A while back a friend and I were talking about a dice game called “Farkle”. It is kind of like “Yatzee” but moves a little faster and you can lose all your points if you are not careful. I pulled out a Farkle game and was rolling the dice in my office and started thinking. Every time I roll these dice I take a chance of either getting more points or losing everything that I had accumulated up to that point, yet something makes me want to keep rolling for more. Life is a lot like that, there are things all over that people take chances on. Some are good and some are bad. Some people take chances by playing the lottery, black jack or the slots, yet others take chances like jumping out of a plane with a parachute (I have done that and it was awesome) others take chances by doing drugs, drinking and partying. We all take chances everyday by driving, going on a plane or train, ridding a roller coaster or even walking down the street. It seems that we are all willing to take a chance on a lot of things, a lot of things that is except maybe Christ and His cause.
You are saying, ”Wait a minute, I love the Lord and have given my life to Him, So, what are you talking about?” Well let me put it this way. Asking Jesus into your heart and life to be your Lord and Savior is not a chance or a gamble, it is a Sure Thing. So then, what am I talking about?
I’m talking about being Sold Out for Christ in everything you do. Does Jesus invade every part of your life? Is He the reason for everything you do? If He isn’t then you are taking a huge chance. What do I mean by having him as your reason for everything? I mean do you weigh the cost and make every decision on the standards that Christ laid out and stands for. When you go to work do you just go to work or do you ask yourself, “How can I make a difference for Christ at work today?” How about when you are hanging out with friends do you ask, “How can we have fun and glorify Christ at the same time?”
Even at church we need to ask some critical questions. Like, "How can I serve my church in a way that will bring glory to God and lead others to a relationship with Christ?" Maybe we should ask ourselves, "Is our church serving in such a way that it brings glory to Christ.?" Depending on the answers to those questions we then may have to ask, "What can I / we do to bring new Christians into a deeper relationship with Christ?”, or maybe even, "How do I bring myself into an even deeper relationship with Christ? "That is what discipleship is. When a church makes disciples and has faith then all other things fall into place. But when a church or individuals places emphasis on other things, then, it is taking a chance on itself and not taking hold of the sure thing in Christ. The Bible tells us to seek first the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness of Christ and then all this will be added unto us. If we are trying to problem solve rather than seeking then we are taking a chance.
We also need to ask, “Am I/are we doing enough or all that I/we can to further the cause of Christ?” Is there “No I’ve done enough” or “it’s someone else’s turn” when it comes to the kingdom of God. So stop taking chances and just serve God and seek Christ. I would like to close with a little blurb from the poem “I Am A Disciple”. (Not the denomination creed but the creed of a true disciple of the Lord of Lords.)
I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My colors will be clear!”
If you are going to take a chance why not make it a sure thing!?! Go all in!!!
Pastor Sean