"LET’S MAKE A DEAL!"
Who among you remembers 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.
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 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.
Now keep that illustration firmly in your mind let’s see how this relates to Christianity, okay? Let’s see what kind of deals have been offered and to whom.
1. GOD OFFERED A DEAL TO ADAM AND EVE
They could live in Paradise and have 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 that if they would eat from that forbidden tree, they would be like God. I guess they figured why just be with God when you could actually be like God.
Adam and Eve couldn’t resist, so they made the deal. What they got for their gamble was to lose their personal fellowship with God, lose their home in Paradise, and gain all the trouble the world had to offer them. In retrospect, it wasn’t that great of a deal, was it?
2. NOW GOD OFFERS YOU DEAL
He will give you future pleasures and future rewards. He will offer you an eternity of bliss and happiness, and He will make sure that what He offers is much more than the immediate pleasures Satan offers you today.
What God offers you is simply the assurance of eternal salvation through His Son. God wants to give you the opportunity to spend forever and ever with Him.
But, there is something you must be willing to do to get that offer.
3. WHAT’S THE CATCH?
Now, after you believe in Jesus, and after you have made a statement that you want Jesus as your Savior through baptism, there is something else you must do. It will be very hard for you to do. You must wait. In fact, to receive 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 there is another requirement, too. While you are running your race so that you can receive your prize, 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.
This offer from God requires much effort and some sacrifice on your part. You must be faithful in service to Him, as Jesus said He came to serve, not to be served. You must also work at resisting temptation.
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.
The Bible tells us about 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.
We have a choice of which deal to accept. We can accept Satan’s gift, which is immediate fun, but that is only talking about the fun part of life. It is not fulfilling, it is not really satisfying, and it is definitely not long-lasting.
Or, we can receive God’s gift. It takes a concerted effort to do the things necessary to receive it. It sometimes is 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.
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 very 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. In fact, all you have to do to have all the fun this world can offer 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 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.
WILL THE VICTORY SINGERS PLEASE COME BACK ON STAGE?
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? You will understand why one would readily accept the $100,000 rather than work for, and wait for, the one million dollars that will be paid to you ‘eventually’.
The other choice is the one that involves much 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 tonight, but to remind you that we make a choice every single day. We choose to serve Satan, or we choose to serve God. And if we act without trying to think about God, we have automatically chosen to serve Satan.
I talked last week that sometimes Christians do the right things with the wrong motives. Sometimes, sinners do the right things without the right motives, too.
Let’s make a deal tonight, okay? Let us choose tonight to raise the name of Jesus so that all men will draw nigh unto Him. Let’s choose to help and to serve others in His name.
You are God’s elect. You are His children and He loves you and places high value on you. All He wants is for you to place high value on Him, too, through His Son ... and live a life of steadfastness, unwavering in devotion to Him.
INVITATION
