Do you believe in Luck?

After hearing a message from Pastor Tony Evans regarding Luck, I was personally convicted concerning the influence Luck has on my thinking and on my life.  Not sure where you are on the subject, but I do feel that sharing what Tony had to say about Luck is worth today’s blog post.

People are all about the next American Idol. I find it a bit concerning how loose everyone is with throwing around the term idol. Anybody ever heard of something called the 10 commandments? Oh, my bad! They are OT, Old Testament. Surely they don’t apply today. Let’s just pull up the first two on the list.

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall make no idols.

Idolatry is the worship of an idol or cult image, being a physical image, such as a statue, or a person in place of God. Do we put athletes or championship rings before God? The Israelites were strictly warned to neither adopt nor adapt any of the religious practices of the peoples around them. Do we put Luck before God?

According to the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah, those who worship inanimate idols will be unable to hear the truth that God would communicate to them. Lord let nothing come between us hearing your voice.

Isaiah 65:11-12 “But you who abandon me, your God, who forget the holy mountains, Who hold dinners for Lady Luck and throw cocktail parties for Sir Fate, Well, you asked for it. Fate it will be: your destiny, Death. For when I invited you, you ignored me; when I spoke to you, you brushed me off. You did the very things I exposed as evil; you chose what I hate.” The Message

The NIV breaks down verse 11 like this “those who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny”.  Hebrew word of Fortune is Gad, which means luck. Hebrew word for Destiny is Meni, which means fate. God is making it very clear to avoid turning to luck, or its many disguises such as chance, happenstance or fate instead of Him!

Luck is a god that the Bible says must be rejected. So why do we wish for, hope for, and ask others to help us fight for it. Any of these phrases ring a bell? ‘You Lucky Dog’, ‘Wish me Luck’, ‘Tough luck’, ‘Good luck’, ‘Blind luck’, or even ‘Rotten luck’ are all common phrases that each of us say often. Anybody eat their Lucky Charms this morning? Walter Mosley made is known for the quote, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I would have no luck at all.”

I think we all know down deep that we must reject the idol known as luck for something much more substantial. Surely we don’t depend on luck for our future!

Maybe we do. If so, then how do we do change this? I think we all start by rejecting one word or one thought at a time. A while back before I heard Pastor Tony Evans message, the Holy Spirit started working on me concerning putting ‘Good Luck’ at the end of a text. I simply could not put it anymore. I chose instead to put something like “Favor from Above”. I simply did not know why, but the Spirit was checking me and I through experience I have learned to listen when the Spirit speaks.

I can hear you right now saying the same thing I did. It is all in good fun. We aren’t going to get crazy religious now are we. Come on, Tony, you have to be kidding me on this one. I said all of those things and almost refused to listen to the message. Once again, I felt God was leading me to listen. I am so glad I did.

Conviction is a interesting thing. I am not here to judge anyone, I have a hard enough keeping myself out of trouble. I just wanted to point out what Tony taught regarding what the Bible says about Luck. Now it is up to you pray about it and discern for yourself.

Surely you don’t really believe in the curse of the Bambino, or that black cats are bad luck, or that the number 13 is bad luck. Do you? Ever hesitate to pick up a penny that is on tails on game day? Do you have those lucky socks you wear? So, is luck and superstition the same thing?

When you start believing there is in an energy force that somehow is going to help you reach your destiny or help you somehow overcome and conquer, then maybe just maybe you are no longer just playing around. Casinos are driven by the hope that people will count on Luck coming over to their side. They love nothing more than Luck becoming your god. Just roll the lucky dice.

It’s time to dig into the Word of God and see what God says about Luck.

Zephaniah 1:4-5 refers to looking at heavenly host hoping to get clarification on your destiny. God is very clear in Romans 1:18-25 that we are to worship the Creator and not the creation. Do you really believe the stars can tell you the future? Do you read your horoscope just for fun counting on what month you were born to be the secret of your future? Could you actually believe a fortune cookie could actually give you true insight?

Isaiah 2:6 is very clear about both sorcery or witchcraft. If so then why would you ever listen to a palm reader or consider terran cards could tell you your destiny?

1 Cor 10:19-22 is as direct as gets when it comes to what you are entertaining when you play with any of these so-called harmless games. Don’t invite demons into your destiny! Read the verse for yourself.

“Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what’s the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don’t want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can’t have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won’t put up with it. He wants us—all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?” THE MESSAGE

What if every time you knocked on wood you were worshiping another god without even knowing it!

Yea, you might be avoiding intentionally repeating spells or taking part in sorcery, but do you show you kids Harry Potter movies? Where is the line? Is there a line on things like superstition, sorcery, or witchcraft? A line on sin? I am asking myself as I write. I say we steer north of danger and avoid the fire to avoid being burned.

Why a rabbit’s foot? Why cross your fingers? The answer in my opinion is because we can’t see Faith! The Israelite’s and Aaron felt the need to build a Golden cow. Is our Golden Cow called Luck? Is there any difference in the Golden Cow of OT days and our rabbit’s foot? So, If not Luck, what?

God’s word says that we must trust Christ alone for this is the only way. The answer is the Truth of the Gospel and The Sovereign Providential Nature of God! When you have this understanding! You don’t need luck! You will understand that there is no such thing as Luck! It is time that we turn to the Sovereignty of our God.

What is the Sovereignty of God? It is the truth that God is over all things and nothing happens that He is unaware. Every hair on your head, every sparrow in the sky, every grain of sand, and star in the sky is a stroke of the Master’s Hand! God is fully aware of what is, what was, what could be, or what could have been. God’s Word says so.

