The Power of Decision

 A number of years ago there was a sports show on television called “The Wide World of Sports.”  The show began with a montage of sports action with a voice over that said these words:  “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”  The video footage showing during the words, “the agony of defeat,” was of a ski jumper by the name of Vinko Bogotaj, who crashes while racing toward the bottom of the jump.  In the crash he falls off the side of the jump structure.  It’s a brutal crash.  He could have been killed.

Few people know, though, that Bogotaj intentionally ended the jump before he could fly.  He was jumping at the end of the day and cooling temperatures had caused the snow to become icy. He realized that he was gaining too mush speed; that he would land beyond the landing slope and could potentially be killed.  He was forced to make a decision that, even through it was a great risk, he would have to try to stop himself.

We are often faced with the same kind of decisions, where we have to weigh out what is the greater danger.  When ewe make a decision with great risk we need to put all of our energy in to seeing the decision we make be successful.

I’ve heard Pastor Mitchell, make the statement, “man has a sovereign will (what we call free will), and God will not violate that.”  In other words, he’s saying that we make our own choices.  God doesn’t make decision for us.  He may set up circumstances by which a decision must be made, but ultimately it’s up to us.  We are the ones who decide what we’ll do with those circumstances. 

We make many decisions over the course of our lifetimes.  One of the decisions that we make is whether or not we’ll step into the will of God for our lives.  Will we accept our salvation?  Often this is a simple decision, like the one the skier had to make?  Sin is killing me; quit or not?  Once that decision is made it leads to a much more difficult decision.  What am I willing to do to stay in the will of God?  This is the real decision, because many times what happens to us is that we get saved and we make some changes in our lives.  We step out of the overt sin.  Most Christians aren’t drug addicts any more, but is that all the will of God entails? 

There are decisions that we make that are less clear and more uncertain.  If we have a sovereign will and God will not violate that then, ultimately being in the will of God comes down to a decision that we make.  Today, I wan to post on the power of decision, from this passage of scripture:

Esther 4:6-17 (NKJV)
^4:6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate. ⁷ And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews. ⁸ He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. ⁹ So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai. ¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: ¹¹ "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days." ¹² So they told Mordecai Esther's words. ¹³ And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" ¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!" ¹⁷ So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.

The Circumstances of Decision

We are all familiar with this portion of scripture,  the Jews are living under the king of Persia, who has given power to a man who despises them, and has determined to have them killed.  He has taken a decree to the king that calls for the annihilation of the Jews, and that order has been granted and has gone out.  This is in place; it’s going to happen.  On a certain day the people will rise up and kill all the Jews. 

So, this is a time of desperation.  There is a great need for deliverance.  If you think about it for a moment, it’s also a picture of us in the bondage of sin.  There is impending death:  the wages of sin is death.  There is the jealous and angry hater of the Jews:  Satan despises us, too.  There is a sense of desperation that the people will survive.

How many of you reading this were desperate at the moment when you made the decision to get saved?  Many of us had come to the end of our rope and there was nowhere else to go.  Maybe you were in prison.  Maybe you were facing death.  Many of  you had destroyed your life in another way.  There was a desperate quality to our lives.  Change or die.  So we came to a place where decision became necessary.  The circumstances were against us, we had come to the place of decision, like Vinko Bogotaj,  A decision had to be made, “Do I continue down the jump or do I throw myself off the ramp?”

In our text there is certain annihilation of the Jews by their enemies. There is something that can be done to bring deliverance, but that thing is done at great risk.  The time for a decision has come. 

Think of wjhat must have gone through Bogotaj’s mind as he hurtled down the ramp.  He knew by the speed that he was traveling that he was in grave danger if he continued.  But there must also be the question is his mind, “What will happen if I throw myself down on the ramp?”  he would no longer be in control and a fall from the ramp at high speed was also very risky.  This is a crisis point requiring a decision.  A decision must be made. 

Esther is also weighing out the risks in the decision she has to make.   This is a crisis decision.  Do I allow the Jews to be annihilated?  Do I step in and risk the king’s wrath?  She made her decision, she struggled through the process and said, “Okay, I’m in the best position to influence the king, and I understand the risk of going to him, and she made her choice.

William James, the philosopher once said, “When you have to make a choice and don’t do it, that is a choice, in itself.

God has a will; there is a will of God and we know what that is. It is the salvation and deliverance of all of mankind.

2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)
^3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

We’re the ones who have to decide.  God can’t force us to love Him and repent, but many times what He does is lay out the consequences and let’s us make the decision.

Deuteronomy 30:14-19 (NKJV)
^30:14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. ¹⁵ "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, ¹⁶ in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

This is a call to a decision to be in the will of God.  God doesn’t force it on us; He lays out the consequences and says, “Now, what are you going to do with it?”  He will not violate our will.  He didn’t with Adam, He just laid out the consequences of violating the command, “You will surely die.”  He didn’t violate Esther’s will, either.  Mordecai just told her what would happen if she didn’t intervene on the Jew’ behalf.

Esther 4:13-14 (NKJV)
^4:13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: "Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Mordecai lays out the consequences, “You and your father’s house will perish,” and he calls her to a decision.  ‘Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”  “You decide, Esther, whether or not you will be used by God.  I won’t interfere with your decision.”  God didn’t interfere with their will and He won’t with our either.  We have a sovereign will.  So then it has to be that God moves through the decisions of men.  The Jews are delivered through Esther’s decision to risk it all. 

That’s why when I pray for people I pray that people will make decisions that will bring them deeper into the will of God.  I pray that they make decisions that bring about deliverance; that bring about a desire to obey God; that bring about a stronger relationship with God.  These types of decisions are decisions that can bring about a move of God. 

