This week I’ve been in Texas to pray for a dear pastor who was just diagnosed with prostate and bone cancer last Saturday.  He believes in healing, in fact, the LORD instantly healed him of a broken neck and broken ribs received in a truck accident about three years ago.  He called me from the hospital in the middle of the night, and I prayed for him, and there was no delay in his being healed whatsoever.  He was back at work the next morning.  Yes, God answers prayer even late at night.  I like it that we have a 24/7 God.  But isn’t that like God who put it all on the line for us?  What do I mean by that?  He sent His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus to be the ransom for our sins, and He laid all of our diseases and infirmities upon Jesus…for US!
Think of the risk the LORD took in sending Jesus to the earth to live as a man.  Jesus was tempted with every type of sin that mankind is tempted with. If Jesus had fallen into sin, any sin at all, He would have been disqualified to be our Savior forever, and the Father has no other Son to send in His place.  In fact, had Jesus sinned, He would not have been resurrected, and He would have been lost to His heavenly Father FOREVER.  Indeed, the Father put it ALL on the line for us, holding NOTHING BACK.
Can it be said of us that we put it all on the line for God?  Think about that for a while.  Let me liken it to a poker game for the point of illustration.  We will say you are in a game for your soul.  Well, actually you ARE, whether you realize it or not. Everything you are or ever will be is now represented by a stack of poker chips in this game we call “Life”.  How sure are you of your salvation?  Place your bet. Well, you’re sure you’re saved, so you slide over a big pile of chips.  Now, being you’re SURE, you’ll bet big, right?  I mean, after all, you’ll bet big on a sure thing because you’ll win big.  But what if you’re doubting your salvation, you’re not too willing to bet the farm so to speak, so that just in case you’re wrong, you haven’t lost it all, right?
Ok, now what about do you have the Holy Spirit?  You’re SURE, right?  Ok, place your bet. Well, I go to church every week, and the preacher says if I belong to his church, I surely am saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. So here goes another pile of chips to the table. Uh, well, here goes….hope, hope, hope.  Putting some more on the line here…..
Now, what about healing?  Jesus healed all the sick who came to Him, never refusing to heal ANYONE.  According to Psalm 103:2-3, the LORD forgives ALL our iniquities and heals ALL our diseases.  Here’s where it gets real.  How SURE are you that Jesus heals all YOUR diseases? Well, I know the Bible says so, but I know people who have been prayed for who apparently didn’t get healed. And here’s where it gets real for my pastor friend.  I prayed for him Sunday morning.  Wednesday he got the doctor’s report back from the test from a couple weeks ago.  The report said he has prostate cancer and bone cancer.  I saw his whole demeanor change before my eyes.  One hour ago he was so sure he was healed. He felt wonderful and was full of confidence in God’s Word. Now, he is in pain and downcast.  The devil made his move and I can hear the devil saying, OK, PLACE YOUR BET. How many chips do you suppose the pastor will slide over there?  Will he bet the farm and put it all on the line?  Or will he look at his pile of chips and say, I need to hold some chips back ( just in case God isn’t good for His Word) ???
This may be YOUR situation right now, I don’t know.  You’ve read the Bible, so you’ve heard the report of the LORD.  You’ve got the doctor’s report, or the bank’s report, or the whatever bad report.  And you’re sitting at the table of decision, Do I believe God, or do I believe THIS? Well, you say you’re not a betting person, but like it or not, you will place your bet.  Take a good look at your pile of chips.  You’re betting your eternity on whether you can trust God or not.  After all, we don’t get a “Admit one to heaven” ticket in the mail when we get saved.  So all we have to trust is God’s Word in the Holy Bible.  A printed page to some, just a printed page,  and your eternity hangs in the balance of the trust you put in those pages.
I myself have put everything I am, everything I ever will be, my complete trust in what is written in those pages.  So when anything, and I mean ANYTHING comes against my life and what is written in those pages, the decision is easy for me.  When the devil hits me and says,
“Place your bet, sucker”, I push the whole stack of chips out there, PUTTING IT ALL ON THE LINE.  How can I be so brash and sure?  Because my Savior, Christ Jesus of Nazareth put it all on the line for ME!
That’s me.   But what about YOU?  If you’re not sure, then you’d better GET sure.  And you’ll only get sure by getting in the Bible and making the promises YOURS.  You can win big or lose big, depending on where you put your trust. If God’s a liar, then we’ve lost it all.  But if He is telling the truth, then we win BIG.   Let me give you some insider information:  put all your chips on GOD.  He never lies, and He never loses. Go ahead, put it ALL on the line!