INTRO.- The big jackpot. What does that sound like? You guessed it.
ILL.- $365 Million Powerball Jackpot Beckoned, Saturday, February 18, 2006. The chances of winning the jackpot by matching all six numbers were 1 in 146 million. Powerball is played in 28 states plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands BUT NOT IN ARKANSAS!
On February 22, 2006, a group of eight coworkers at the ConAgra Foods plant in Lincoln, Neb., claimed that record $365 million jackpot. The group elected to take the cash option on the jackpot, valued at $177.3 million. Their respective shares will be $22,162,500. After withholding of 25 percent federal and 5 percent state tax, they will share $124.11 million or $15.5 million, respectively.
Have you ever bought a lottery ticket? Don’t answer that or raise your hand! I think I bought two lottery tickets in my life. Not bragging or complaining. Just stating a fact. I don’t like wasting money on something that I know is a waste.
Have you thought what you could do with $15.5 million dollars? Help your family/kids? Give to worldwide missions? Help the needy and poor of this world? Give to any worthwhile cause? And oh yes, get something for yourself or take a good long vacation.
It seems that most people in this world are interested in money. The big jackpot, etc. They figure with money they can have whatever else they want in life: a house, a car, a trip, a mate (enter Donald Trump or perhaps Larry King who has been married 7 times and now at age 72 is married to 46 year old Shawn Southwick, singer, model, TV host, etc.)
Some people are totally absorbed with wealth and material things or anything they think money can buy.
I Tim. 6:6-10 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Godliness with contentment. I’m not sure that any contentment is possible without godliness. Godliness or striving for godliness must first come before contentment will come. Could it be then that if we are not content it is because we are not godly? It certainly is a convicting and humbling thought.
Since we will take nothing with us when we leave this world into eternity why is it that we work so hard to accumulate so much in this life?
ILL.- I heard it said that some people reason this way when it comes to the difference between a need and a want. “If I want something badly enough it must be that I need it. Otherwise, I surely wouldn’t want it so badly.” HOW’S THAT FOR POOR REASONING?
Paul said, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” We should be content with food and clothing but we’re not. One of the big reasons for our discontent is the fact that we have been born and raised in America where we have everything. But our neighbors, the Joneses, keep buying stuff that we need for ourselves.
I’ve heard that there is nothing wrong with having money as long as money doesn’t have you. This goes for material things too.
ILL. - Richard Foster noted: “The demon in money is greed. Nothing can destroy human beings like the passion to possess.”
ILL.- Someone said that greed is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death. We grab what we can, while we can, however we can and then hold on to it hard.
Matthew 16:26 “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Brothers and sisters, we know that there is more to life than this life. Consequently, we realize that money and material things are not the most important things in life. We must live to prepare for eternity. But not everyone puts their eggs in that basket.
ILL..- This last week at least three famous Hollywood celebrities passed away: Don Knotts of “Andy Griffith” fame. He was 81 years old and died of pulmonary and respiratory complications at a Los Angeles hospital. Darren McGavin of “Night Stalker” fame and “A Christmas Story.” He was 83 years of age and died of natural causes. And then one of my favorites, Dennis Weaver of “Gunsmoke” fame as “Chester.” He was 81 years old and died from cancer complications. He was born and raised in my hometown, Joplin, MO, but 20 years ahead of me. My dad loved Chester on Gunsmoke. One very commendable thing was that Dennis married his childhood sweetheart and stayed married to her for 60 years. And he was very much interested in feeding the homeless.
I liked all of these actors but in reading their obituaries I never read anything about them being believers in Christ. And it is so sad to think that people can live their whole lives and not know the Lord or have any kind of relationship to Him at all! Money and fame will not cut it! We all go to our graves in the same manner (with nothing) but the only thing that will make a difference is our faith in Christ! That’s the real big jackpot in life!
But there are other baskets, other jackpots that people are looking for, searching for, hoping for.
ILL.- Feb. 25, 2006, WEST BEND, Wis. - Authorities are hoping to break up what must be quite the party after beer thieves made off with almost $26,000 worth of suds from a delivery truck.
