The Deal Of The Century

THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY

INTRO.- Good deals are where you find them.

ILL.- It’s been said that our mammas of the past did not hesitate to bargain. Questioning a price was standard procedure. One mamma asked, "How much are these cucumbers?" "Two for five cents." She pushed one aside and asked, "And how much is this one?" "Three cents." "Okay. I’ll take the other one."

ILL.- Some years ago New York City’s Mayor was urged by Manhattan officials to buy some property thought to be an "extraordinary opportunity for the city." The mayor said: "If they’re selling elephants two for a quarter, that’s a great bargain. But only if you have a quarter--and only if you need elephants."

ILL.- Someone said, "Never buy a portable TV set on the sidewalk from a man who’s out of breath."

ILL.- The Oklahoma farmer had been taken in so many times by the new car dealer that when the car dealer wanted to buy a cow, the farmer priced it to him like this:

Basic Cow $200.00

2-Tone Exterior $ 45.00

Extra Stomach $ 75.00

Product Storage Compartment $ 60.00

Dispensing Unit 4 Spigots $ 10.00

Genuine Cow Hide Upholstery $125.00

Dual Horns $ 15.00

Automatic Fly Swatter $ 65.00

Total $595.00

Good deals. A cow with lots of options.

ILL.- Perhaps you heard that lotto winner some time back. The big lottery was worth over $300 million dollars. A 20-year-old girl bought her first lottery ticket and won! She was one of three winners. She opted for a one-time cash settlement and took home something like $49 million. The TV news said that if she would put that money in the bank and draw just 5% interest she would receive $2 million dollars a year. WHAT A DEAL! Sounds like a good deal.

I Tim. 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil..."

The love of money leads to all kinds of evil. Getting a large sum of money dumped on us may or may not be a good deal. But I’ll tell what is a good deal: Christ and Christianity!

ILL.- 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."

Brothers and sisters, 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!

PROP.- Let me share just a few of the things that make Christ and Christianity the deal of the century.

1- The power of prayer

2- The compassion of the church

3- The beauty of baptism

4- The excitement of eternity

I. THE POWER OF PRAYER

Matt. 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Matt. 7:11 "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

ILL.- 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.

Brothers and sisters, believing in prayer makes a difference, but believing prayer makes even more of a difference. That is, believing that God will answer our prayers makes an even bigger difference.

ILL.- George Muller was born in Prussia on September 27, 1805. His father was a collector of taxes and George seemed to inherit his father’s ability with figures.