A Safe Bet

What Are the Chances?

Last week Tiger Woods won the Masters Golf Tournament.

A 43-year old w/ a fused back just won one of the most difficult golf tournaments ever.

All the practice, 4 rounds, best golfer.

A few years ago he thought he was done.

He was overheard whispering to someone else that he believed he would never play competitive golf again after his back surgery.

What were the chances?

1 in 14. A long shot by Vegas standards.

One man bet $85K on Tiger winning and he won $1.19 M.

Who bets $85K on a 14 - 1 long shot?

Who buys a lottery ticket?

Powerball or Megamillions.

An avg. jackpot around $500 M is a 1 in 300 M chance.

Next year Sara and I both turn 60 years old.

Who buys an airplane ticket?

1 in 5 M chance of dying in a plane crash

Better chance of dying in your car today.

1 in 2.8 M

BTW, 1 in 400,000 chance of dying at the Grand Canyon.

3 in 2 weeks just a short time ago.

Some die from lightening there.

Overall, a 1 in 700,000 chance of being struck by lightening this year.

1 in 3,000 in your lifetime.

We bet our life on these odds every time we get in an airplane, get into a car, go to the Grand Canyon, hike or play golf during Monsoon season.

Next year Sara and I both turn 60 years old.

We’re planning a big trip to celebrate.

We’re going to Israel for 2 and half weeks in Sept. and Oct.

That’s over Yom Kippur.

It should be a special time in Jerusalem over the holiday.

There is also historical and future significance to Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.

If Vegas had odds for when Jesus would return, the best chances would be on either Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah.

We might be there to see Jesus return. Somebody will be when it actually happens. It might be us.

It’s also a dangerous place. I looked up the chances of dying in Israel as a western tourist.

1 in 1.7 M

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Historical odds. Scientific statistics.

My attitude? I believe in a sovereign God who already knows how long I’m going to live. He has appointed a number of days for me on this earth.

I can’t change that. He knows what I’m going to do.

Wise and foolish.

What I control is the quality of my time on earth.

I don’t worry about these things. But, I admit I am betting my life on some of these decisions.

What are the chances of eating too much BBQ this summer at Agee’s? Pretty good.

What are the chances of somebody blowing a tire on a Rough Rider ride this summer? Pretty good.

What are the chances one of us getting caught in a radar trap here in MP this summer? If we’re paying attention it should be pretty slim.

Some of this is historical data. Scientific statistics.

The future predictions are based on past occurrences.

My attitude? I believe in a sovereign God who already knows how long I’m going to live. He has appointed a number of days for me on this earth.

I can’t change that. He knows what I’m going to do.

Wise and foolish.

What I control is the quality of my time on earth.

I don’t worry about these things. But, I admit I am betting my life on some of these decisions.

It’s Easter Sunday.

Chocolate bunnies, colored eggs and Easter egg hunts.

It’s Easter Sunday.

Ham dinners.

Dress up, go to church, special music.

Like Christmas, over time, it’s easy to lose the reason why we celebrate the way we do.

I love chocolate more than most of you.

I’m looking forward to Sara’s special Easter lunch.

I enjoy Linda’s music a great deal.

But, as good as these are, it’s not why we celebrate. It’s how we celebrate.

But, these are tangible. They are all sure things.

What are the chances we are wasting our time today.

Not just today, but every Sunday, every bible study, every quiet time, every prayer gathering.

What are the chances?

Chocolate bunnies, colored eggs and Easter Egg hunts.

Ham dinners.

Dress up and go to church, flowers. Special music.

Jesus has asked us to make a bet.

He has asked us to bet our lives, our entire lives, our eternal lives, not just a moments here and there.

Jesus has asked us to bet our lives that He can get us to heaven. If we believe in Who He is, What He came to do, and that He did it.

If we believe in this, what are the chances?

It’s a safe bet.

What are we betting? And in Whom are we betting on?

The Lamb

John 1:29 NIV

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John the Baptist introduced Him before he baptized Him.

This is the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

His public introduction.

This is the bridge between Israel and the church.

Israel got their Lamb.

Since leaving Egypt they celebrated with a lamb.

The meat for the meal and the blood on the doorposts for death to Pass over.

They knew, or should have, the animals they slaughtered over the years were just symbolic.

