I still have memories of hearing the lotto numbers in my grand parents house around dinner time on the few occasions I was there. My granddad bought tickets every week, sitting in his armchair with a rug over his legs crossing off numbers.
I had no real care for it at that age – In fact I wouldn’t even have known what the prize pool was. Some have been huge…what is the biggest prize you know of?
6th Nov 2012 in Australia – Oz Lotto jackpot tied at $112MILLION!! That was nothing compared to $1.3 BILLION in the USA!!
But how can you win a part of the prize money?
You have to be in the game – with the right numbers.
Let’s play a game…
Lotto – what is it?
Picking 7 numbers, where each one could be number 1 through to number 45.
People pay $1.20 for each ‘game’ – a line of guesses to win.
Listed in the standard tickets are games that costs everything from $1.20 to nearly $93,000.
It sounds simple, however the odds of winning are incredibly small:
Odds of winning
Division What you need Odds of winning Winnings #winners
1 7 Winning Numbers 1 in 45,379,620 $Jackpot! 1
2 6 Winning Numbers + 1 Supplementary Number 1 in 3,241,401 $40,000 3
3 6 Winning Numbers 1 in 180,078 $6500 40
4 5 Winning Numbers + 1 Supplementary Number 1 in 29,602 $366 350
5 5 Winning Numbers 1 in 3,430 $50 3,000
6 4 Winning Numbers 1 in 154 $25 70,000
7 3 Winning Numbers + 1 Supplementary Number 1 in 87 $12 122,000
Currently $20 Million prize pool.
Let’s see what it is like. Remember that every time you choose one set of numbers, it costs you $1.20.
Paper & Pens. Pick 7 numbers between 1 and 45. Write them down. What could you do with $112 MILLION?
Watch YouTube video – $112mil draw.
How did you do?
Remember the chances of winning? 1 in 45,000,000! Very, very, VERY slim!
Now, just imagine you had this ticket:
29, 43, 8, 7, 15, 2, 13 ** 21, 20 (the winning numbers)
How carefully would you take care of it? How important would it be to you? Would you keep it close? How vigorously would you defend it? Imagine if you lost it, like Martyn and Kay Tott – who won around $6 million but accidentally threw out the ticket by accident. Believe it or not, it’s happened to quite a few people…
But really – how long will that money last? What can it really achieve?
If you won all this money, what would you do with it?
{ask a few people]
Most of what we think of is simple ‘selfish pleasures’ that leave us unfulfilled and wanting more.
In fact, do you know that many people have won lotto and then wasted the lot and ended up poor, desperate, addicted, jailed or suicidal?
65% of lotto winners end up being totally bankrupt after 15 years! That’s right – winning a huge sum of money, that should set a whole family up for life, ends in bankruptcy for 65% of the ‘winners’.
A quick online search will show you story after story of sad outcomes for the people who ‘win’ – loss, debt, failed relationships, jail, depression, drug addiction and death.
Jack Whittaker Junior won $315 million US dollars (!!) but ended up divorced, with no fortune, no family said ‘I wish I had torn that ticket up’. That’s right $345 MILLION – but he wished he’d torn the ticket up!
Callie Rogers won close to $4 million, but ended up a maid living with her parents, broke and in debt – after allegedly trying to end her life 3 times. She is quoted as saying ‘money can not buy happiness’.
The Bible written thousands of years ago, tells us much more than that.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
1 John 2:15-17 (NLT)
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT)
There is a prize that God offers that doesn’t end in despair, addiction, death – but in a life with God, united with Him and adopted as His child!
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
John 14:1-3
There is more than enough room in My Fathers home…literally “In my Fathers house there are many rooms”. The culture of the towns where Jesus was speaking was that a man would prepare a place in His fathers house – an addition – for his new bride. The new couple would live in the fathers house. Jesus is saying we will be with Him in the Fathers house – forever. Where God is – not as the judge but as our loving and forgiving Father!
Image source: https://dailylifeinthetimeofjesus.weebly.com/daily-life-at-the-time-of-jesus.html
To ‘win’ this prize – you don’t need to buy a ticket every week – which adds up over time! (In 2014, the average spend for EVERY person in the USA was $300! That is a total of $70 Billion dollars that people spend on a ticket to win a prize that was in fact a curse…)
But there is a prize that lasts forever and there is no ongoing cost for us – because the true cost was paid up front by someone else. His name is Jesus Christ and He paid a huge price – not just His life, but His death – His very blood was the currency.
What does He want in return? Your life, your love. There are no hidden catches, no tricks – just an upfront request for the life that He gave you in the first place.
Jesus paid for your sin – turning from it and putting your trust in Him, you gain the prize!
Despite your failures – despite the fact that you will likely fail Him again (and again!) – He loves you anyway. He wants you anyway.
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago..
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)
Conclusion: Don’t waste your time on working for money to pay for lotto tickets – that prize ends in death, Jesus offers life!
PRAYER: Lord, please awaken us continually to Your truth – the Truth that You are holy and will judge us in righteousness – that we will be condemned but that You sent Your Son to die for us. May we turn from the things that bring death and put our trust in You. Thank You for all You have done.
NOTES: I
If you plan to do this with children to show them the futility of gambling, make sure you don’t make the anticipation & ‘fun’ of the game too much. For some, it may be beneficial to make it actually cost something so the children get an accurate idea of the fact that gambling always has a cost.