DEAL OR NO DEAL?
Hebrews 12:1-3, 11:35-40
Acknowledgments: Many thanks to Pastor Bruce Ball, who prepared much of the information used here in his sermon “Let’s Make A Deal”, and to Pastor Steve Malone for his illustration submitted to sermoncentral.com.
If you were here Wednesday night, you know that I told the kids that I’m a game show junkie. I don’t know if it’s the competitive nature in me or what – but I do love to watch game shows. There’s one in particular that’s on now that seems to be a big hit with a lot of people. How many of you have seen Deal or No Deal?
For anybody who hasn’t, they bring out 26 briefcases and each one has a dollar amount in it – beginning at one cent and going all the way up to one million dollars. The contestant comes on and has to begin picking cases – a few at a time – trying to work their way to the million dollars – BUT – after every few cases – there’s a banker who offers a certain amount of money to try to buy them out of the game.
The shows host, Howie Mandel, then looks at the contestant and asks the question, “Deal or No Deal.” The contestant has to decide whether to take the offer and end the game or keep playing. Some people have won some huge amounts of money – and some have walked away pretty much with nothing. It’s pretty interesting how you can watch and see how greed grabs a hold of the contestants sometimes and can cause them to make some very bad decisions. Along with each decision comes a gamble; gamble on turning one amount of money into much more, or maybe losing everything.
Now I didn’t go through all that to try to get you to watch the show, but what I want to do this morning is to borrow that basic concept, change it up just a little– and see how it applies to Christianity. And you know, it does apply – maybe more than we might think. This morning, I just want you to imagine something for a moment. Imagine that I have the power to offer you some really great deals.
Okay? Are you ready? LET’S PLAY! Now, here’s the first deal I want to make with you today – listen carefully – because I’ll ask you for your response. Here’s the deal: I’ll give you $100,000 – cash – for your car – today – right now? So I ask you – Deal or No Deal? 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!
Okay – so you take the deal – you give me your car keys and I give you $100,000 in cash. But now wait just a second – we’re not quite done yet. Before you leave and start to spend your new fortune, let me do something else. I want to make you another offer. Here’s the new offer. I’ll give you a million dollars for your car. But now, if you take it, you must do three things.
First, you have to give me back the $100,000 I just gave you. Second, you have to leave the car parked just where it is until next Sunday. And third, you have to wait until next Sunday to collect your million dollars. So I ask you again – Deal or No Deal?
Now think about that for a second. Would you take that offer? Would you be willing to go for a week without your car so that you could get a million dollars? I think most all of us would do that, because we all know other people that could take us to and from places we need to go, don’t we?
So would you take the second deal? (Show of hands) If you took the second deal, here’s what you’ve done. At first, you gave me your car keys and I gave you something really good in exchange – AND – I gave it to you immediately. That was a really good offer – but then – I offered you something much better.
But when I made you the second offer, the first offer became less exciting to you, didn’t it? Of course, the second offer had some requirements – or some strings of sorts – attached to it, didn’t it? I mean, you’d have to give the first offer back – you’d have to wait until next week to receive the second offer – and you’d have to do without your car for the week. But you’d still make the deal because it just looked so good – you just couldn’t refuse.
Now as we go through our study this morning, folks, I’m going to ask you to keep that illustration firmly in your mind. Let’s look and see how this relates to Christianity. Let’s look into God’s word and see what kind of deals have been offered and to whom. Let’s see who else has had to answer that very important question – Deal or No Deal.
I think the first and probably the most obvious was Adam and Eve. (1) GOD OFFERED A DEAL TO ADAM AND EVE.
What was the deal? Well, they could live in Paradise and have personal fellowship with God – if – they just stayed away from one particular tree. Sweetheart of a deal, right? I mean anybody would take that deal – but then something happened.
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. Deal or No Deal? Well, we know what they chose. 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 with devil. And what did they get for their gamble? They lost their personal fellowship with God – they lost their home in Paradise, and they gained all the trouble the world had to offer them. They had paradise in their hands for all their days – and traded it for what they thought was a better deal. In retrospect, it wasn’t that great of a deal, was it?
There is an old saying that goes “Opportunity knocks once – but temptation beats on the door everyday.” That’s a very true statement, isn’t it? We live our lives constantly surrounded by temptations. There’s no place on earth that we’re able to go and fully escape temptations.
Now with that being said, there also seems to be a belief that’s becoming more popular in our culture and that is that a Christian can reach a point in their lives where sin no longer has an effect on them – that basically – they stop sinning. We’ve talked about that in our 1st John study we’ve been doing, and of course we know that kind of belief goes totally against the Word of God. Hopefully, as we grow and mature as Christians sin has less of a hold on us, and we’re better able to resist temptation.
