A Hundred Rand Note

• Consider the R100 note that I hold in my hand this morning:

• There are some things we can learn about this R100 note.

• Firstly, whether it is old or new, it still holds the same value *[e]

• *(Note to Glenn: wherever I have [e], it means that I explain this point to the congregation.)

• No matter where this note goes or what it is used for, it can never lose its value [e]

• In a big shopping mall or in a small rural farm stall, the R100 still has the same value

• In the hand of a rich man or in the hand of a poor man, the R100 still retains the same value [e]

• In the hand of a priest or in the hand of a prisoner, the R100 note still maintains the same value.

• No matter where this note is or goes, or with who it is, it can never lose its value [e]

• Just as this R100 note, you can never lose the value that God has created you with.

• I want you to know this day, you are valuable!

• “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” – Jer 1:5

• Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” – Gen 1:26

• For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. – Ps 139: 13 – 16

• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16

• Wow! These Scriptures tell me that whether I am young or old, I can never lose the intrinsic value that God Himself has made me with [e].

• I am amazed to discover that whether I am a new Christian or if have been a believer for many years, God still sees me as valuable and precious [e].

• Whether I am good looking or just looking, I have value [e].

• Whether I am smooth or rough; educated or uneducated; whether I have Grade 1 or a doctorate degree, whether I am illiterate or literate…I am immensely valuable, because God Himself took the time to create me [e]

1. This R100 note could have been to church, to the temple, to the mosque or to the traditional healer, but it’s value remains the same:

• Lets look at this R100 note again:

• Who knows which religious institution this note has been to?[e]

• Who knows what rituals this note has been involved in?[e]

• Who knows if this note has been offered up in ungodly practises?[e]

• But one thing is certain:

• Irrespective of the religious institution…of the rituals…of the ungodly practises this R100 note has been through: its value has not diminished! [e]

• It still has the value of R100 [e].

• This teaches me this day, that it does not matter where I have come from,

• I am still valuable to God [e]

• But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. -1John 1:7

• I, even I am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. – Isaiah 43:25

• It doesn’t matter to God where you have come from [e]

• Especially which religious background you have had [e]

• All God sees is your value [e]

• I am not saying that your past was right [e]

• I am saying that your future is now secure [e]

• Just like the R100 note, you may have passed through many religious institutions [e]

• But you are still valuable to God [e]

• So valuable, that you are now in the right place for the right time! [e]

2. This R100 note could have been to the casino, but it’s value remains the same: