Never Play the Game
NEVER PLAY THE GAME
I suggest to you this evening that the true value of life can only be seen in the light of God's Word.
We must realize in our lives the reality of God's Word for guidance.
Every man, woman, boy and girl is highly precious and is of much worth because of the price that God had to pay to redeem mankind from self‑destructing.
Realities only exist as the Word of God unveils it. All opinions, all attitudes, all philosophies and all lifestyles must be checked with the Bible or else we are living a lie, in a dream world headed for destruction our topic "Never play the game."
Prayer
Years ago while walking along the multiplicity of stores in the streets of Fordham road in the Bronx during the Yule tide season a scene caught my attention.
I could see there by the window of a children's store was a table, behind the table was a young man in front of the table was a woman. And as I was moving closer I could see the wooden four-legged fixture had three cards on it.
As I moved yet a little closer I could hear what I suppose was the last bit of conversation between those two parties.
"I'm sorry lady you picked up the wrong card, you lost!"
And in my mind I imagined the events that transpired before I had arrived.
She is walking up the mercantile streets of Fordham picking up the necessities of life. She hears a voice. Right here, right here, come on, come on try you luck, it's easy to win.
What is the name of the game? 3 card molly
How do you play it? Well it goes like this (I can see him shuffling those cards and her eyes intensely fixed on it)
Which card is it? right! you picked the right one. See how simple
Now I ask you this is NYC the place where everybody trust nobody.
Chances are she was forewarned before hand, chances are in her upbringing her parents or friends warned her about people in the streets but for some reason she doubted what she had heard before.
And I imagine in my mind that she must have played this game until she got hooked.
Whether she kept on winning straight or whether she won a whole lot more than she lost I don't know.
But I do know that the experience had to be an encouraging one to keep her there playing that game. I also know that in the end result she lost all the money she was gambling for!
And the initial attraction, the inaugural subversion, the propelling enforcement, the thing that turned her motor on and got her going in full gear was triggered by three words
The phrase that lit up her eyes and grasped her attention looking for monetary gain, looking to improve her livelihood, looking for satisfaction, (looking for as they say Mr. Goodbar) looking for what was an easy way to earn a quick buck.
Instead of following the way she was taught instead of going the way that she knew would be the best for her, the temptation and situation was thrust in the portals of her mind by three words "you can win"
But you see this fellow that she's dealing with is an expert at this stuff, He's played this game in the past! and long before the victim ever knew what was happening he saw her coming and when she came she wasn't the first one.
He said you can win but the fact is she could never win!! If she could win he would never play the game. So not only is the person an expert but he's a liar!! He has to conceal the truth so he can claim his victim
The object of the game is that the person who plays, in the end result ALWAYS LOSES!!
Yes you may win in some instances, yes you may experience excitement and get caught in the thrill of it all and you may find satisfaction because you are winning but that's just a means to an end. After it's all over, after it's all finished up, after everything's said and done. He's the one who is seen holding the bag!
That is the bag with all the money in it. And all she gets is the feeling of bitterness, and it wouldn't be so bad, it wouldn't pain as much but she understood within herself that she should have known better!
Back in time when the world was just newly created when the earth was formed by God in its perfect beauteous splendor stood the foreparents of all mankind
And that same game if you please that was played in the streets of Fordham was played thousands of years before.
But the woman that stood in front of the table her name was Eve and the expert behind the table was Satan. But at that time instead of 3 cards there were only two!
Moreover the stakes were a billion times greater the consequences was a thousand times more devastating.
Gen 3:1‑6
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD
God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat
of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said,
Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
(KJV)
And I can imagine the scene before hand, I can visualize the incident. Eve is walking up the pathways of the garden picking up the necessities of life, (wanders about) as she continues her daily chores something grasp her attention (Hi eve . . . . a talking snake eating the fruit) and as she came by he started to deal the cards.
What's the name of the game? 2 card molly Well how do you play it?
And I can see him, if you please, shuffling the cards. I can see him arranging his deceptive gimmicks.
"Yea hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
Notice once more Eve's response
v.v. 2,3 of Genesis chp 3
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said,
Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And you can see that she understands the situation, she had been forewarned by a plain "Thus saith the Lord" Look out for that tree! Don't eat the fruit, Don't even touch it for the moment you do you will perish, you will die! You'll lose all that you have.
But she played the game until she got hooked, she doubted what she had heard before and the initial attraction, the inaugural subversion, the propelling enforcement, the thing that turned her motor on and got her going in full gear was triggered by three words.
The phrase that lit her eyes up and grasped her attention, looking for self gain, looking to improve her livelihood, looking for satisfaction, looking for an easy way to be like the Most High instead of following the way she was taught, instead of going the way that she knew would be the best for her. The temptation and situation was thrust into the portals of her mind by three words. You can win! Ye shall not surely die, you will be like God.
And I can envision him shuffling those cards but as we said before there were but two cards this time.
The truth/the lie Advancement/debasement success/failure
life/death what God wants us to do/ what Satan says to do
But you see this fellow that she's dealing with is an expert at this stuff He's played this game before. And long before the victim ever knew what was happening he saw her coming . . . and when she Came along she wasn't the first. (Satan deceived 1/3 of the angels in heaven.)
But the facts are she could never win if she could he would never play the game. So not only is this person an expert but he's also a liar. He has to conceal the truth to claim his victim.
The object of the game is that the person who plays, in the end result they always lose. He said "you can win" You don't have to listen to God you can make it without Christ, you can make it without the church, you don't have to listen to God
Yes you may win in some instances. Yes you may experience excitement and get caught in the thrill of it all.
You may find satisfaction because you are winning, because you are making it without Christ in your life.