But folks, as long as we’re in the flesh and in this world of sin, we will wrestle with sinful desires and temptations. Just as surely as he did with Adam and Eve – you can count on the enemy holding out something shiny and special in front of you and whispering in your ear – “Deal or No Deal?”
But you know something folks? You really need to understand that (2) GOD OFFERS YOU A DEAL. He’ll give you peace and assurance in your life. He’ll offer you an eternity of bliss and happiness, and He’ll make sure that what He offers you is much more – abundantly more – than what Satan offers you today.
You see, what God offers you – is simply the assurance of eternal salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. 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.
Ahh, but now you might ask – as many do – (3) WHAT’S THE CATCH? Well I have to admit in this sweetheart of a deal – there is something that we must do. First, we have to trust that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice at the cross was to pay for our sins. Then we accept Him by faith as our personal Lord and Savior – asking Him to forgive of us our sins and save our souls. As our FAITH verse Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be (what?) “saved.”
Now, that’s not much of a catch, is it folks? Forgiveness of our sins, peace and happiness that comes from the assurance of eternal life with an Almighty God who loves us enough that He sent His Son to die for us – and all that’s required of us – trust and belief in faith? How could that be?
Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” That’s what He wants for us, folks, a full and abundant life – and He provides the means and method for us to do that very thing – He provides Himself for us so that we might be saved – so that we might have life – not just a full life – but a fulfilling and meaningful life.
But now the first part of verse 10 says, “The thief (that’s Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” You see folks, no matter what Satan comes alongside of you and tempts you with – telling you that you’ll be happier, more powerful, more satisfied, better off or whatever other lie he tells you to tempt you – understand that his ultimate goal is to steal your life – kill your soul – and destroy your witness. Satan offers eternal death. God offers eternal life through Jesus Christ.
So which “deal” would you take – will you be prepared to answer the question “Deal or No Deal” when you’re asked? 1st Peter 1:13-14 says, “13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” You see, we need to know without a shadow of a doubt to Whom we belong and what our eternal destination is. You need to know – whose deal you’ve taken.
Now we’ve talked about the “catch” in this deal – although I don’t see that as much of one, but there’s also a matter of us (4) Living the Deal – folks, which includes living our lives for Christ. We’re going to look at some verses in Hebrews 11 and 12 this morning folks, if you want to turn there.
Now we need to understand that once we’ve made our deal – the good deal of accepting Christ as Savior – there’s no losing that deal – no revoking of the promises God made, but as a part of that – we then begin to live the deal, folks – our lives are to be lived for Christ. HEBREWS 12:1-3 says,
“1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
(Run the Race) So we’re to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Now, I don’t think any of us would ever run a race dressed in a big heavy coat or anything else that would slow us down, right? Neither do we want to run this race we call life with things that will slow us down. The writer of Hebrews is talking about things like the sin or bad habits we have in our lives that keep us from fully walking with the Lord Jesus.
You always run a better race if you know what the goal is – if you know where the finish line is, don’t you? We’re told to fix our eyes on Jesus. He is our prize – the author and perfecter of our faith – it’s for Him that we run this race, isn’t it folks? While we’re running the race – living our lives for Christ – we’re to run it to win, just like any other athlete would do.
And while we’re running our race, folks, we should strive to run it according to the principles Jesus set out for us when He was here with us. In other words, you live your life as a testimony to Jesus, to show everyone that you give all glory to Him. This deal from God requires effort and some sacrifice on our parts, too, folks. We’re called to be faithful in service to Him. Jesus said He came to serve, not to be served.
Now I’m not saying that we have to work for the deal God offers us, but one thing these verses in Hebrews tell us is that we must work at resisting temptation. It says, “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”
JAMES 1:14-15 describes the results of not doing that. “14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” That’s the deal Satan offers, folks, and we work to resist that – we run with endurance in this race – so that we can look the enemy square in the face and say, “NO DEAL! I belong to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Now we also have to understand that as we run this race, we’ll also have to endure persecution from non-believers. Verse 3 in Hebrews 12 said “3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Jesus endured terrible opposition and cruel persecution unto death. If we’re called by the name Christian – we should understand that we’ll have to endure some persecution, too.
In Matthew chapter 10, Jesus said, “22All men will hate you because of me…” Christians throughout history have had to endure persecution, folks, and we’re no different.
If you turn back to HEBREWS 11 and read verses 35 through 38 – those verses say, ‘…Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.’
