Deal or no Deal?
Romans 6:22-23
Read Romans 6:22-23
Do you remember the show "Let’s Make a Deal"?
It was one of the most popular game 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.
Imagine that I have the power to offer you some really great deals.
LET’S PLAY LET‘S MAKE A DEAL!
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 my 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.
Now, before you leave, let me do something else.
Let me offer you a million dollars for your car.
Now, if you take it, you must do three things. You must:
a) give me back the $100,000
b) leave the car parked just where it is until next Sunday
c) wait until next Sunday to collect your million dollars
Now, would you take that offer?
Would you be willing to go for a week without a car so that you could get a million dollars?
I think we would all do that, because we all know other people that could take us to and from places we need to go, don’t we?
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 much better.
When I offered you the second offer, the first offer became less exciting to you.
Of course, the second offer had some requirements attached to it.
You would have to give the first offer back;
You would have to wait until next week to receive the second offer
And you would have to do without your car for the week.
But you still made the deal because it was so good you just couldn’t refuse.
Sometimes the best deals come with some requirements
And good deals are where you find them
Sometimes good deals find you
Someone said “Never buy a portable TV set on the sidewalk from a man who’s out of breath”
A certain Oklahoma farmer had been taken 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
2-tone exterior $45
Extra stomach $75
Product storage compartment $60
Dispensing unit with 4 spigots $50
Genuine cow hide upholstery $125
Dual horns $15
Automatic fly swatter $65
Total $635
Good deal, a cow with lots of options
I heard once that if you had won the lottery and took a lump sum and put the money in the bank
And just draw %5 interest you could receive $2 million a year just in the interest
What a deal
Sounds like a good deal
Getting a large sum of money dumped on us may or may not be a good deal
But I’ll tell you what is a good deal
Christ and Christianity
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
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
There is no better deal than that offered by our Lord
We have all seen the wildly popular game show Deal or no Deal
And do you remember at the end when they take the deal offered by the banker
Howie Mandel says lets see if you made a good deal
They open their chosen case to reveal what they could have received
If the deal made by the banker is greater than the amount in their case they made a good deal
Sometimes they make a great deal
So lets look at just a few things that make Christ and Christianity the best deal ever
I. Here’s the Deal
A. Power of prayer
We studied last week about when God won’t answer prayer
When there is sin in our lives
But the power of prayer is not in the prayer
It is in the one we are praying to
When we approach an all powerful God
Once forgiven of our sins
We tap into the very power that created life itself
He is the power our prayers call upon
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.
We can tap into that power at any time
God is all powerful we just have to go to Him in prayer
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. T
hey 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 a great deal
B. Compassion of the Church
Were you are sitting right now should be the greatest support group that ever existed
We, a locally called out body, an ecclesia
Which is what the translated word church means
Should be filled with compassion for each and every member
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?"
There are times 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
We are to have compassion for one another
Support each other
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
C. The beauty of baptism
Baptism is the first order of business for a Christian
Once you come to know Jesus as Savior
Your first job, your first task is to follow His example in baptism
Baptism while not a requirement for salvation
Is a requirement for obedience
Acts 2:38 Repent, or turn away from your sins each one of you and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
Col. 2:12 Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead
Baptism parallels the death, burial and resurrection of Christ
And it also portrays the death and burial of our sinful old way of life
Followed by the resurrection to new life in Christ
That is the beauty of baptism
It symbolizes the death of our old self and the rebirth of our new life
It shows the world openly the decision we have made to accept Jesus
It also shows our faith in the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead
And His power to give us eternal life
Baptism is an exciting thing
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...’"
The beauty of baptism
D. The Excitement of Eternity
This is the best part of the deal
We are promised an eternity with our Lord
I Thess. 5:10 “He died for us so that we may live together with Him”
I Thess. 4:17 “and so we will always be with the Lord”
That is exciting
Don’t you look forward to that day?
