference. That is, believing that God will answer our prayers makes an even bigger difference.
ILL.- George Muller was born in Prussia on September 27, 1805. His father was a collector of taxes and George seemed to inherit his father’s ability with figures.
When Muller was converted to Christ he was impressed by the many recurring statements of Jesus for us "to ask." At this point in Muller’s life he and his wife launched into a daring experiment. First, they gave away all of their household goods. The next step was even more daring, he refused all regular salary from the small mission he had been serving. He then set out to establish an orphan home to care for the homeless children of England.
The first home was dedicated in a rented building on April 21, 1836. Within a matter of days, 43 orphans were being cared for. Muller and his co-workers decided their experiment would be set up with the following guidelines:
1- No funds would ever be solicited.
2- No debts were ever to be incurred.
3- No money contributed for a specific purpose would ever be used for any other purpose.
4- All accounts would be audited annually.
5- No ego-pandering by the publication of donor’s names.
6- No "names" of prominent people would be sought for the board or to advertise the institution.
7- The success of the orphanage would be measured not by the numbers served or by the amount of money taken in, but by God’s blessing on the work, which Muller expected to be in direct proportion to the time spent in prayer.
When the first building was constructed, Muller and his friends remained true to their convictions. The public was amazed when a second building was opened six months after the first. They kept concentrating on prayer and eventually there were five new buildings, 110 workers, and 2,050 orphans being cared for.
George Muller not only counted on God to provide, but he believed that God would provide abundantly. For over 60 years Muller recorded every specific prayer request and the results. Muller was responsible for the care of 9,500 orphans during his life. These children never went without a meal. Muller never asked for help from anyone but God. $7,500,000 came to him over the course of his life and he vows it was all in answer to believing prayer.
ILL.- J. Russel Morse had just returned from the mission field and was the guest of an American family. After his first night of rest his gracious hosts asked how he slept. He was rather embarrassed, but admitted that he was terribly cold all night long. They asked, "Didn’t the electric blanket work?" J. Russel Morse, the missionary, had never seen an electric blanket before! He didn’t realize that warmth and comfort was available at his finger tips. Once his eyes were opened to this power available to him, he had no more uncomfortable nights.
And so it is with the power of prayer. It may be that we spend many nights of fret and frustration because we are not aware of the power that is available to us through prayer.
The power of prayer is one of the things that makes Christianity the deal of the century.
II. THE COMPASSION OF THE CHURCH
I Pet. 3:8 "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."
ILL.- A worried mom sprang to the telephone when it rang and listened with relief to the kindly voice in her ear. "How are you, darling?" it said. "What kind of a day are you having?"
"Oh, mother," said the housewife, breaking into bitter tears, "I’ve had such a bad day. The baby won’t eat and the washing machine broke down. I haven’t had a chance to go shopping, and besides, I’ve just sprained my ankle and I have to hobble around. On top of that, the house is a mess and I’m supposed to have two couples for dinner tonight."
The mother was shocked and sympathetic. "Oh, darling," she said, "sit down, relax, and close your eyes. I’ll be over in half an hour. I’ll do your shopping, clean up the house, and cook your dinner for you. I’ll feed the baby and I’ll call a repairman I know who’ll be at your house to fix the washing machine promptly. Now stop crying. I’ll do everything. In fact, I’ll even call George at the office and tell him he ought to come home and help out for once."
"George?" said the housewife. "Who’s George?"
"Why, George! Your husband! Is this 555-1374?
"No, this is 555-1375."
"Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I have the wrong number." There was a short pause and the housewife said, "Does this mean you’re not coming over?"
Brothers and sisters, there are times in life when we seem overwhelmed with troubles and we need help. As a minimum, we need people who will sympathize with us. People who will exhibit compassion.
Compassion and sympathy should be a big part of our lives as Christians. We should be quick to feel for others. Whenever Jesus saw hurting people he had compassion on them. Matt. 9:36.
