We all love to take chances, don’t we? Well, I should say that we all love to take chances as long as there is no perceived danger to us. The problem is that we cannot always see the outright danger that exists.
For instance, many people love to go to the casinos and gamble a little of their money on the slots or blackjack. That doesn’t seem too bad, does it? We go down there, spend a little money (always a little more than we had originally planned) and then we go home, after losing what we gambled, knowing we will repeat that scenario again the next week.
Why do we do that? Because we enjoy taking a risk as long as we think there is going to be a really neat payoff in the end. And we do win sometimes, don’t we? But sometimes it sneaks up behind us and gets the best of us, as does all sin when we play with it.
I heard a story once that I pray isn’t true. There was a lady and her husband playing the slots side by side one afternoon when he keeled over with an apparent heart attack and fell on the floor. Within seconds, the paramedics were there working on him. And what was she doing during all this time? After pushing her husband out of the way, she straddled both machines and continued gambling while the medics tried to revive him to no avail.
This message is a message about what happens when we gamble; not with our money, but with our very lives.
To start with, how many of you remember the ‘LET’S MAKE A DEAL’ TV show? It was one of the most popular games shows of its day. Contestants were given some really good money or prizes, but along with each gift came a chance to gamble; gamble on turning that gift into much more, or losing it entirely.
Today, let’s borrow that basic concept and see how it applies to Christianity. And I want you to imagine something for a moment. Imagine that I have the power to offer you some really great deals.
Okay, let’s play!
The first deal I want to make with you is this: I will give you $100,000 for your car. Is there anyone in here who would turn that down? I know if somebody offered me that much money for soccer-mom car, I’d take it so fast it would make their head spin!
So, you give me your car keys and I give you $100,000 in cash. That’s a pretty good deal, isn’t it? But we can’t let that first deal rest any more than they could on TV.
I want to make another deal with you. Now, I want to offer you a million dollars for your car. But if you are willing to take it, you must do four things. You must:
- - - - give me back the $100,000
- - - - give me the keys to your car
- - - - and leave the car parked just where it is until next Sunday
- - - - wait until next Sunday to collect your million dollars
That is a lot to ask for, isn’t it? On one hand, you have $100,00 cash. You can see it. You have immediate possession of it. You don’t have to wait for it and you don’t have to do without anything to get it - - you already got it!
On the other hand, you have to go without a car for a whole week. That means you have to rely on other people to take you everywhere you want to go. You temporarily lose part of your freedom. And for what? For something that has been promised to you that you cannot see or lay your hands on yet.
Here is what you have done. You have given me your car keys and I gave you something really good and I gave it to you immediately. This was a really good offer, but then I offered you something that has the chance to be so much better.
And when I offered you the second offer, the first offer became less exciting to you, because the new offer was for so much more. Of course, the second offer had some requirements attached to it. You would have to give the first offer back. And handing back $100,000 in cash is a very hard thing to do no matter what the circumstances. You had to take a few moments to think about it, but you finally made that deal. But why did you make it? You made it because you wanted more, and no matter what we are offered, we still want more, don’t we?
Now keep that illustration firmly in your mind as we see how this relates to Christianity, okay? Let’s see what kind of deals have been offered and by whom.
1. GOD OFFERED A DEAL TO ADAM AND EVE
God said they could live in Paradise and have a personal fellowship with Him if they just stayed away from one particular tree. Well, the devil came by one sunny afternoon and offered them another deal. He said God had made a pretty good deal with them, but He could even make a better one!
He said that if they would eat from that tree, they would become just like God. I guess they figured why just be with God when you could actually be like God.
Quite a few years ago, there was a man in England who was tired of being broke. So he sold everything he owned and turned it into cash. That included his home, his car, and even his clothes.
He went to Las Vegas and rented a tuxedo. He was going to bet every penny he had on one turn of the roulette wheel. If he won, he would instantly double his money. If he lost, he would have nothing but a camera crew to film his loss and a rented suit.
Do we ever gamble everything we have on something? This man lost all he had. John Wayne summed it up by saying that life is hard enough as it is, but it is that much harder when you are stupid.
When Satan offered his deal to Adam and Eve, they couldn’t resist, because they wanted more. The payoff God offered was that they could live with Him here on earth and ultimately in Heaven forever. They had to wait for some of the rewards from the first offer, didn’t they?
Now Satan’s deal promised them instant rewards. They would be like God – right now! Satan offered a deal that seemed very good at face value, but in reality it was a false promise based on false hope. It was a lie. And the only purpose he had in offering it was to steal their focus away from God. But what did Satan’s deal really offer them as their ultimate payoff?
