For Everything Else There's Mastercard

Joke: Little boy goes to a new church. He sees a plaque with an American flag and a list of men’s names on it. His asked his dad, “Daddy, what is that for?” His daddy told him, “It was a list of men who died in the service son.” His son looked at him with fear in his eyes and said, “Was it the 9:00 or 10:00 service?”

Title: For Everything Else, There’s Master Card

Text: Multi-texted, Topical

Introduction: My wife had a yard sale this past weekend. Think of the things sold in yard sales.

Those things lose their value.

Dryer: $10.00 Suits: $5.00 Bicycles: $5.00

Shirts: $.25 Dresses: $1.00

These are items that once held much greater value.

Think about things that you would not put in a yard sale.

Baby pictures

Wedding book

Grand daddy’s old shot gun.

Tell about the Master Card commercial. Little boys at a ball game. Puffy hand $6.00, popcorn $2.00, their first major league game – priceless. The caption “There are some things money can’t by. For everything else, there’s Master Card.”

WORTH AND VALUE What holds worth to you? What do you care about? What are your values?

1. Bad News: Our Country: The greatest nation on earth, but moral decay is rampant.

A. Read Highlighted Gallup Poll Results

B. These polls scream out relativism and humanism and universalism.

1. Relativism says, “I do want God, I just want Him relative to my terms.

1. My feelings rule. If I agree with the rule, fine, but don’t infringe on my rights.

1. Whatever man wants that what he gets.

2. Think of what that does to morality.

3. Listen to what Solomon the wisest said.

(Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 NCV) I said to myself, "I will try having fun. I will enjoy myself." But I found that this is also useless. {2} It is foolish to laugh all the time, and having fun doesn’t accomplish anything. {3} I decided to cheer myself up with wine while my mind was still thinking wisely. I wanted to find a way to enjoy myself and see what was good for people to do during their few days of life. {4} Then I did great things: I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. {5} I made gardens and parks, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. {6} I made pools of water for myself and used them to water my growing trees. {7} I bought male and female slaves, and slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds and flocks, more than anyone in Jerusalem had ever had before. {8} I also gathered silver and gold for myself, treasures from kings and other areas. I had male and female singers and all the women a man could ever want. {9} I became very famous, even greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me. My wisdom helped me in all this. {10} Anything I saw and wanted, I got for myself; I did not miss any pleasure I desired. I was pleased with everything I did, and this pleasure was the reward for all my hard work. {11} But then I looked at what I had done, and I thought about all the hard work. Suddenly I realized it was useless, like chasing the wind. There is nothing to gain from anything we do here on earth. His final conclusion was (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NCV) Now, everything has been heard, so I give my final advice: Honor God and obey his commands, because this is all people must do. {14} God will judge everything, even what is done in secret, the good and the evil.”

A. Universalism Your ok I’m ok, God will save all good people.

1. Jesus even went so far as to say, (Matthew 7:21 NCV) "Not all those who say that I am their Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.”

1. Let’s get something perfectly straight. Those in heaven will only be those people who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and are abiding in the teachings of God. Those who are saved by His grace and mercy.

2. Did you hear the stat a while ago? Almost half (44%) believed that a person, who was good, would go to heaven without believing in God.

**READ “PARADOX”

2. Good News: For everything else there may be Master Card, but Jesus is the answer to the problems of this world.

**The sad thing is many people don’t even know about how to find this great treasure. Tell about the young man at band camp last week who talked of writing dark poetry. I asked him why didn’t he write brighter things. He said, because that’s the kind of life he had to live. I told him that I had the answer to his dark life. His name is Jesus. His way is the best way.