Do you want God to move in your circumstances?  If you do, then you have to make a decision that allows God to move.  I’m going to walk away from this temptation; that’s a deliverance decision that God can move in.  I’m going to do those things that will bring me closer to God.  God can move in that, but when you make decisions to distance yourself from the people of God or the Word of God you stifle God’s ability to move in your life.

Look at Psalm 119:106

Psalms 119:106 (NKJV)
^119:106 I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

What’s the psalmist doing here?  He’s proclaiming a decision that he has made to love out the will of God.  He’s made a decision that gives God room to move in his life.  It’s the same with us.  I preach what God gives me to to preach and it’s up to you to decide what you will do with it.  You can make a decision to ignore what’s preached or you can latch onto it and apply it to your life.  Which decision is a decision that allows God to move?

There is a Commitment to Decision

President Andrew Jackson said, “Take time to ponder but when the time comes for action stop thinking and go!”

This is where the rubber meets the road.  Once you decide to be used by God you have to follow through.  That’s usually the hardest part.

Esther 4:16 (NKJV)
^4:16 "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"

I’m sure esther examined the choices available to her.  She understood that the king could have her killed for coming when she wasn’t called to come before him.  She knew the risk of the decision but she allowed it to play out.  “If I perish, I perish.”

This was life and death.  There were real consequences to this decision and she was going   to have to trust God.  Have you ever had to face life and death surgery?  When I was a baby I had a heart condition thatwas life threatening.  The only resolution for this problem was surgery, but the problem was that this surgery had never been performed on a six-month old child.  If I didn’t have the surgery the probability was that I would die.  If I did have the surgery the chances are that I wouldn’t survive the surgery.  So, if I didn’t have surgery I would likely die.  If I did have the surgery I could die, but not definitely die.  How would you like to make that decision?

There is a huge commitment inherent in that decision.  The doctors had to be committed to doing their very best to create the best possible outcome.  My parents had to be committed to accept the outcome whatever it might be, but ultimately there was nothing they could do.  It was in the doctors’ hands.  They had to trust them.

In Esther’s case, she was going to die if she didn’t talk to the king, but there wass also the possibility that she could die if she did.  Once she made up her mind it was all or nothing.  This kind of decision required a commitment to follow through.  She had to trust God.  Our decision to follow Christ must be an all out commitment to follow him:  All or nothing.

Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV)
^7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' ²³ And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

Thius is spoken to the church, isn’t it?  We have all done these things in His name.  These are the signs that follow them that believe.  Something has happened, though, these that have the signs that follow them that believe have been turned away at the door.  Entering in requires a commitment to the will of God.  It’s not a halfway thing; it’s all or nothing. 

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “One’s philiosophy is not best expressed in words.  It is expressed in the choices one makes.  In the long run we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.  The process never ends until we die.  The choices we make our ultimatly our responsibility.”

In other words, what we believe is expressed in our actions, in our decisions and in the way we live out those decisions.  In a pioneer church setting we often ask people, “Will you come to church, Sunday morning?”  “Will you be here, tonight?”  “Will you be at Bible Study on Wednesday?”  People often answer, “I’ll try.”  Do you know what “I’ll try” means?  It means no!  Successful people are not successful because they try.  They’re successful because they do whatever is necessary to make success happen.

People who enter into Heaven enter in because they lived out their decision to be in the will of God.  Remember the verse from Psalms?

Psalms 119:106 (NKJV)
^119:106 I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

I’m not sure who the psalmist was, but we will see him in Heaven; he is committed to entering in.

What about you?  What do your actions speak about your commitment to serve God?  Are you serving God or are you trying?  Do you have both feet planted in the will of God or are you straddling the line?  A halfway commitment is no commitment at all.

Making the Decision Count

Someone once said, “The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to build and which bridge to burn.”

This quote speaks of wisdom.  It takes wisdom to weigh out certain circumstances ans all the ramifications of the decision at hand, and then make the wisest choice.  Moses found himself at this very place:

Hebrews 11:24-28 (NKJV)
^11:24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. ²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

This is a pretty major decision that Moses made, right here.  He was the adopted grandson of Pharaoh.  He was in line to be king, and yet he turned away from the passing pleasures of sin and joined himself to the people of God.   This was an all or nothing decision on his part.

It required commitment, but according to the scripture there was something else; it required priority.  He gave priority to the things of God.  Esther did, as well, she gave priority to the people of God; to God’s will for them and for herself.

Esther 4:16 (NKJV)
^4:16 "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!"

As she’s preparing herself to live out this decision, she gives priority to fasting and prayer.  I believe this is what gives her the faith to take the risk to go in before the king.  She’s able to trust God to deliver her and the Jews.

The more priority that we give to the things of God in our lives the stronger our faith will become.   We’ll be more likely to make a decision that God can move through.  Sometimes we feel so far away from God.  We feel like God isn’t moving in our circumstances, but we haven’t given him any priority or way in our lives.  We haven’t made any decision that allow Him to move.

We need to be like Esther and go all the way, no matter how it looks; no matter the risk.  How you prioritize your life will speak to what God can do in you.   All it really comes down to is a decision like Esther’s or Moses’.  You resolve within yourself what you want from God.  How much of God do you want in your life?  How much do you need God to move there?  Then you commit your time, your resources and yourself to that decision: All out Petal to the medal.  This is what I need and I’m going all the way to see it happen.  Make the things of God a priority in your life and you have opened up a door for God to move in your life.  You want to preach?  Make it happen.  You want ministry?  You know what it takes to have it.  You need God to move?  Give Him the ability to do it.  Don’t try – Just do it!