Romans 11:36 “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Let’s take another look at that Truth in THE MESSAGE version.

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.

I am watching the movie “Harriet Tubman” as I write this blog. Harriet has miraculously escaped and is asking now for help to free her husband and loved ones. The man’s response is. “You got lucky Harriet”. I love Harriet’s understanding and choice of response. “God was watching, but my feet was my own.” Yes, God gives us a choice, will we choose to depend on Luck or Him for our destiny. Harriet had a close relationship with God and she performed His Will miraculously as a result. We can all learn a lot from this amazing woman.

In order to understand the Sovereignty of God, you must understand God’s Providence. Providence is the methodology God uses to rule over all things! God accomplished His sovereign will through His Providence. God’s Providence looks like luck in almost every way, it often even feels like luck. God’s sovereignty is His Will, but how he accomplished it has a lucky look to it. God hides in Providence in order to accomplish His sovereign Will. God is hidden in what He does.

Isaiah 45:15 “Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel.”

There is no such thing as luck, but you do have the freedom to choose if you believe in luck or God’s Sovereign Will.  You can’t have both. Yes, we have an appointed time, but God lets you choose how you get there and he also lets you choose your destination afterwards, Heaven or Hell. God leaves no room for luck. Not one hair!

Providence is how God makes happen, what He wants to happen. He always wins in chess, but how he wins is up to you. More importantly, if you end up on His side in the end is also up to you. A Sovereign God at work Providentially may look, taste, and feel like luck, but rest assured it is Gods hand in full control. Even when the enemy does everything in his will to win, God calls an audible at the line of scrimmage to orchestrate His Plan and Will.

The more you get to know God the less you will want anything to do with Luck. Even Satan has to get permission to touch you. He had to ask God permission to touch Job.  The key is cooperating with God’s Providence, so God’s Sovereignty is working for you.

Romans 8:28-29 For We Know God causes all things to work together for Good to those who Love Him! To those who are called according to His purpose!

A conductor of a symphony puts all of the instruments in one accord. A good coach is able to convince players on team to work together unselfishly in unity each playing their role to the best of their ability for the good of the team.  God does this with each of us, as He loves His Creation so much He sent His only Son to die for us.

Let’s look at a few examples. How about Lucky no 13 worn by Joseph? Finally, after the pit, the jail, and 13 years of considering adversity pure joy, Joseph in Genesis Chapter 50 finally receives God’s Providence. Most would say that Joseph was not given a fair shake by God in his first 13 years! All things came together for ole no. 13 Joseph! Joseph defined it all in Genesis 50:20 when explaining God’s Providence and Sovereignty to his brothers. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is the one time that God jokes openly about the possibility of anything being the result of luck. As only God can do, He chose the most important gift and story of all to make His point. The fact that the lineage of His Son Jesus could possibly have come from happenstance.

Ruth had fell on what most would call some bad luck as she had lost everything. In Ruth 2:3, we see the one and only time the Bible speaks to the idea that something just so happened.

“So, Ruth departed and went out into the field and gleaned after the harvesters. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.”

God has the best sense of humor ever created. He is the Great I am who created humor! He has shown me so many times His Glory and Power through His humor. It just so happens that Ruth and Boaz went on to have a little boy named Obed, who is the father of Jesse, who is the father of David, and yes, the great grandpa of our Savior Jesus. It just so happened that Ruth stopped in Boaz field. That is the biggest LOL ever.

How about Esther? The only book in Bible God’s name is not mentioned, but by no coincidence you can see The Master’s fingerprints and Providence all throughout the book! Mordecai reminds Ester of her calling inside God’s plan, letter her know that she had been called to the Kingdom for such a time as this.

A story that goes like this. The King had insomnia and couldn’t sleep, so he asked his servant to bring him a boring book to read about the history of his lineage as king. The servant just so happened to open that book to THE PAGE that told a story about a man named Mordecai who was responsible for saving the king. The king had no idea. He asked his servant, “Who is this Mordecai?” Years ago, he saved your life. It took Providence and years for Gods plan to come together, but on that day, God’s plan for Mordecai’s came together.

About that time, it just so happened that Heyman, who was looking to kill Mordecai, came walking into the palace.  The king starts talking about the great man who saved his life and Heyman thanks he is talking about him.  The King ask, “What should I do for this man?” Heyman comes up with everything great under the sun. God flips the enemies plan on himself! Mordecai walks miraculously into his providential destiny. Who needs luck, when you have God!

When you have a SPG, a Sovereign Providential God, kiss lady luck good bye forever. As we mentioned earlier from Romans 8:28: ALL THINGS, WORK TOGETHER FOR THOSE WHO LOVE GOD & ARE CALLED TO HIS PURPOSE!

How do you love God? Loving God Boils Down to One Thing and that is PPHG, Passionately Pursuing His Glory! We must desire to show Him off, demonstrate His Power. Having feelings for Him just aren’t enough. Love is an action,

Those who are called according to His Purpose! What is God’s purpose? Verse 29 directs us to the answer to that question – To conform to the image of His firstborn!  We are caught up in a relationship between the Father and the Son. The Father has a desire to duplicate His Son. We are to be the image of our big brother Jesus.

God will do whatever it takes to conform you! To remover your pride, laziness, selfishness, etc.. He wants our character and conduct to resemble and mirror Jesus. It is pretty simple math. If you don’t want to be like Jesus, then you won’t see all things working for your good. So in the end, I can assure you luck won’t be on your side. When you want to Glorify the Son, then His Glory becomes your Passion. Being confirmed to Christ becomes your Purpose and luck is no more.