They lost their personal fellowship with God; they lost their home in Paradise; and they gained every misery and trouble the world had to offer them. In retrospect, it wasn’t that great of a deal after all, was it?
2. NOW GOD OFFERS A DEAL TO YOU
There was a man who was a real go-getter. He was on the ladder to success, and all he could think about was how important he was eventually going to be. How many of you know that people like this are usually so self-absorbed they have no room to think about anyone else?
One morning, he was ready to leave the house and his little girl handed him two paper bags. He asked what they were, and she said one contained his lunch, and the other contained her love. He told her thanks and left.
Later that afternoon, as he was eating his lunch, he looked in the other bag and he found a little toy, a hair ribbon, and a cartoon she had drawn for him. As he looked at them, he realized they didn’t mean anything to him so he threw them in the trash.
When he got home, his little girl asked him where the bag was that had her love in it. She said she had put the things that meant the most to her in that bag so she could give them to her daddy.
We can all see how that man threw precious gifts away because he was only concerned with what benefited him, can’t we?
Do you realize that we do the same things with God’s love? He gave us the most precious gift of all – His Son. And what has mankind done? We have thrown Him away because all we concentrate on is what we want or what will benefit us today.
For those few people who really do devote themselves to Jesus, God does give some instant rewards today; such as joy, happiness, and love. But He also promises future pleasures and rewards. He offers an eternity living in Heaven with Him, and He offers to take away every heartache and hurt we have ever experienced. He also offers us a place where you will never again feel bad for any reason.
The deal God offers you today is simply the assurance of eternal salvation through His Son. God wants to give you the opportunity to spend forever and ever with Him. That is the deal He offers you today.
But, there is something you must be willing to do to get that offer.
3. WHAT’S THE CATCH?
After you have made that crucial decision to give your entire life over to following Jesus, there is something else you must do. It will be very hard for you to do. In fact, it will be one of the hardest things you will ever have to do in this life. You will have to wait for most of His rewards.
In fact, to receive that precious gift of God’s love, as offered in your eternal salvation, you must wait all of your life. I think that is one reason God teaches us about patience.
In JAMES 1:12 where we read,
‘God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.’
In HEBREWS 12:1 it says,
‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance, the race that God has set before us.’
So view your life as a race. You would never run a race dressed in a parka or anything else that would slow you down, so don’t try to run this race toward Heaven with things that will slow you down either. I am talking about things like the sin or bad habits you have in your life that keep you from fully walking with the Lord Jesus.
And remember that nobody wins the prize until the race is over. But while we are running the race (living our lives) we are to run it to win, just like any other athlete would do. And we can only do that by fully focusing on Jesus every day of our lives – and not just on Sundays.
And there is another requirement, too. While you are running your race, you must run it according to the principles Jesus set forth when He was here with us. In other words, you must live your life as a testimony unto Jesus, to show everyone that you give all glory to Him, and not live your life to see how great or how happy you can be.
Jesus said He came to serve, not be served. If we are serious about taking the gift from God, we must change our focus. We must be willing to let the Lord transform us. In short, we must get our minds off of ourselves and back onto Jesus. And the hard part about that is saying ‘No’ to temptations!
JAMES 1:14-15 tells us,
‘Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.’
We must also endure persecution from non-believers. Christians throughout history have had to endure it, and we are no different. Another way to look at that is this: If we are not strong enough to endure persecution for the One who died for us, we aren’t strong enough to inherit the kingdom of God.
The Bible tells us about many Christians who were powerful and ruled with justice, but it also tells us of Christians who were persecuted unmercifully.
HEBREWS 11:35-38 says,
‘… But others trusted God and were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free. They placed their hope in the resurrection to a better life. Some were mocked, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in dungeons. Some died by stoning, and some were sawed in half; others were killed with the sword. Some went about in skins of sheep and goats, hungry and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world. They wandered over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.’
We hear so many Christians today trying their best to get out of their responsibilities by saying people have, or will, persecute them. Today’s American Christians do not understand what persecution is.
We are to endure whatever is said to us or whatever is done to us for the sake of winning the race for Jesus Christ. If we endure, the blessings will be ours.
HEBREWS 11:39 says of the people I just read about,
‘All of these people we have mentioned received God’s approval because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.’
And in VERSE 40, it says that God had better things in mind for them, but they can’t get the prize until the race is finished.
Let’s get back to the deals I offered you at the beginning of this message. Which one do you want? Do you want the first deal, where you got a bunch of money up front, or do you want the one where you go so much more money by having to endure for a week before you got it?
We have a choice of which deal to accept. We can accept Satan’s gift, which is immediate, but is only temporary. It is not fulfilling, it is not really satisfying, and it is definitely not long lasting. And when it is gone; it is gone!
