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Tuesday,
November 27, 2007
Lottery Pick
Matthew
13:44-46 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;
the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and
selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had
found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought
it. (KJV)
What
would you do if you won the lottery? You would double, triple, quadruple
check your winning numbers over and over, again and again, making sure it
was real. You would then imagine the new life you could be living, a life
of freedom to do what you want when you want however you want with no
concern about the cost. You might hire a lawyer, seek financial counsel,
basically you would do all you could to collect on the winnings, and
protect your investment. Spiritually you have a winning ticket, Jesus
Christ is the first born of many brethren, which gives you access to all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge from above, an eternal life of joy,
peace and freedom, your debt completely paid in full. How much do you
treasure this gift, and what are you willing to do to maintain your winning
ticket? Are you willing to sell out and let go of anything and anyone that
would stand in your way and hinder you from collecting your winnings? Which
do you hold in higher esteem, the short term self interest rewards of this
earth, or the eternal things of the spiritual realm, where your treasure is
there will your heart be.
Hebrews
6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And
have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If
they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (KJV)
Could
you imagine if you were poor and struggling trying to raise a family,
knowing you had a winning lottery ticket that would take care of all your
financial need, only to find out you misplaced it or lost it by neglect,
and could not collect on the reward? Now think of the spiritual realm which
is much greater than this physical one, to have access to an eternal
inheritance, only to find out that you let it slip through your hands, and
be blown away with winds of doctrines? You too would be put to an open
shame, knowing what you had access to, what was rightfully yours, knowing
it was your choice to fall away and not follow through with the terms and
conditions set forth to receive your reward of inheritance. Salvation is
there for the taking, this day, right now. Have you done all to stand this
day and follow through with what He requires so you won’t fall away? Just
like with a lottery ticket, no one is going to print you up a new one, the
same holds true with salvation; the Lord is not going to rewrite His plan,
or bend and change so you can fit in. God is not going to send another Saviour.
If you don’t accept His plan, you don’t get His reward.
Luke
16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely:
for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the
children of light. (KJV)
If
you wish, you may go back and read the whole account of the unjust steward,
it basically refers to a person who had control of a rich man’s finances,
and how he was wasting it. So when the time came to give account of it, he
had to correct it by being diligent with what he was in charge of. I use
verse 8, because of the second part of it, comparing the children of the
world to the children of light. We as Christians are the children of light;
what a statement to make to the Church; yet due to our own lack of
diligence at times for the gift of life we have been given. Let me share
this example.
Luke
16:8
[Children of light] Those who
have been enlightened from above-- who are Christians. This may be
considered as the application of the parable. It does not mean that it is
more wise to be a worldly man than to be a child of light, but that those
who "are" worldly show much prudence in providing for themselves;
seize occasions for making good bargains; are active and industrious; try
to turn everything to the best account, and thus exert themselves to the
utmost to advance their interests; while Christians often suffer
opportunities of doing good to pass unimproved; are less steady, firm, and
anxious about eternal things, and thus show less wisdom. Alas! this is too
true; and we cannot but reflect here how different the world would be if
all Christians were as anxious, and diligent, and prudent in religious
matters as others are in worldly things.
(from
Barnes' Notes)
Have
you ever seen the casinos in Las Vegas, how well protected they are. They
have to upgrade their security on a daily basis to keep up with the con men
and thieves of this world. How diligent they are to protect their riches,
and how quick they are to confront and remove those that would try and
steal from them. And yet for the gift we have been given, are we as a
church anywhere near as diligent, to protect ourselves with the armor of
God, and quick to confront and cast out anything that would try and come
into the Lord’s temple and steal our treasure? How about a bank, with all
the security and bank vaults, how well protected they keep their banks to
insure themselves from being robbed. Unless one stays alert and upgrades
their spiritual protection on a daily basis, they will end up being robbed
and pilfered of all the treasures the Lord gave His life for to provide for
His children. So what is it you truly treasure this day, and what are doing
with your winning ticket to heaven?
Luke
16:9-11 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of
unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting
habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in
much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If
therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will
commit to your trust the true riches? (KJV)
If
you are still hanging on to the things of this life, you will not be able
to inherit those of the next one. Do you choose personal wealth over the
wealth of others? If you had a choice of a multimillion dollar lottery
ticket or a ticket to heaven, which one would you really choose? Which
would you consider of more value? Are you willing to let go of the old so that
you can partake of the new? Many fail because they choose the things of
this life over those of the next one; loving money and falling into
covetousness which the Bible says is idolatry. What would the Church be
like if we were as diligent to protect our spiritual assets, as the world
is to protect its financial ones? Which prize are you truly pressing
toward, and are you willing to do all that is required to receive it? It’s your pick.
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