God was going to have to do something and send someone more than a 4-legged creature to save them for eternity.

The church got their personal relationship.

Jesus came as a man. He was born just like us.

Here, He walked up on the scene and offered and handshake and hug.

He spoke just like we do. We can understand Him.

This is where God ceased to be a distance, mystical, and only spiritual being.

This Lamb, w/ whom we have a personal relationship, took away our sin.

And, w/ our sin went the punishment and the guilt that goes w/ it.

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This is the only way it could have been done.

And, if Jesus didn’t do it, then it would still be w/ us.

The guilt of our poor decisions would still bind us up today and the punishment would be administered after we leave this life.

We have an enemy that wants us to believe the guilt is still hanging over us and will remind us of it over and over.

Jesus bought it, He didn’t borrow it.

Don’t loan it, leave it at the cross.

How? How do we do this? What do we have to do?

Place the Bet

John 1:11–12 NIV

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

John 1:11

Believe and receive.

Believe in Who Jesus is and What He came to do.

It’s a conscious choice. Nobody can make it for you.

Maybe when your were a kid your parents made you go to church. Maybe now, their memory still does, or your spouse does.

Make the decision for yourself. Don’t try to please anybody else.

Step 1a is believe. But there’s more to it.

Even the demons believe this. And they don’t have what Jesus is offering here.

I could have believed Tiger was going to win. I didn’t, but I could have.

Since I didn’t place a bet, I didn’t win anything.

Step 1b w/ Jesus is receive.

When you place your bet, when you bet your life on Jesus then you have to put all your eggs in only 1 basket.

Do you remember taking your kids out for an Easter Egg hunt and they want 2 baskets.

The older ones who know they can out run and outhunt the younger ones.

In case one basket gets lost or stolen there’s always a back up.

Maybe some other kids does his hunting in another kid’s first basket.

No. Just one basket. Jesus. All your eggs that you hope will get all that Jesus offers in only 1 basket.

Life beings the moment we believe.

Some of us did this a long time ago. And, we haven’t had to wait til we die to enjoy the benefits that Jesus offers.

We have bet our lives on Jesus to get to Heaven. And, we win while we’re here, too.

Peace on Earth

John 14:27 NIV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Jesus also warned us that we would have trouble here. He’s not just talking about persecution.

Our bodies break down. Relationships can be a struggle. Our churches can burn down. Natural disasters can strike.

But, it the midst of whatever storm you’re in, you can find peace.

Remember, Jesus sent His disciples into storms twice to make sure they got this.

He didn’t scold them for waking Him up when He was asleep in the boat in the storm.

He scolded them for not trusting Him and panicking.

Lean into Jesus when you’re in a storm. Don’t turn your back and try to manage on your own.

Personal experience.

Last year when Sara was diagnosed w/ thyroid cancer the storm clouds were thick around us.

We didn’t know what God was going do. We knew the doctors plan, though.

Doctors don’t offer guarantees.

I spent my QTs in the Psalms.

I read about 5 each day.

David praises God even in his struggles.

He faced foreign armies, friends that turned on him, slept in caves by himself, and ran for his life.

He prayed against his enemies and asked God fight his battles for him.

He still fought w/ his sword and slingshot.

But God led and his fight in the battle.

Cancer was my enemy. I prayed the same words David wrote about his adversaries and the storms that surrounded him.

I experienced God’s peace while we waited for God to work.

How could David praise God in his writing. And, how could we come to church and find a reason to praise God in our prayer time.

B/C, besides peace, God provides joy in this life.

Joy to the World

John

John 15:11 NIV

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

This seems to be a Christmas message.

Joy to the World.

Peace on earth.

Christmas and Easter are closely linked.

W/out Christmas there would be no Easter.

W/out Easter, Christmas wouldn’t be a thing.

God gave Jesus to the world.

In a relationship w/ Him, not only do we get Him, we get the peace and joy that comes w/ Him.

Joy is not a shallow, veneer, happiness or teen-age girl giddiness.

It’s an under girding of positive emotion and outlook.

It is the ability to smile and be positive even when the storms in life are the fiercest.

At the core, joy requires a deep-seeded trust in Jesus.

All eggs in one basket. Go deep w/ Jesus and trust that He will do what He has promised to do.

He promised benefits in this life. And, ultimately, He promised to get us to the next.