Guarding the Fruit

Editor's Note:  The theme for our church this year is that this is "2015 is the Year of Fruitfulness."  We have a desire to see the church built in Taoyuan City and spreading to the rest of Taiwan.  This sermon was preached on a way to impart the vision to bear fruit, that will be lasting and remain until Christ's return.  I fruit is borne then it is important that we guard the fruit so that it cannot be stolen or slip away.

I used to work with a woman that had a saying when you asked in she was busy.  She would say, “I’m busier than a one-eyed fox watching two hen-houses.”  She had a lot of other colorful phrases but I wouldn't use most of them.  What she was saying is that it was difficult to do a good job at any one thing because there were so many other things to do. 

We all have busy lives, don’t we?  We’re all busier than one-eyed foxes, but there are some things we need to focus on.  Jesus has given us a task.  He has placed a burden on us, and that is that we’re to reach our generation.

John 15:15-16 (NKJV)^15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

It is appointed to us that we should bear fruit and that our fruit should remain.  In order for fruit our fruit to remain we need to protect it.  Today, I want to write about protecting the fruit that we have been.

1 Kings 20:38-40 (NKJV)^20:38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ Now as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, 'Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.' ⁴⁰ While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." Then the king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it."

Guard this Man

The context of this is that the King of Syria threatened Israel, and God delivered them over into israel’s hands.  God wanted the King of Syria dead, but Ahab the king of Israel let him go.  He saw an opportunity to make some money, so basically he refused to do what God wanted.  He was disobedient and this prophet let him know what God said.

I think there’s a lesson for us in this warning.  We are called, (The Bible says appointed) to bear fruit and that the fruit we bear should remain.  If that’s the case then we are called to guard the fruit.  To guard the man we are given to guard; to not let the fruit “slip away.”

Let’s look for a moment at the excuse that’s given for the loss of the prisoner, “While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.”  The guard got too busy “here and there” to pay attention to what he was given to do.  Here and there seems to imply that he was busy with many things.  He was jut going about daily life and the man slips away – he’s just gone.  The result is that the guard has to pay with his life for losing the prisoner.

There is a task that is appointed to us:  To bear fruit and that our fruit should remain.  So we have the same task as the guard; to keep the fruit that was given to us.  That fruit should not be allowed to slip away, and that’s the challenge isn't it?  How do we keep people serving God?  How do we inspire people to remain in the will of God?  We are often distracted by our busyness. 

The guard in the text tells the king I was busy here and there, “I had things to do; things that needed my concentration; things that were no doubt important, but that’s why he was lost.  It wasn't me it was all that I had to do that allowed him to slip away.”

That’s what he’s saying, “I had things to do so I couldn't pay enough attention to the man and he escaped while I was busy with all those things.  It’s not my fault…it was my busyness.”  The king called it a decision.

That’s interesting isn't it?  The man decided that the things he was busy with were more important than guarding the man.  You’d think that with his life on the line, making sure the prisoner didn't escape would be his highest priority…but the prisoner was ignored and he got away.  Has that ever happened to you?

Have you ever focused on some trivial task that you ere doing and lost track of the time?  Have you ever been so intent on doing one task that you forgot to do something that was more important?  We've all done that.

The reality of it is that you've made a choice.  You have given priority to the lesser thing.  We often allow the things we’re busy with get in the way of the larger thing, which is obedience to God.  Look at this moment in the lives of Martha and Mary.  They’re friends of Jesus:

Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV)^10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

Martha is busy, she’s trying to serve all of these people who've come to her home.  Her sister Mary has chosen to sit and listen at Jesus’ feet..  Martha was distracted with too much serving.  She was too busy to hear from Jesus.  She was too busy for the word of God.  She was preoccupied with the lesser task.

We are often like this.  I’m too busy for Bible Study.  I have too many other things to do that I can’t go on outreach.  I’m too busy here and there.  I don’t have time to help anyone who is struggling with staying saved.  God should keep them.  Well, He’s given us that job – To guard the fruit.

I think that sometimes we get distracted with all of our church tasks and lose sight of the talks of keeping the fruit.   We’re too busy for new relationships.  One of the concerns in our church is, whether or not people have relationships with people in the church, outside of the church.  Do they spend time with others in the church?  Do they talk to each other?  Do they pray for each other?  Do they have any concern for others in the church and their salvation, or are they too busy here and there?

Am I saying you should put your life on hold to only church things?  Of course not, we all have to work and raise kids, and do what we have to do.  But I believe there’s a balance to do the will of God.  For years, I balanced a full-time job; my family and my church activities, so I know it can all be balanced.

Some people say they’re just too busy, but they have time for a lot of other things.  When it comes to new people coming into the church, you don’t have to invite them to come and live with you, but how about a friendly lunch after church, or a phone call once in a while.  Make them feel cared about.  Make a friend.  Find out what you have in common and invite them to do that, that’s how you made the friends you have now.

The best friends that I have in life started out just like that; someone reached out to me when I first came to church.  Helping people to lock into church is vital for their spiritual well-being.  It’s the way we guard the fruit – not letting it slip away.

It’s Part of Being of One Accord

Look with me again at John 15:16:

John 15:16 (NKJV)^15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

That appointment to bear fruit is attached to a promise: That whatever you ask in my name, He may give you.  Another translation says it like this, “In order that whatever you might ask the father in my name, he may give you.” (Weust Expanded New Testament).  When you say “in order” it means that one thing follows the other.  It’s like saying “If you will bear fruit and that fruit remains, then whatever you may ask of the Father he will give it to you.” 