And this is one of the things that makes the Christianity very special. The church is a hospital for hurting people.
Gal. 6:2 "Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
ILL.- Philip Yancey tells the story of Dr. Paul Brand who has devoted his life to treating leprosy patients in India. In the course of one examination Brand laid his hand on the patient’s shoulder and informed him through a translator of the treatment that lay ahead. To his surprise the man began to shake with muffled sobs. "Have I said something wrong?" Brand asked the translator. She quizzed the patient and reported, "No, doctor. He says he is crying because you put your hand around his shoulder. Until he came here no one had touched him for many years."
The compassion of Christ in us is evidenced by a touch, a kind word, a kind deed, a hug, a smile, a loving look, etc. The compassion of God’s people in the church makes Christianity very special and very appealing.
III. THE BEAUTY OF BAPTISM
Romans 6:3-4 "Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ as raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
ILL.- It took place on Sunday morning at Bible Baptist Church in Elkton, Maryland. The Sunday morning service was just ready to begin when in came a man who had never attended the church before. He looked around with awe and amazement at the great number of people packed into the large auditorium. He came slowly down the aisle looking from side to side and seated himself on the second row from the front. As the sermon was preached he listened with great interest.
When the invitation time came, the preacher said, "Now how many of you are not saved, but you would like to be, and you want us to pray for you? Will you raise your hand?" The man’s hand shot up and he waved it back and forth persistently until he was sure that the preacher had seen it. When the preacher asked those who would claim Christ to come forward, he literally bounced out of his pew.
He stood stiff and erect and the preacher asked, "Sir, do you believe that Christ died to save you and do you want to be baptized?" "Yes, Sir, I want to do just that," he said rejoicing.
When he went into the baptistry, the preacher dropped him into the water and out again to walk in the newness of life. He came up out of the water clapping his hands and shouting, "Hot dog, hot dog, hot dog!"
The people roared with laughter. "Hot dog!" That was his way of expressing the joy of salvation.
We do believe in the importance of baptism and the joy that it brings into our hearts. We believe in baptism because Christ Himself was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness" or to do everything that was considered "right" in the eyes of His Father.
We believe in baptism because Christ did it and the Scripture commands it. We believe in baptism because the church was started with it on the day of Pentecost when about 3,000 repented and were baptized that day. Acts 2.
Paul said that we were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him to a new life.
We saw some of the beauty of baptism last Sunday when four people were united with Christ in that watery grave.
ILL.- Commentator William Barclay said, "In baptism the Christian dies and rises again. As the water close over him, it is as if he was buried in death. As he emerges from the water, it is like being resurrected to a new life. If that is so, the Christian cannot rise from baptism the same man as he went down into baptism. There must be a difference."
ILL.- Alger Fitch, professor of Bible at Pacific Christian College, said, "If baptism could talk (and it can!), it would say, ‘I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in the blood atonement. I believe in the forgiveness of sins. I believe in the resurrection...’"
ILL.- Popular news commentator, Paul Harvey tells about the time when he was baptized in a small country church while on vacation. He described his baptism as "the experience which made his life complete."
He said, "The preacher had said there was nothing magic in the water. Yet as I descended into its depth and rose again, I knew something life-changing had happened. A cleansing inside out. No longer did there seem to be two uncertain contradictory Paul Harveys - just one immensely happy one. I felt a fulfilling surge of the Holy Spirit.
"Afterward I cried like a baby, a kind of release I suppose.... The evolving joy has been escalating... The change this simple act has made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable. Since totally yielding to Christ through baptism, my heart can’t stop singing. I’ve shaken off a lifelong habit of fretting over small things..."
Our belief in baptism and what it can do for us through Christ is a part of what makes Christianity special.
IV. THE EXCITEMENT OF ETERNITY
ILL.- A man was talking to a friend whom he hadn’t seen in years. He asked, "How is your wife doing?" His friend replied, "She is in heaven." "Oh, I’m sorry," stammered the man. Then he realized what he had just said and said, "Er uh, I mean, I’m glad."