Or, we can receive God’s gift. It takes a concerted effort to do the things necessary to receive it. It will sometimes be work rather than fun, but it is always enjoyable and satisfying to one’s soul. And, when the race is over, we get that prize of eternal salvation in the house of our Most High God. And we get to keep it forever.
Neither gift is free. You will pay for Satan’s gift on the credit plan: Use now, pay later. God’s gift is on the lay-away plan: Pay first, then receive it free and clear.
In ROMANS 6:23, it says it clearly.
‘For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.’
Actually, that is a pretty good deal God offers, isn’t it? This waiting all your life might be a little inconvenient now, but when compared to all of eternity, it isn’t that bad of a deal.
But then, along comes Satan. He offers you another deal. He says you can have immediate pleasure and rewards. All you have to do is take your focus off Jesus and put that focus on your fleshly desires.
To do this, you must yearn for the things your eyes can see and your fingers can touch. You must chase after those things that will lift and exalt you; those things that will give others a better image of who you think you are.
And the gift that Satan offers does not require any self-discipline on your part and you do not have to expend any effort or energy to get it. His offer feels good, looks good, and sounds good. To experience the fun of sin, all you have to do is to simply put Jesus out of your head. That’s it.
If it looks good, it must be good, right? If it sounds good, it has to be good, right? If it feels good, you just have to go for it. But there is always a catch, isn’t there?
In HEBREWS 11:25, it says that these pleasures are only for a short time. They do not last for eternity, and therefore, this might not be as good an offer as it first sounded. We must be very careful when considering options, don’t we?
4. WHY DO SO MANY ACCEPT SATAN’S OFFER?
They accept it for the same reason many would keep $100,000 and refuse a million dollars. They fail to appreciate the difference in value. This failure is very apparent in the lives of most of the people you know.
The promises of Satan are immediate and free from work. The promises of God are to be received somewhere down the road, and it takes a lot of work to get them. The problem is that the gift from Satan is only temporary and leads to death. The gift from God will last forever and lead to eternal happiness.
In 1 TIMOTHY 4:8, we are told,
‘Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next.’
Yet many people literally "sell their souls" to accept the temporary deal Satan offers! They are so focused on the world right in front of their eyes that they cannot see how to make the right choice.
In HEBREWS 11: 26, we read where Moses made the right choice. He chose to be oppressed with God’s people rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of living like royalty and immersed in its sin.
What do you think his reasons were for making that choice? Moses was fully focused on God, not the world around him, and he was looking for the reward he would have at the end of his race.
Every one of us has had two deals offered to us. One by God and the other by Satan. Every one of us have accepted one or the other. Which one have you accepted? Have you accepted the deal of least resistance? The one that offers you the immediate pleasures of this life?
One of the things you will have to do if you take that offer is to refuse the Gospel and to refuse Jesus a place in your life. Can you do that? Have you done that? There are many people who say they would not refuse Jesus, but they live their every day lives without Jesus. Those people have, in fact, refused to let Jesus into their lives. They are comfortable doing what they do, and constantly look at Christianity from the outside, not the inside.
The other choice is the one that involves work, possible persecution, and total obedience with a humble heart. Who would choose this offer that is delayed? True Christians; those that see the value in waiting for a much larger prize; those that will settle for nothing less than bounding through the gates of Heaven when their race is over.
More people choose Satan’s temporary gift over God’s eternal gift. Why? Because they are focused only on their existence here on earth. They can only see the pleasures of the flesh, not the joy of the spirit.
EPHESIANS 5:3 tells us,
‘Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.’
Now, maybe most people do not commit these sins, but many do. This past week, the Supreme Court in the state of Oregon passed a law that allows the public display of sex acts, as long as there is no money involved. According to the verse I just read, these people are not of God.
In VERSE 4, we read things that involves many church going folk.
‘Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes – these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.’
We have just read two verses that tell who is, and who is not, going to win the race for the Lord. Which category do you belong in? Some are literally selling their souls for a few moments of sin and foul pleasure. They have chosen Satan over God.
CONCLUSION
I have not tried to bestow feelings of guilt on you, but have tried to remind you that we make a choice every single day. We choose to serve Satan, or we choose to serve God.
We don’t have to be bad people to serve Satan. Sometimes, Christians do the right things for the wrong reasons and sinners do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Let’s make a deal this morning, okay? Let us choose, from now on, to raise the name of Jesus so that all men will draw nigh unto Him. Let’s choose to not only talk the talk, but to really walk the walk so others will hear us and see us living for Christ.
You are God’s chosen. You are the new workers in His vineyard. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. And you are loved by a God who places a high value on you.
All He wants is for you to place a high value on Him, too, through His Son ... and live a life that shows it.
INVITATION