The context of this statement is telling the disciples, “I no longer call you servants but friends, if you do what I command.”  A friend understands what the master is doing.  With a servant, that’s not necessarily true:  he servant does things because the master ordered them to do it. A friend, on the other hand, does what he does because he’s in agreement.  Your friends don’t do what you tell them to do, just because you told them to, they do what they agree with.  So this context tells us that the disciples are in agreement with Jesus.  When they follow His orders they are of one accord.  They have the same purpose.  They have the same priorities.

What if we’re not in agreement?  What if we’re not of one accord?  Will the people we reach be fruit that remains?  I think if we’re not of one accord then there will be hesitation to make them feel welcome.  People will resist reaching out to others.  People will resist following up on new believers.  Follow-up is essential to having fruit that remains.  They come to church and they expect the pastor to be friendly.  It’s part of his job description – be friendly.  It’s the congregation’s response they’re looking for.  They wan to know what the people in the congregation are like.  Fruit that remains indicates that we are in one accord.

John 17:11 (NKJV)^17:11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.

That they may be one – in thought and purpose

As we are one – in thought and purpose:

That they will remain united in thought and action as the ones that came before them were united, so that they will all be of one accord.

Now look at this prayer of Jesus:

John 17:20-21 (NKJV)^17:20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

Jesus is praying that we as believers will be of one accord so that the world will know that this real:  That this is ordained of God.  I we are all of a different mindset then there’s no real difference between us and the world.

This is often my prayer.  I sometimes wonder why there are things that are visible in people’s lives in our congregation that I wouldn't want in my life.  Why do I feel so strongly about certain spiritual principles and people in the congregation don’t.  If we’re not of one accord it results in confusion for the newcomers, and in confusion that fruit cannot remain.

How to Bear Fruit and Have it Remain

I believe that there are several things that we as a congregation can do to see out church grow.  How many people realize that church growth is more dependent on the congregation than the pastor?  People don’t come to church because the pastor is great.  They come because of the congregation.  They come because of relationships they have or want to have with people in the church. We need to focus on the people we've been given.  We need to include them in our lives, and show them they’re accepted.  There’s a need for us all to come to be of one accord, because we’re not all going in the same direction.  We don’t all participate in the strategy of the church to reach souls.  There is a need for people in the congregation to share in the vision of the church to reach the lost.  People should begin to rise up and take on for themselves a personal vision to reach other people that works together with the church’s vision.

We can’t be afraid to reach out to people who may not be the “type” of people we’re comfortable with.  Those that seem to be the least lovable are often those who most need to be loved.

We can’t be afraid to witness or to share our testimony with people.  We don’t always know what they struggle with in life and your struggle may be the same type of thing they with which they struggle.  The thing that most touched me and brought me to the will of God was a drama about Mexican gangsters, when I had never had any experience at all with them.  The drama touched on an area of struggle in my life, with which other people, regardless of culture or ethnicity, may struggle.

Finally, it is important that we do not neglect those that do come.  Reach out to them.  Make friends with them.  Help them to feel like they are a part of something.  Show them that we care about them, so that they will desire to remain.  This is how we guard the fruit and don’t allow it to slip away.

Erosion

This is the Queen’s Head formation in Northern Taiwan.  The interesting thing about it is that it as created by erosion.  That word erosion means to diminish or destroy by degrees; especially, to gradually eat into or wear away. 

Water from centuries of tides rolling in has worn away at the rock and created this formation.  The problem is that the government is afraid that in a short time the neck will erode to the point that it can no longer hold up the head.  It will fall over and be gone forever.

Erosion is a real force that takes place in nature, but if we aren’t diligent to guard against it, it can also take place in the church.  In fact, I believe that it takes place in the heart of every Christian and must be constantly checked. (By checked I mean stopping its progress.) Erosion can and will take you right out of the will of God and rob your church of its vitality and forward progress.

In this post I want to look at erosion that took place in David’s life and how it could have been avoided. 

2 Samuel 11:1-5 (NKJV)
^11:1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. ² Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. ³ So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" ⁴ Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. ⁵ And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."

The Erosive Attitude

So, this scripture is a snapshot of erosion taking place in David’s life.  This is after he has defeated Goliath fearlessly.  The Bible says he ran to the battle.  This is after he defeated the Jebusites through cunning and an ability to think outside the box.  This is after he’s led the troops out numerous times to defeat the enemies of God in power and authority.

All of those things, fearlessness, thinking outside the box, and acting in power and authority are signs of zeal.  That word zeal means eager interest in the pursuit of something.  In other words, you’re thinking about what you’re doing.  You’re trying to do your very best because of your excitement about what you’re doing.

That’s where David was in the beginning.  David’s zeal was for the kingdom of Israel; for the things of God.  You cans ee it in his actions.  But something has gone wrong here.  David has become complacent:  he’s backed off.  He’s no longer involved and that’s where the erosion begins.  This is critical for us to see;  Spiritual erosion always takes place when we back off:  When we stop being committed to the will of God:  When we stop acting out the calling of God that’s on our lives.  Take a moment to think about what you’re doing.  Are you acting out the call of God on your life or have you become like David?

David is thinking, “I’m king.  I don’t have to do these things anymore.  I can let someone else handle it.”  So, he let Joab do it.  The words, “I’m tired, I need to rest.”  “I just don’t feel like it.” are signs of the beginning of spiritual erosion.

