Without Faith You Can't Please God!
Rev. John R. Greene
When I am not traveling to preach in a service across the State, I am blessed to be able to attend a local Sunday school class: the topics deal with everyday life and discussions are lively. For two of the last four weeks the discussion has been gambling, but this class doesn't deal with opinions, it asks, "What does God's Word say about this?"
How many of you are blessed by a good Sunday school teacher who wants to rightly divide God's Word so that it will make a difference in your life? For that matter, do you even go to Sunday school? Preaching deals with God's Word from one perspective while Sunday school will deal with the Word in another perspective. So, do you go? You should!
Gambling is an issue that some people just don't see as sin. In Hebrews 11:6, it says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." Faith is a cherished confidence in God that He is exactly Who He says He is and is trusting in Him for all our needs-emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially. What is gambling? It is the "risk" of something seemingly small in amount to gain an enormous amount. Bet a dollar, win a million. This is the lure or seduction to gambling, get something for nothing.
The lottery is many people risking a little in order that some may win a lot. At first, the devil lies to you and says that the money will be used for education, to help people, but does it? Some is given to education, but since the enactment of legislation for lotteries across this country, the USA educational system has produced more failures than ever in this century. Check out the statistics! Secondly, each dollar you win is at the expense of so many other people losing their money. Think about it! You may win money, but at your neighbor's expense.
God never takes advantage of people's misfortunes! God loves people, but people must have faith in Jesus to receive anything from Him! Jesus is Lord, King of all the universe. We must repent of our sins and come to Jesus on His terms, and that is simply by faith. That's all, faith!
Gambling is a sin that will destroy you. You won't read the statistics of the "deceived" that sold everything because they knew they would win. People have lost everything because they insisted on the "easy" way! If you want to learn more about gambling and other issues that we deal with everyday, show up to the Sunday school class that I attempt to attend as regularly as possible. God's Word will never let you down! God wants you to be able to deal with real life with faith in Jesus. Then, Jesus will bring the victory into our lives. Give Jesus a chance this week. Put your faith in a Sure Thing, Jesus!! Have a blessed week.
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