Those words seemed bad as well, so he blurted out, "WELL, WHAT I REALLY MEAN IS, I’M SURPRISED."
Brothers and sisters, surprised is the word for many people. Some people will be surprised that there is an eternity...a heaven and a hell. Some people may be surprised that they made it to heaven. Some of us may be surprised as to who is there. Some people will be surprised about how to get there. But we know the "who" and the "how."
John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
I Tim. 2:5-6 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men..."
No one gets in the door of heaven without Jesus. But with Jesus, heaven’s door is wide open. And what a place it will be! A place of excitement like none other!
I’ve been to Cancun and Mattoon and I’ve concluded that heaven will be better! You can go anywhere on planet earth and observe the beauty of God’s creation, but nothing will compare with heaven!
I Cor. 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him."
ILL.- The famous preacher D.L. Moody told about a Christian woman who was always bright, cheerful, and optimistic, even though she was confined to her room because of illness. She lived in an attic apartment on the fifth floor of an old, rundown building.
A friend decided to visit her one day and brought along another woman -- a woman of wealth. Since there was no elevator, the two ladies began the long climb upward. When they reached the second floor, the wealthy woman commented, "What a dark and filthy place!" Her friend replied, "It’s better higher up." When they arrived at the third landing, the remark was made, "Things look even worse here." Again the reply, "It’s better higher up."
The two women finally reached the attic level, where they found the bedridden saint of God. A smile on her face radiated the joy that filled her heart.
Although the room was clean and flowers were on the window sill, the wealthy visitor could not get over the surroundings in which this woman lived. She blurted out, "It must be very difficult for you to be here like this!" Without a moment’s hesitation the shut-in responded, "It’s better higher up."
Brothers and sisters, life is better higher up! Life will be better in heaven! We must believe this! This is one of the great hopes of the gospel!
Most of us put far too much stock in this life. Our lives revolve around what we can get out of this life, but it’s better higher up!
Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
II Cor. 4:17 "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
ILL.- A class of third-graders from a school in Union City, TN, was asked this question: "What is heaven like?" One girl replied: "Heaven is where you will get everything you want. But if you want everything, you might not get there."
I wouldn’t say that heaven is where you get everything you want but your "wanter" will be satisfied!
Rev. 14:13 "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.’"
The excitement of eternity will cover many things: rest, reward and rejoicing. Complete rest. Satisfying rest. Like no rest we’ve ever had on earth. No bed and no pillow can compare to heaven’s comfort.
The excitement of eternity will bring reward. As a minimum, we’ll get a new body. And I don’t know of many people who are happy or completely satisfied with the body they have, here and now. In heaven, it will be new, eternal, grand, great, and glorious body just like the body of Jesus!
The excitement of eternity will bring rejoicing. What has brought you the greatest joy in life? Your mate? Your children? Some grandiose vacation? Some sport or hobby? Whatever it is, HEAVEN WILL BE BETTER! Heaven will bring greater joy!
ILL.- It’s been said that we measure distance by time. We often say that a certain place is so many hours from us. For example, Joplin, Mo, where my mother lives is about seven hours away. But how far or near is heaven for the Christian? IT’S JUST A "SIGH" AWAY!
One sigh and we can be there. And I’ve sighed many times in life, but those sighs have not taken me to heaven. NOT YET. BUT SOME DAY! And heaven is one of the many things that makes Christianity the deal of the century.
CONCLUSION--------------------------------------
ILL.- In the Peanuts comic strip, we find Snoopy thinking to himself: "Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. SIGH! There’s so little hope for advancement."
Sometimes we wonder if life can ever get better for us. It can! It can in Christ! Christ is the one person who can make things right when things go wrong. Christ can make all things better! He is the Son of the living God. He is the Savior of the world. He is the deal of the century!