So David begins to go down a path that leads to sin and problems.  His first mistake, we can call it sin, is with Bathsheba.  He’s not focused on God’s calling any longer.  He’s drifted into focusing on himself. 

This is so interesting; David has begun to focus on his own desires.  He’s no longer thinking of the welfare of Israel, so he stays away from the war.  He’s focused on his own issues.  His focus has become selfish, and that’s an opening the devil can exploit.

The devil begins to wear away at your zeal, your faith and finally, your ability to resist sin.  It’s dangerous to start walking away from the things of God.  That’s erosion beginning to take place in your life.

Think about the Queen’s Head formation illustration for a moment.  At one time there was a cliff, a strong, sturdy outcropping of sandstone.  It was attached to main island, but the relentless action of the ocean began to undercut the stone until now there is only a sliver of stone left supporting the boulder and in time that sliver will be worn away and the Queen’s Had will collapse.

The same thing can happen in your salvation.  People will say, “I’m a mature Christian, it won’t happen to me,” but David was a powerful example of a man after God's own heart and it happened to him, and the time when that erosion began was when David backed away from God’s calling.  God had called him to be king, but he stopped doing what kings did. 

Where are you?  Are you still pursuing excellence in your service to God or are you beginning to back away?  “I don’t need Bible Study.”  “I don’t need to be at church.”  “Outreach is a waste of time.”  Are you still zealously pursuing God’s calling on your life, or is erosion starting to take place? 

People never suddenly wake up and say, "Today I’m going to commit adultery.  I’m going up on the roof to see who’s taking a bath."  Instead, they begin to back away from commitments:  Being willing to commit to anything, and dropping the ball on previously made commitments.  Erosion takes over until their relationship with Jesus is supported by a thin thread and in danger of collapse. 

Salvation is a process.  It takes place in our lives over time.  In other words, our relationship Jesus builds over time and that’s how change takes place in our lives.  It doesn’t happen all at once.  Attitudes and other mindsets have to be broken and that usually takes place of time.  I want you to know something, though.  Backsliding is also a process.  It also takes time to happen.  There is a time when it starts, and that time is when you begin to get complacent, or like David when you begin to back away from God’s calling on your life. 

That’s when you begin to think, “I’m in ministry, but the standards of ministry aren’t necessary.  They’re just rules that are imposed.”  “I’m in ministry but I don’t have a responsibility to be an example for others.” and you begin to drift farther and farther away.  The dangerous part is that you don’t even realize that you’re drifting away.

It’s like Samson.  Samson violated the standards of his vow: The vow of a Nazirite. Look what eventually happened:

Judges 16:20 (NKJV)
^16:20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.

He’s operating under the assumption that he’s right with God, but God has departed from him.  That’s a dangerous place to be.  The Philistines grabbed him and put his eyes out.  He was blinded.  The devil will blind you to reality if it will work in his favor.

Your Actions Don’t Affect Just You

So, let’s get back to David.  David has stepped away from his calling.  He’s sinned with Bathsheba and she has become pregnant.  So, now David has a problem. He’s the king; he’s committed adultery with the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of his mighty men.

How does he deal with this?  First, he brings Uriah home so that he can sleep with his own wife, and it will look like he’s the one who made her pregnant.  But, unlike David at this point, Uriah is an honorable man and he won’t go home and sleep with his wife, while the troops and the Ark of the Covenant are sleeping in tents on the battlefield.  So, when that fails, David tries to get him drunk, but Uriah still won’t go home to his wife.  Look what happens next:

2 Samuel 11:14-17 (NKJV)
^11:14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ¹⁵ And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die." ¹⁶ So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. ¹⁷ Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

David has drifted far away from God’s will.  He’s committed adultery, and now he’s killed an innocent man, in order to cover it up.  He’s backslidden; he’s away from God.

It’s not just his sin, as horrible as it is.  It’s not just Uriah’s death.  Now he has included Joab in this.  He’s brought someone else along with him, in his drift away from God. 

2 Samuel 11:18-21 (NKJV)
^11:18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, ¹⁹ and charged the messenger, saying, "When you have finished telling the matters of the war to the king, ²⁰ if it happens that the king's wrath rises, and he says to you: 'Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹ Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?'--then you shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.' "

Here’s what’s interesting about this:  Joab receives an order to put Uriah where he will be killed.  He can’t just do that.  If he does then everyone will know.  Think about it, he can’t just put only Uriah in harm’s way, because then people will know that he did it on purpose.  Joab has to protect the king’s order. 

He has to make it look like the fortunes of war, so he sends the troops up to the wall knowing that they’ll get killed.  That’s why he says, “If David gets angry then say, ‘Oh by the way, Uriah the Hittite was killed.’”  David wanted Uriah dead, and he would know that that was what Joab had to do to keep the secret.  David has dragged Joab into this.  He has killed Uriah, but other men also had to die to protect the king’s secret.

When we, as Christians, do something against the will of God it affects a number of other people, as well.  This thing went from David didn’t want to go to war, to Joab murdering Uriah the Hittite and a number of other men to protect David’s adultery. 

Whom does the erosion of David’s calling affect?

Bathsheba – She couldn’t turn the king down in his indecent proposal.

Uriah – An innocent man murdered because he was unwilling to allow his own standards to be eroded.

And Joab – He also couldn’t turn down the order of the king, so he ruined his reputation as general and murdered valiant men.

None of us reading this are kings.  None of us have that kind of power, but we do have influence.  There are people who look to us for leadership.  For men, it is our wives, children and new converts in the church.  For women, it’s the younger women, newer converts.  We have a responsibility to wield our influence in a positive direction.