Opposition and persecution are nothing new for Christians. But there are some Christians today, folks, who let the fear of that paralyze them. I realize that people have a fear of rejection – and that fear seems to cause many people to be kind of an undercover Christian. In other words – they live out their Christianity when they’re pretty sure they’re around other Christians – but when they’re out in the world – out in the work place – around unbelievers – they just want to blend in.
They kind of go undercover – so that no one will think that they’re some kind of radical rightwing Christian – or so that no one will single them out and make fun of them for what they believe. So their race comes to a halt – and they keep their deal to themselves in order to avoid those things.
You know folks, when you think about it – as American Christians, we really don’t understand what persecution is today. Do we face growing opposition? Yes, it seems so, but for the most part – at least as of today – we still have the right to gather here and worship as we choose. We can go down here and stand on the corner and preach Jesus Christ without any real fear.
But it’s not that way everywhere. We have Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer imprisonment – torture – and death every single day – just because they call themselves Christians. And yet so many times, we’re afraid to the point of silence because somebody might poke some fun at us – or maybe just not like us – if we stand firm in our faith – if we stand up for Jesus.
We’re told to endure whatever’s said to us or whatever’s done to us for the sake of winning the race for Jesus Christ, folks. Understand, when we take the deal God offers us – we run not just for ourselves, but for the cause of Christ. 1st Peter 4:16 says: “…if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
In talking about those who were persecuted, look back at HEBREWS 11 and let’s read verses 39 and 40: “39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Did you hear that folks? God had planned something better for us. You see, we have a choice of which deal to accept. We can accept Satan’s gift, which he promises to be immediate fun – and it may be – for just a little while – but it’s not fulfilling – it’s not really satisfying or long-lasting – and in the end – will turn out to be a lie. That’s what Satan is – a liar and the father of lies.
So we can choose that if we’d like – I mean we have the freedom to do that – OR – we can receive God’s gift. It takes trust, faith and obedience to receive it. It takes work to maintain it – to run the race with endurance – but it’s always enjoyable and satisfying – to your soul. And, when the race is over in this life, folks, we get that prize of eternity in the house of our Most High God.
Now understand something. Neither deal is free. If you take Satan’s deal – you’ll pay for it on the credit plan: Use now, pay later – with your very soul. But you see, God’s deal for you comes with the payment already made. Jesus Christ made the payment for this deal at the cross – with His life – given in exchange for yours. When you take that deal – you receive it free and clear – with your debt marked “paid in full.”
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.”
Now actually, folks, that’s just a pretty good deal God offers, isn’t it? He tells you exactly what it is that He freely offers you – it’s available to you right now – with a bow of the head and a word spoken in faith to receive it. Even though there may be a little difficulty – some opposition along the course of our lives with Him – He promises to be there – and carry us across the finish line at the end. It isn’t that bad of a deal when you look at it, is it?
But as some people thing about taking that deal, 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 that, 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 you see, what attracts so many people is that the deal that Satan offers doesn’t require any self-discipline on your part and you don’t have to expend any effort or energy to get it. His offer feels good, looks good, and even sounds good. In fact, he’ll tell you that all you have to do to have all the fun this world can offer – is to just put Jesus out of your mind. Just forget about all that Christianity stuff. That’s it – that’s all you have to do to take Satan’s deal.
Well hey – if it looks good, it must be good, right? I mean, if it sounds good, it has to be good, right? If it feels good, you just have to go for it. But there is a catch with Satan’s deal, isn’t there?
The Bible tells us very clearly that the pleasures of sin only last for a short time. They certainly don’t last for eternity – but you see just as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the regret that comes from accepting Satan’s deal – does last for an eternity. So as you begin to look at his offer – when you look at Satan’s deal in the light of God’s truth – you begin to see that it’s not as good an offer as it first sounded.
We have to be very careful when considering options, don’t we folks? Which takes us to our final point this morning. WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE ACCEPT SATAN’S OFFER?
Do you remember when we first started and I talked about the deal for $100,000 now – or one million dollars later for your car? That offer caused some confusion for some people – trying to determine what was the most valuable – would I take what’s offered right now and walk away to live for the moment or do I hold out for a while and get more.
Many people accept Satan’s deal, folks, for the same reason – mostly out of confusion. They fail to appreciate the difference in value. The problem is that the gift from Satan is only temporary and leads to death. The gift from God will last forever and leads to eternal happiness.
In our Sunday School lesson last week, Robert talked about a verse out of 1st TIMOTHY chapter 4. Verse 8 says, “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! That’s because they’re so focused on the world right in front of their eyes that they can’t see how to make the right choice.
In HEBREWS 11: 26, you can read that Moses made the right choice. He chose to be oppressed with God’s people rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. Now, what do you think his reasons were for making that choice? It was because 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.