We have to have a place to go.

A Room with a View

John 14:1–3 NIV

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

We have to have a place. We need to know there’s a destination.

Imagine a mansion bigger than anything else you’ve ever seen or imagined.

Bigger than the wealthiest rapper, athlete, actor, or politician’s house.

Massive.

But, one room dedicated to you. Your favorite colors, hobbies, and decorations.

Jesus decorated w/ no one else in mind. Only you.

Like Abraham, he knew there was a destination God had designated for him, but he didn’t know exactly where it was.

God said, Go. And, I’ll tell you that you’re there when you get there.

In the mean time, follow me.

No GPS will get us to heaven.

It’s like giving friends our address on Fishlake.

Their phones won’t get them there.

Either for safety reasons, or just for kicks and grins to see how lost people could get the county renamed all the streets a few years ago.

We have to lead ppl to our house.

God led Abraham to his PL. Jesus will lead us to ours.

We don’t know the way on our own. We can’t find it.

We have to trust that Jesus knows and will take us there.

All of our eggs in one basket.

He is the only one who can.

The Only Way

John 14:5–6 NIV

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

I talked about this Friday night. The disciples were so confused.

At least we have the benefit of looking back and seeing what Jesus did.

They had so much less than we do in their rear-view mirror. And, what they saw ahead of them in their windshield they couldn’t make out.

What they did know is God, the Father, is in heaven. And, they wanted to get to heaven where God is.

Jesus knows the way. In fact, He says He is the way.

But, he’s talking about leaving them, at least for a time.

How will they get there then?

They are confused, troubled and struggling to understand.

Jesus said, “Trust Me. I’ll get you there.”

All your eggs in one basket. No hedging your bet.

You can buy a second lottery ticket w/ different numbers.

That won’t increase your chances much at all.

You could bet on 2 golfers to win the Masters.

That might double your chances of winning something there.

But, if you do it w/ Jesus you eliminate any chance of winning the eternal lottery.

Who else would you bet on anyway?

Odds

What is the risk?

What are the chances?

If we put all of our Easter eggs in only one basket, and that basket is Jesus, how safe of a bet is it?

Odds.

One man in all of history. One chance at the eternal life lotto.

How many ppl have walked the earth?

There are over 300 predictions in the OT about what the Messiah will do, what will happen to Him, and what will happen around Him.

They were all written between 1000 and 400 years before the first Christmas when Jesus was born.

The odds of 1 man fulfilling all of them?

1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (10 to the 17th power)

And, Jesus has fulfilled every single one up to this point.

The only ones left are the few about the next time He shows up.

Jesus has asked us to put all of our eggs in one basket.

He has asked us to bet everything on Him.

What are the chances that we’ll win?

I think they’re pretty good.

That won’t increase your chances much at all.

Can we prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, w/ 100% accuracy that Jesus really can do this?

No.

If we could, we wouldn’t need faith.

But, the amount of faith we need is very little.

B/C the object of our faith is very sound and secure.

They say the only sure things in life are death and taxes.

We paid our taxes this week.

But whenever we die, it doesn’t have to be the end.

The next best thing to a sure thing is betting your life on Jesus and putting all your eggs in His basket.

Communion

Remember what He did.

Remember what He’s going to do.

All your eggs in one basket.

Are you still holding on to one egg?

Is that egg just in case you think Jesus can’t or won’t save you?

Drop the egg. There is no other choice.

Or, is that egg something you’re hanging onto that the enemy has convinced you is too much for Jesus to forgive.

You can’t forgive yourself so you think Jesus can’t forgive you either.

Trust me, he has.

Drop the egg and pick up a rock.

Psalm 103:11–12 NIV

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

If you were w/ us Friday night we gave you a rock that we wanted you to let it represent this last egg you were hanging onto.

You dropped in the baptistry.

You heard it plop in the water and thud on the bottom of the tank. It’s gone. Let it go.

Today, when you come up for communion we have new rocks for you to pick up and keep as a reminder of how much Jesus loves you and how far away he has removed the punishment and feelings of guilt from every bad decision you will ever make.

When you are ready and you are sure you have dropped every one of your eggs into Jesus’ basket come and celebrate communion w/ us.

And pick up a rock to take w/ you to help your remember how much Jesus loves you and what He for you.