To finally be in His presence
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
The excitement of eternity, a wonderful part of the deal
These things
The power of prayer
The compassion of the church
The beauty of baptism and
The excitement of eternity
Among many others are what you can receive from the best deal ever
A relationship with Jesus Christ
But what is your part of the deal?
II. Your Part of the Deal
A. Crazy Costume
Back to our illustration from the game show Let’s Make a Deal
One of the requirements for getting on the show was you had to wear some crazy outfit our costume
They were often times embarrassing, made the wearer uncomfortable, and stand out in a crowd
This is also true as a requirement for Christ’s deal
Jesus said in John 18:36 My kingdom is not of this world
I John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things on the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not of the Father, but is from the world
The pride of life
As a Christian you are called to be in the world, but not of the world
Many do not come to Christ because they love the world
They do not want to leave behind the things they love
The sins they enjoy
They don’t want to stand out, to be embarrassed over their sins
They want to just blend in with the crowd
Afraid of what people might think
But in order to take part in Christ’s deal you must be willing to stand out
Be the light of the world
Yes sin is embarrassing and after salvation you will sin some more
But the forgiveness of sin is worth far more than the cost you will pay to just admit you are a sinner
You must be willing to put on that crazy costume of a Christian
In order to take advantage of this deal
B. Door #3
Another part of that game show was when the contestant was asked to give up their prize for what is behind door #3
They never knew what was behind that door
Could be a new set of kitchen appliances
Or it could be an old beat up Ford Pinto
You never know
As a Christian you are asked to give something up as well
Often times people reject Christ because they think it is a religion of Thou Shalt not’s
It restricts me they might say
All that Christianity says is you can’t do this or you can’t do that
Galatians chapter 5 though talks about Christian Liberty
5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery
Salvation doesn’t put you in bonds
It brings deliverance from the curse that the law pronounces on the sinner looking to his own righteousness
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Christ died to set us free from the slavery of sin and from a long list of laws and regulations
Galatians 5:13 You my brothers were called to be free
As a Christian you will no longer be a slave to sin
Because you will be free to do right and to glorify God
Through loving service to Him and others
On Let’s Make a Deal you never knew what was behind door #3
As a child of God you can know
His salvation will truly set you free
You must be willing to give up the chains of sin and death
To take what God is offering you
Your part of the deal is very simple
Admit you are a sinner
Give your heart and life to Christ
He takes care of the rest
III. Is This the Real Deal?
Is all of this true?
Is the Bible really accurate?
Did Jesus really exist as God in the flesh, God with us?
Can you prove it?
Can I prove it?
Is there irrefutable proof of all this?
Well is there proof that this chair will hold you up?
Have you ever sat in this chair?
Do you believe that you can sit here safely?
You have no proof that this chair functions properly
There is no evidence presented for this particular chair
You must put your faith in this chair
That is also true for your salvation
You must have faith
Jesus said on numerous occasions after healing someone “Your faith has saved you”
Not all whom Jesus healed were saved, but those who exhibited true faith were
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
1 Peter 1:8-9 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: [9] Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Perhaps the greatest verse on faith is
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for
To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for
To be certain of the things we cannot see
True faith is not based on evidence but on the divine assurance of what God has promised us
Is this the real deal?
I can assure you it is
But you must see for yourself
Remember the quote from the beginning of the message from Lewis Morse
“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
IV. Deal or no Deal?
So I ask you deal or no deal?
Are you willing to do your part of the deal?
You must admit that you are a sinner
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
All men have sinned and are far away from God’s saving presence
You are a sinner
You must be willing to give yourself up to Christ
To live a life for Him
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
That is your part of the deal
You must then believe Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for those sins
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
He paid that price with His sacrifice
You must then ask God to forgive you of those sins and you know what
He will, He is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins
Accept his sacrifice, accept His deal
It is truly the best deal out there
The deal of the ages
So I ask you Deal or no Deal?0