Titus 2:6-8 (NKJV)
^2:6 Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, ⁷ in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, ⁸ sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

Titus 2:3-5 (NKJV)
^2:3 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-- ⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

David has ignored his responsibility.  We must be careful not to allow ourselves to be eroded., so that we don’t influence people away from God.  Are your actions helping to move people into God’s will, or are you showing them that it’s okay to avoid the things that will bring them closer to God?

Erosion Can be Stopped

If you drive in the mountains of Taiwan often, you’ll see places where the highway department has taken steps to stop landslides and erosion.  They’ve erected barriers made of concrete.  They’ve put up nets to hold the soil into the mountain.  They have put things in place to protect motorists from the effects of erosion.

First, we need to stop the erosion that's taking place. If you look at the beginning of the next chapter, God has sent Nathan to rebuke David.  So, Nathan tells him the story of a man with many sheep who kills his neighbor’s pet sheep.  He’s comparing David, with his wives and power to the man with many sheep.  David is taking the Uriah’s only wife and love and misusing her. 

When Nathan finishes with the story, David is enraged and Nathan points to him and says, “That man is you!”  Look at what God says to David through Nathan:

2 Samuel 12:9 (NKJV)
^12:9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.

Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord?  He’s asking David, "Why have you cared so little for your calling, and look at the effect?"  If David had done what he was called to do, this never would have happened.  God traces it all the way back to that one decision to begin tom drift out of God’s will.  Some people reading this have made decisions to drift.  Some of you have made the same decision as David, not to do what you’ve been called to do.  Erosion has already begun in your lives, so now you need to stop it.,  You need to do what David did.

2 Samuel 12:13 (NKJV)
^12:13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

David repented and God put away the sin.  Repentance stops erosion.  After all of this David began to do the right thing.

2 Samuel 12:26-30 (NKJV)
^12:26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. ²⁷ And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, "I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city's water supply. ²⁸ Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name." ²⁹ So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. ³⁰ Then he took their king's crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David's head. Also he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance.

David no longer stayed away from the battle.  He took his place as king and began to lead Israel, once more.  David got blessed because he turned back to the will of God. 

We can all have issues, but it doesn’t have result in permanent failure.  Things can go back to the way they were.  It’s a decision that we make each and every day.

There’s one last thing I want to point out.  Bathsheba and Joab had to do what the king ordered or die.  That’s how it works with kings.  If David would kill an innocent man to cover up his own sin he would kill them just as easily.  They could have made a stand and said, “it’s not happening,” but there’s a risk to making a stand.  If there’s an influence on you that you know isn’t right, then you need to make a stand.  God will hold us accountable for our decisions, regardless of the influence on us.  God held David accountable you can read about it in 2 Samuel 12:15-23.

God can move all of us forward, if we’re willing to apply God’s calling to our lives and remain in the calling.

Photo source:  http://pictures.traveladventures.org/images/cn/yeliu-geopark04

Merry Christmas from the Standing Stones Sermon Blog

Merry Christmas from the Banducci Family.  We hope you have a Wonderful Christmas and a Happy and Fruitful 2015.

The God of Interruptions

Interruptions happen in life, don’t they?  It seems like sometimes you can’t get anything done, because of interruptions.  When I’m the busiest that’s when I get the most interruptions and sometimes the interruptions take you in a completely different direction.  You’re doing one thing and suddenly you’re shifted into another thing, when you get interrupted.

When my younger sister was born, my mother’s doctor was giving his son a haircut.  My dad called him and told him my mom had gone into labor.  The doctor, knowing that my older sister and I had been born quickly, decided to stop the haircut and get ready to go to the hospital.

In getting ready, he started to shave, but then he thought he was taking too much time and was afraid he would be too late.  So, he stopped shaving and left.  So a half-shaved doctor, who hade a kid with half a haircut at home delivered my sister.

Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans – John Lennon

Interruptions!  Life is a series of interruptions.  Careers can interrupt lives.  Children can interrupt your life, and the will of God can interrupt your life.  Today, I’m going to post about interruptions: 

Mark 8:34-36 (NKJV)
^8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. ³⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

The God of Interruptions

When I got saved God interrupted my life.  My life was heading in one direction, it had been going that way for a long time, but God suddenly took my life in a completely different direction.  I’d been changed.  I wasn't who I’d been before.  I began to think and act differently, than had been the pattern for most of my life.

In Christian terms, I’d been converted.  That word converted means to be transformed or changed.  This happens in true repentance; it happens when you are committed to living God’s will for your life.

It’s what is meant by, “deny yourself and follow me,” in our text.  If you are a committed Christian there must be a moment, in your life that you can point to and say, “That’s when I changed.  This is the moment when I began to think and act differently.”

Ken, one of the men in our church told me that the moment of transformation took place for him when he took on ministry.  For me, it was when I realized that salvation was my last chance:  That if something didn't change I would be dead.  God interrupted my life.  He interrupted my plans.  He interrupted everything.  Ken had told his family, “I’m just going to learn English.  I’m not going to believe Christianity.”  God interrupted his plans.  God is the God of interruptions.

If you’re a Christian look at your life, are you different?  Has God interrupted YOUR lifestyle?  Has God interrupted YOUR plans?  Have YOU been converted?  If not, then you need to get back to the altar; You need to get back down there and pray again, because God works in our lives through interruption.

I was thinking about Abraham…God interrupted his life.  He was living in Haran.  No doubt Abraham had a plan for his life.  I have no doubt that he wasn't just sitting around doing nothing.  He was taking his life in a direction but God interrupted:

Genesis 12:1 (NKJV)
^12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.

