(Author’s note: this is the conclusion of my message “The Divine Deal” Genesis 17:1-9, 15-21 from Sunday, February 25, 2018 at FUMC Winnfield)

When I was a kid I loved holidays and summer.  Not just because I was out of school, but because I was home in the morning to watch TV game shows.  That was before many game shows were on at night, before there was such a thing as the game show network.  I got to watch the Price is Right, Card Sharks, Press your luck (with those crazy “Whammies”), the $20,000 pyramid and one of my favorites, Let’s Make a Deal.  One of the reasons I liked Let’s Make a Deal is that the audience dressed up as all kind of crazy things.

The basic concept behind Let’s Make a Deal (which is still on today led by comedian Wayne Brady and airs on our CBS affiliate each weekday at 2 PM) is that the contestant gets to choose between several items hoping to trade up for something better.  My favorite part of the show was the big deal of the day at the end, where the winningest contestant got to choose among one of three doors, as long as they were willing to give up what they had already won.  One door would be a bust, one would be ok, and the other would be spectacular.  Sometimes they won, many times they did not win the big deal.

          God offered Abraham and Sarah, and us, the big deal.  And fortunately for us there are not three doors, one of which is a loser, the other is so-so, and only one is the big deal of the day.  But God offers us the big deal, the best deal, if we will take it.  Now like on the TV show, it entails us giving something up.  Maybe our wants, our desires, our dreams, our selfishness to follow God.   Abraham and Sarah did as God commanded and God rewarded them far beyond their wildest dreams. Not as quickly as they might have thought for God’s timetable is not our timetable.  But God rewarded them far beyond anything they could ever have imagined.  God’s covenant offered them a better plan, the best plan and they followed it.  God has been faithful to his promises and covenant, have we?   Abraham and Sarah said yes to the divine deal, and their lives were never the same.  God is still offering us the Divine Deal today- what will we say?