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. (45) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: (46) 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, (5) And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, (6) 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 it is 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 to 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 to 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. (10) 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. (11) 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.  

God bless and have a prosperous day in Christ Jesus our Lord.