God had a promise for his life.  God had a plan for his life, but for that plan to happen Abraham’s life had to be interrupted.  Your life is going to have to be interrupted for the plan of God to take place as well.

I was thinking about Moses.  He had gotten the idea that he was going to deliver Israel form Egypt.  He tried to make that happen.  He’d made some mistakes, so he withdrew to the desert.  He got married, he became a shepherd, and he was living out that life.  he wasn't planning to change.  He had no more plans to deliver Israel, but God interrupted:

Exodus 3:9-10 (NKJV)
^3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

God had a purpose for Moses’ life that was bigger than what Moses had planned for his life.  God wanted to use him to deliver his people.  What about God’s purpose for your life?

There are men who are reading this right now, whom God wants to use:  Men that God wants to use to draw people to Him.  Maybe God has a city or a nation that He wants for you to preach in.  Are you open to God interrupting your life?  Are you like Moses?  God interrupts but only if you’re open to His will for your life.  God has given you a free will and he won’t violate that, you make a choice as to whether or not you’re going to follow him.  But remember this:

Mark 8:35 (NKJV)
^8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.

This scripture isn't about dying in a physical sense.  It’s about giving your will to God’s use.  It’s about letting God interrupt you.  It’s about converting your will into His will.  It’s about saying, “Okay God, if you have a plan for my life then I’m ready to take it on!”  That’s losing your life and saving it at the same time.  Let God interrupt you.

Why are you Hanging on to your Will?

Have you ever thought about what it is you’re hanging onto?  Before I got saved I struggled.  I thought I’d given myself the best opportunity to make money.  The question was though, was it the best opportunity for a full and satisfying life?  I spent almost all my time working.  When I wasn't working I was isolated in my apartment.  I had a friend at work who was a Christian.  She witnessed about her life.  I knew she was happy and that I wasn't.  So, why did I hang onto that life so tightly?  Why was I so afraid to let it go?  One of the reasons I resisted letting it go was because of the expectations of other people.

In one way I was like Ken.  He was worried about his family’s expectations.  “I’m only going to learn English.  I won’t believe Christianity.”   That was part of my struggle, too.  I was expected to do well in business.  What would my dad think if I just quit what I was doing and did something else.  The problem was that I knew I couldn't continue to do what I was doing and be a Christian. 

Part of me wanted the money and the accolades that went with doing well in business.  In other words, I had my own will for my life and what frightened me about turning to the will of God was giving up the material things that I wanted. 

I was materialistic; I wanted stuff; I wanted money.  My will and God’s will were at cross purposes…but my life was wreck.  I hated myself.  I was a drunk.  I wanted to kill myself.  I was lonely, miserable and depressed.  Why was I trying desperately to hang onto that? 

There are people reading this right now, and you’re trying to hang onto a life that isn't fulfilling…why? For some, maybe you’re afraid of what others will think.  What will my sinner friends think if I change my life?  Will they think I’ve become some kind of a weirdo? 

What will my parents do if I begin to:

REALLY serve God?

Quit drinking?

Go to church more often?

Get involved in church events and activities?

For some maybe you think you’ll miss out.  “I have to put money ahead of everything else.”  Do you?  Does money really satisfy, because there are a lot of miserable rich people.  I’m not criticizing.  Those are the reasons I resisted God, too, but God interrupted my life and I’m glad He did.  God filled up the empty spots in my life. Looking at our congregation on Sunday morning, and seeing people who got saved as a result of my ministry is much more satisfying than having a cool car.

Being unwilling to turn over your will to God’s will is worldly thinking.  Life is temporary.  How long do you expect to live?  Ninety years?  One hundred years?  Turning your will over to God’s will is eternal thinking.  Ninety years is a blink of the eye in terms of eternity.  Ninety years is ninety years but eternity is FOREVER.  Look at verse thirty-six of our text:

Mark 8:36 (NKJV)
^8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

I was well on my way to becoming a rich man.  That was all I thought about.  Wealth consumed me.  I remember that on my twenty-fifth birthday, I was upset and depressed because I hadn't done anything with my life, yet.  I didn't have a lot of money.  I was still poor.  I actually said, “A quarter of a century and I have nothing to show for it.”  That’s what trying to live up to the expectations of the world will get you.  My own will was killing me. 

By the time I was thirty-five, I was trying to kill myself.  Do you know why?  I didn't have the things I thought I should have.  What would suicide have gotten me?  Where would I have been if I died without Jesus?  I’d have possibly had money and power but what good would that do me in Hell?  I was in a cycle of self-destruction; God interrupted that.  God interrupts; He’s the God of interruptions.

Eternal Life is Worth it!

I want to go back to Abraham and Moses for a moment.  God interrupted Abraham.  God brought Abraham out of the plans Abraham had for his life.  God called him to the place He that showed him and that place was the place of destiny for him.

Genesis 12:2-3 (NKJV)
^12:2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

What would have happened to Abraham if he didn't follow God?  he would have remained in Haran, doing what ever he had been doing before God called him.  God would have led someone else out to that place.  Abraham wouldn't have been a great nation.  His name wouldn't have been made great.  He would have lived and died in obscurity.  Abraham would have lived out his life and completely missed his destiny.

What about you?  To what is God trying to call you.  If you believe that God has a plan for your life then why aren't you allowing Him to call you to it?  Do you know what’s interesting?  When you answer God’s calling with a good heart you achieve God’s purposes AND you find blessing for yourself.  Abraham died about three thousand five hundred years ago and we still talk about him.  We still speak about his life.  He’s in the lineage of Jesus.  All the families of the world have been blessed…through Abraham.  Your family can be blessed through your obedience.