A semi trailer loaded with cans and bottles of Miller beer was stolen from a trucking company in Richfield, according to a Washington County Sheriff’s Department report.
The trailer had been dropped off at the Millis Transfer Co. sometime on Feb. 17 for delivery to a beer distributor in Menomonie, authorities said. Later that night, the trailer was discovered missing. Company officials didn’t report the loss immediately because they thought a driver must have picked up the wrong load.
Here again, is someone looking for something of a jackpot, only in the form of getting high on booze.
Booze is all some people live for, or so it seems. Some people can’t live without it. They must drink something every day. But booze is not what’s cracked up to be or as good as its advertising.
Prov. 20:1 “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.”
Prov. 23:29-35 “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? 30 Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. 31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! 32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. 33 Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. 34 You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. 35 "They hit me," you will say, "but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?"
Those of us have who drank in the past (whether a little or a lot) can testify to the worthlessness of booze and the fact that it destroys lives, marriages and homes. It’s just too bad that Americans have been sold a bill of goods about booze and party time.
ILL.- Along with drinking is FAT TUESDAY, which took place last Tuesday, Feb. 28th. The last time to get fat, have fun and sin. Have you ever heard of “Fat Tuesday”?
Mardi Gras, literally "Fat Tuesday," has grown in popularity in recent years as a raucous, sometimes hedonistic event. But its roots lie in the Christian calendar, as the "last hurrah" before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. That’s why the enormous party in New Orleans, for example, ends abruptly at midnight on Tuesday, with battalions of street sweepers pushing the crowds out of the French Quarter towards home.
Party time. Some people are looking for the jackpot through party time whether it’s FAT TUESDAY or frisky Friday night. IN NEW ORLEANS costumes were donned, beads were tossed and spectators cheered as the city launched into its initial festivities leading up to the first Mardi Gras after Katrina.
Local medical officials said the number could reach 400,000, less than half the usual 1 million. Such details are of particular concern to them: Only two of the city’s nine hospital emergency rooms are operating for adults. And those, as well as suburban ERs, are typically jammed, even without an influx of hundreds of thousands of revelers.
Fat Tuesday, Friday nights and party time. These are all some people live for; one party after another and most involve booze or some other false high.
The apostle Paul described the last time as a time when people would be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” II Tim. 3:4.
Heb. 11:24-25 “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.”
The temptation to find pleasure in life in its various forms is an ever-present temptation to all people! We Christians are not immune to this temptation. We are in the flesh, how could we be immune?
No telling what pleasures Moses was tempted with, but he refused. He was willing to follow the Lord in spite of verbal or physical mistreatment. We can learn from him. Sometimes in life we must give up what other people do in order to gain the best in life.
Matt. 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
The kingdom of heaven is a treasure, the greatest treasure of all. Christ, His kingdom, His church, His people are the greatest treasures of all in this life. Christ is the greatest jackpot of all!
ILL.- Our missionary sister Marsha Relyea sent us a story this week about a girl named “Leah” who is a student at Ozark Christian College. Some of you read the story because I sent it out via email. Listen to Leah’s story.
Leah was desperate! For her, life existed in a cold cave; LITERALLY no one cared. Desperate to know that she mattered to ANYONE, desperate to laugh, desperate for peace, she did the wildest things, searching for joy, and to escape her own empty existence. She wanted to escape so badly, that she honestly thought she was going crazy.
She had grown up in the small town of Elnora, Indiana. She never knew her dad; her mom had been married 4 times, and randomly slept around with MANY men outside of those relationships. Her mom led a life of cocaine addiction and domestic violence, dragging Leah right along through it all, and which resulted in every horrible abuse imaginable being inflicted on this little girl. They moved a lot, slept in cars at times, and lived in run-down shacks other times. The only time she hear the name of Jesus was in strings of profanity; occasionally she wondered, “Who is this Jesus-person.” Finally when Leah was 15 years old, her mom was murdered, leaving Leah a total orphan.
Afterwards, Leah was permitted to live with a disinterested, alcoholic former-stepdad. He was either drunk or gone most of the time; Leah had NO authority in her life, no adult input. She was on drugs, extremely lonely, unloved, obeying every sinful desire, giving into every pleasure, lost as Hell.