• that cigarette might calm your nerves
• you might enjoy the ecstasy of illicit sex
you might get off on the high of drugs
• you might feel content doing as you please, living up to only the parts of God's Word that you like and discarding the rest
But it's just temporary satisfaction
That's just a means to an end because the Bible says the wages of sin is death and before you know it‑‑it will be too late!
And after everything is said and done, after it's all completed after it's all over, after it's all complete he is the one who is seen holding the bag. . . . That is the bag with all the opportunities in it.
He stole from them their opportunity of immorality, eternal life and all she got was the feeling of bitterness, discouragement and the condition, nature and sentence of death.
That's what Satan wants to do, he wants to take something from us that he can never have, eternal life!
• a chance to experience inner peace
• a lifestyle that brings satisfaction not only in the next world but this present day and age the we live!!
The cards were on the tab the wrong one.
the story said that Adam and Even picked up the wrong card
Thank God Jesus intervened. . . so that we could have an alternate choice.
But with that decision man and his domain became the possession of the devil. And with that choice man hung the death sentence over his head like a Damocles sword.
For when you reject God who is the source of life then
So Satan usurped the authority and control of this earth, he is the boss and he is taking advantage of that position.
But more important‑‑ladies and gentleman, boys and girls he is still playing the same game today (2 card molly) with millions upon millions of people on this earth, He is playing the same game the one he played with Adam and Eve he is playing with you and I and people all over this planet. He does not want us to realize or understand the reality of God's Word. He wants you to keep playing his game until you run out of opportunities to accept God's grace. And the Bible affirms that
2 Cor 4:34
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them.
(KJV)
I like how the TLB puts it.
2 Cor 4:34
3 If the Good News we preach is hidden to anyone, it is hidden from the one who
is on the road to eternal death.
4 Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him blind, unable to see the
glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him or to understand the amazing
message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God.
(TLB)
The devil tries to divert the attention while deceiving he knows well the only thing that can save us is the salvation that Jesus has to offer.
And in the beginning God put enmity in man.‑‑Yall know what enmity is right. It's that innate desire that God put in man that makes us uncomfortable in mess.
Even though we were all born in sin and shaped in iniquity we have a natural desire in us that says we don't feel comfortable in the condition we are in.
There is a certain tugging a pulling inside of us that tells us a change is needed and we Christians should know what that change is.
The devils game is to convince us otherwise
Some think that the change is education
the change is money, the change is material things
the change is better figure the change is fame
the change is relationships
the change is habitual addiction
and if he can just get hooked long enough human nature will run it's course and the mercy of God will be stifled (can't respond) or time will be cut short.
sometimes we Christians fall for the game.
Noxema, Oil of Olay or cellulose.
wipe away those wrinkles all you end up with is greasy skin.
Some of us get so involved with keeping with the Jones's. . . Cars, houses, clothes .
Young people
same thing.
glorifies the ways of the world.
God says do it this way
Just look at television today. Sex, violence
Look at the popular rap artist today who influence our youth even the names fill you in
Public Enemy number One, glorify a life of crime and rebellion.
Most popular songs today all glorify a lifestyle that is contrary to God's way.
What is the result?
Title: LOCK'EM UP!
BY RICHARD LACAYO
2/7/94
"Close to a fifth of all violent crime is committed by kids younger than 18."
Title: A call to tame the genie of teen sex.
Authors: McBee, Susanna
Citation: U.S. News & World Report, Dec 22, 1986 vlOl
P8 (l)
American girls, on average, begin having sex at age 16; boys, at 15 1/2. By the end of their teens, 70 percent of girls and 80 percent of boys have been sexually active. Every year, I million adolescent girls become pregnant. About 400,000 have abortions. Of those who give birth, half are not yet 18.
Title: Teens: the rising risk of AIDS.
Authors: Gibbs, Nancy
Citation: Time, Sept 2, 1991 v 138 n9 p60(2)
But AIDS activists and health‑care workers have seen firsthand the devastation that ignorance can yield. Of the 1 million to 1.5 million HIV‑infected Americans, an estimated one‑fifth are teenagers.
But teenagers are unlikely to meet many ailing peers since the incubation for HIV averages 10 years.
(and the devil will get you into thinking can't hurt to have a decent relationship, nobody coming your way, leave the church or don't leave just have your fun . . .)
You heard about the tragic the accident with those college men inspired by the movie "The Program"
Chicken . . . Lost his life for a dime.
Jesus made man and woman, he knows what real men and women are.
What you say you don't believe in Creation at all. You believe in Evolution.
What? You've been listening to a man or a woman in a long white lab coat with a Ph.D. Explain to you that we come from mollusks, quadrupeds and germs. That we evolved from apes.
Do you know that there is more evidence to support the Creation theory than the evolution theory?
Haven't you heard about all those so called fossils and ancient bones that were supposed to prove evolution right many of those have been disproved.
(Woodpecker)
Do you know that racist support evolution? . . .
10 percent of the world owns more than half of its wealth?
When creation is reality then that means there is a God in heaven who makes the rules?
The Bible says that the fool hath said in his heart there is no God!
NEVER PLAY THE GAME!
The cards were on the table you all know the story.
And the moment A & E messed up mankind was plunged into sin and death. But God said looka here don't worry about that I've got a table over here too!
With some cards on it!
I've got an ace in the hole and a King of Kings and anybody who believes on Him will be saved. All you have to do is accept Him.
Rev 4:10‑11
and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:
(KJV)
When through so much to get that why just throw it away.
Others had their chance for heaven and lost out
The people in heaven will understand and see that at times when they felt all alone and felt like giving up God was there all the time saying "my grace is sufficient for ya!"
If will be understood that when the devil tried to knock them out of existence Jesus stretch out his hand and protected the apple of his eye!
It will be known that inspite of themselves God saved them and now they stand on streets of gold!!