Sermon Tone Analysis

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.