Leah’s High School years were a nightmare. She skipped classes and flunked classes, but she wrote poetry and her teachers liked her poetry. They felt sorry for her because her mom was dead, so they passed her by the skin of her teeth, and in 2001 she managed to graduate from High School.
At 18 years old Leah found herself HOMELESS. For many months, she slept in a park in a jungle gym with a little roof on it; or sometimes stayed in a druggie-friend’s treehouse. Her possessions included: small backpack, her poetry books, a pillow, whiskey bottles and 2 outfits of clothes, one to wear, and one extra set. She was on drugs. She was friends with very bad people. She broke into houses to get food or money. She didn’t sleep much at all; walked around all night, if she was sober. Constantly drank whiskey; smoked pot. Flirted with death, but utterly frightened of it at the same time. But she was afraid to die because she had witnessed her mom’s death.
Although Leah hated her life, and felt totally abandoned, she THOUGHT about things a lot. She was a POET at heart. She was an atheist; but a friend Andrea talked to her about God. She started to wonder if God might really exist.
In Jan 2002---when the fierce Indiana winter was at its lowest temperatures, she knew she couldn’t possibly survive the rest of the winter in the jungle gym in the park. In desperation she trudged to Andrea’s family’s house and begged them to let her live there. Although Andreas’ folks considered her a bad influence, they reluctantly agreed to give it a try. Leah truly had NO PLACE ELSE to go.
At one point Andrea gave Leah a Bible and said to her, “Leah, you should read this book.” Leah had NOTHING else to do—no commitments in life. So one day she randomly cracked opened the Bible to have a look; the pages fell open to the book of Ecclesiastes; Her poetic soul immediately LOVED what Solomon wrote; “Man this is GOOD stuff; this guy was a real poet.” She utterly identified with part that said “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” This was SO her. She had never heard anything so true before.
After that Leah became obsessive about reading the Bible. She was SO hungry. She read Psalms. What BEAUTIFUL poetry! Then she read Proverbs; Then Job. Then she decided to start at the first of the book, and she read Genesis. She found out that God made the world! She was in AWE. She exclaimed, “Ooooh! THAT’S who MADE all this!”
Then she started into the gospels. She learned about Jesus. She says she was SO surprised. She said, “Man! THIS is who Jesus is. I always wondered who he was. And his words are true!” Leah read solidly for 2 weeks, from early morning till all hours of the night. And as she read, she found herself being transformed! She says that during that 2-week period she went from being totally desperate person to being totally transformed into a different person.
At one point she discovered that God sent his SON to earth, and that he died for her. Leah broke down in tears: “He did that for me? My life equals sin. I am SO horrible. HE IS GOD! How could he do that for me?”
Her friend Andrea told her that she could be FORGIVEN and she could be baptized. FORGIVEN? Leah says that when she heard that she could be forgiven, she started bawling her eyes out. “Father? You’ve done this?!? You will forgive me?!?” Without reservation she exclaimed, “YES! I will give my life totally to him. My life is totally rubbish. What ever he wants me to do, I will do.”
She linked up with the brothers and sisters at Elnora Christian Church, and they embraced her and loved her, and became the family she never had. She was SO thirsty to know everything about God. She was passionate to share what the Lord has done for her. She prayed and walked the town, constantly looking for people to share with about the Lord.
The following year she went to Haiti on a church mission trip. While she was there she realized, “This is what I’ve been waiting to do my whole life.” “Lord, where do you want me to serve.” Today she is a junior here at Ozark Christian College, working on a BBL with a missions major. She plans to go to Africa this next August on a 10 month missions internship.” Leah says, “God has RESCUED me! He has totally led me. Everywhere I go I’m called to lost people. My God is SO awesome!”
Marsha said: After Leah had told me her story, I said, “Leah, you are an incredible person.” She said, “No, Marsha, I’m not an incredible person. GOD is an INCREDIBLE God!”
The biggest jackpot of all is Christ. And thank God, Leah found Him!
