Romans 1:16 – "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

This morning I want to tell you about Morris Siegel.   Many of you are probably asking yourselves, "Who in the world is Morris Siegel?”

On the surface he seemed like your average Los Angeles street person... roaming about in dark alleys, sleeping out of doors, carrying everything he owned in an old shopping cart. And he died the way one expects a street person to die... found in an alley, dead of natural causes, heart trouble perhaps. But there was something about him that was different.

Maybe it was his three bank accounts containing a total of $1,207,421.00.

Ten years ago, Morris’ father died and left the money to him. When Morris did not claim it, the division of Unclaimed Property tracked him down, and his family forced him to accept it. He did not show up at the ceremony when the cash was handed over. He took enough of the money to buy an old car, where he slept in bad weather. Relatives rented him an apartment; he never went there. He died December 14, 1989 with three dollars in his pocket and an untouched fortune in the bank.

Sound crazy? Well, figure this one out.

A couple thousand years ago, our Heavenly Father ratified His will, and left all of His children eternal wealth... life, peace, victory. To this day, many have not claimed the windfall and some have refused to spend any of it. Lost people shuffle down blind alleys of an empty existence, facing hell for eternity, and ignore the salvation promised in Christ. Many Christians, who have heaven for their final destination, content themselves with a grubby, isolated, unproductive life on this earth, but they will be eternally lost.

John 3:16 – "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Hebrews 2:3 – "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him.”

Romans 6:23 – "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Old Morris lived a wasted life and died a futile death, but I can’t be too quick to point the finger at him. He was only dealing with the temporary, and many of us play the same losing game with the eternal.  Are we simply wasting our lives?  Are we doing what God wants us to do?

1 Peter 4:18 – "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

John 12:48 – "He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”