You know folks, every one of us have had two deals offered to us – one by God and the other by Satan. Every one of us has 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 – rather than the life to come?
One of the things a person has to do if they take that offer is to refuse the Gospel and to refuse Jesus a place in their life. Could you do that? What’s more valuable to you? You see folks, those who come to Christ see the value in running the race –and absolutely will not settle for anything less than bounding through the gates of Heaven when their race is over.
Bill Broadhurst loved to run and he entered a 10k race in Omaha – the very same race that his hero, Bill Rodgers, would win in less than 30 minutes. You see, Bill Broadhurst had a handicap – he was paralyzed on his entire left side from an aneurism early in life. But he still loved to run and for him to be in the same race as his hero Bill Rodgers was the greatest thing he could imagine.
The banners had been taken down, people were leaving the area – there was nothing left that would tell you that a race had even been run – except that one man – Bill Broadhurst –was still running. Over 2 hours ago, Bill Rodgers had finished the race and now – all alone – Bill Broadhurst was nearing the place where the finish line was.
A couple of kids on bikes road up beside him and said "hey mister, why are you still running the race, it’s been over for hours, someone’s already finished first and won, why don’t you just quit, the race is over!"
But a gasping Bill Broadhurst said, "I can’t – I have to make it to my hero at the end of the line." And he kept on running. As he approached the place where he knew the finish line would be, Bill Rodgers and about 30 other people stepped out from an alley and strung a ribbon across the road.
Bill Broadhurst stumbled across the finish line – and there stood his hero , Bill Rodgers, who took off the winner’s ribbon form his neck and placed it around the neck of Bill Broadhurst, as he said, "you’re a winner because you never quit".
Listen folks – no matter what’s going on in your life – don’t quit – keep running the race. Our hero Jesus Christ is at the finish line – waiting to give YOU the victor’s crown of life. – I want you to know that my intent this morning has not been to make you feel guilty, but to remind all of us that we make choices every single day.
We choose to serve Satan – or we choose to serve God. And if we go through life without making a choice for God – if we don’t make a conscious, personal decision for Christ – then without trying – we’ve automatically chosen to serve Satan.
Listen, if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then understand, you are a child of God. 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 stead-fastness, of unwavering devotion to Him. But – that’s your choice – a personal choice that only you can make. So as we close this morning – I just ask you this: Who will you be talking to and when it’s put to you – how will you answer the question “Deal or No Deal?”
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes for a moment? You’ve heard the invitation this morning folks – and you know what’s at stake. If you’ve never made your decision for Jesus Christ – then understand – right now – at this very moment God is speaking to your heart and asking you, “Deal or No Deal?” It’s a question that demands a response of acceptance or rejection. Which have you chosen? If you want to make that decision today – then as we play a few moments of music – you come and let me pray with you about it. If there’s anything else on your heart that you need to make a decision about today that I can help you with – then you come. If you’d like, the steps up here are open as a place to kneel and pray. If the Lord is moving you about something this morning – then come right now as the music plays.
Deal or no deal?
Hebrews 12:1-3/11:35-39/Various Scriptures
The TV show is quite a “hit” and it raises some interesting questions about how and why we reach certain decisions. There are some ways it relates to Christianity. We all have to answer the question, “deal or no deal” and we better understand what the “real deal” is when we answer.
I. God Offered a Deal to Adam and Eve.
They had a sweetheart of a deal – but then – the Devil came with a counter offer. Their gamble cost them almost everything. “Opportunity knocks once, but temptation beats on the door everyday.”
II. God Offers You a Deal.
What does He offer? The assurance of e__________________ s______________________ is all.
III. What’s the Catch?
There is something we must do. Romans 10:9 explains it. John 10:10 explains both sides of the deal – from God’s perspective and from Satan’s. How will you answer the question?
1st Peter 1:13-14 “Therefore, prepare your m____________ for a________________...”
IV. Living the Deal.
There’s no losing the deal – no revoking of God’s promises, but we do begin to live the deal – live for Christ. What are we to do?
(1) R________________ the R_________________. We don’t get ourselves entangled with the things we know will slow us down.
(2) Run According to the P__________________ of Jesus. We “work” at resisting temptation so we can tell Satan “NO DEAL!”
(3) Endure P____________________ from Non-Believers. This is nothing new for Christians, but we can’t let fear paralyze us.
(4) We Have a C________________ to Make. We need to know that neither deal is “free.” On one – we pay the cost, but on the other – God paid it “in full.”
V. Why Do So Many People Accept Satan’s Offer?
It’s because of their confusion over what’s really valuable. Do you take what’s offered right now or wait for more?
So what’s your answer? Deal or No Deal?