God interrupted Moses.  What would have happened to Moses if he didn't answer God’s call?  He would have continued to be a shepherd, working for his father-in-law, out in the middle of nowhere.  When God called him, God gave him the desire of his heart.  Remember, Moses had tried to deliver the people of God, once before.  It was the reason that he was out in the middle of nowhere in the first place. Look at this:

Hebrews 11:24-26 (NKJV)
^11:24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

His desire was rooted in his faith.  It takes faith to let God interrupt.  Faith seems to be in short supply in our day and hour. 

People are hesitant to trust God:

In giving.

In looking for healing.

In answering God’s call.

Faith is the key to responding to God’s will, and responding to God’s will is the key to blessing.  Abraham got blessed because he answered God’s call.  Moses got blessed because he answered God’s call. These men were in the will of God.  It’s impossible to find real blessing outside of God’s will. 

Abraham was called a friend of God.

James 2:23 (NKJV)
^2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.

Do you want to be friends with God?  You need to have the faith it takes to answer God’s call.

God met with Moses at the tabernacle:

Exodus 33:11 (NKJV)
^33:11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

God spoke to Moses as a man speaks to a friend.  Do you want to hear from God?  You need to have the faith to answer His call.

How do you gain faith?  The Bible says, “faith come by hearing…”  But it also says, “Test me now in this…”  Faith comes by testing to see if God is faithful.  If you want to know if God will bless you like Abraham and Moses, you need to let him interrupt you and find out.  God interrupts to bless – He’s the God of interruptions.

Vantage Points

Last year on Chinese New Year we had a car accident.  We were parked near an intersection and a truck cut the corner too tight and damaged the left rear quarter panel of our car.  When the police responded, the first thing he did was look to see if there was a camera on that intersection.  He talked to the other driver, he spoke to my wife, but then looked for the camera, because he wanted to see the accident from the camera’s vantage point.  The camera, because it was up on a pole had a wider view of the accident. It had a better vantage point to help the officer determine who was at fault.

That phrase VANTAGE POINT means a place or situation affording some advantage:  A comprehensive view or commanding perspective.  In other words, the camera’s angle and perspective of the accident gave the officer an advantage in determining who was at fault.

Today, I want to look at vantage points at work in our lives:

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV)
^30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; ²⁰ that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Making Choices

How often do you make choices in a lifetime?  I don’t mean choices like which shirt to put on, or what to eat for breakfast.  I’m talking about life choices; decisions that affect more than day to day living. Decisions like who to marry, what job to take, or buying a home:  Decisions that can affect the outcomes of your life, or your children’s lives.

I don’t know about you but I've made a number of choices that have turned out to be life decisions.  Allowing my pastor to speak into my life was one.  Opening myself up to pioneering a church in Riverside, California was another.  Coming to Taiwan as a missionary was still another.  But there were others, too.  Moving to Southern California, marrying Brenda, having children, all of those things were life decisions.

Before I got saved I had to make my decisions alone.  I had to try and understand all of the effects of the decisions I was making.  How would it affect my future?  Would it open the door to opportunity?  Would this decision change the outcome of other decisions I had already made?  If you’re wise you have to examine all of those things, when you make an important decision. 

One of the things that people often overlook is, will this decision enhance or detract from my relationship with God?  Will it cause the relationship to be closer or will it begin the process of separation from the will of God?

The big problem with making decisions is that we can’t see the future.  We can’t know how situations or dynamics will change as we move forward, because we don’t have the proper vantage point to see clearly the outcome of the decision.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “You can’t see the forest for the trees”?  It speaks of a limited perspective.  You can see what’s right before you but you can’t see the big picture.  You can see the parts and situations right in front of you, but you can’t see how those things make up your overall future.  We make a decision around one problem or obstacle and another one is immediately in our path that we have to make another decision to get around.  Because of our limited perspective we make a series of small decisions but have no idea if those will takes us in the direction we need to go to get out of the forest.

Our text is about making decisions; choosing blessing or choosing death.  When I say that we make decisions that enhance or detract from our relationship with God, I’m talking about choosing blessing or death.  There is the example of the prodigal son:

Luke 15:11-12 (NKJV)
^15:11 Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.

  

Here is a young man that’s made a decision.  It’s a life decision, but look at it:

He’s causing damage to family relationships.

He’s asking for his inheritance, which he’s not prepared to manage.

He’s leaving a loving father to travel far away.

I’m sure the outcome of that decision isn't what he intended.

Luke 15:13-16 (NKJV)
^15:13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ¹⁴ But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

So what has he chosen?  He’s chosen death.  This is a parable, a story that Jesus has told to illustrate a point.  In this story the father represents God.  So, this young man has made a decision that moves him away from God.  It’s a decision that moves him out of God’s will for his life.  Think about his motivation for a moment.  I see this with young people all the time.  They’re eager to be on their own; to begin life on their own terms, away from the influences of their parents, but they need to be careful, because the decisions that they make can have unintended consequences. 

The same is true of us as adults.  Sometimes, we think we’re looking for the will of God, but actually are substituting our will for God’s will.  Decisions have to be made prayerfully and with an eye to unintended consequences. How will those decisions affect your children or your spouse later in their lives. 

Recently, we've seen people in our church make decisions that limit their access to the Word of God and the Will of God.  The problem is that limiting access to God is choosing death.  This is from our text, “choose life that you and your descendants may live.”

Deuteronomy 30:20a(NKJV)
^30:20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.

That you may love the Lord and obey His voice and cling to Him… What kind of decisions are you making?  Are you limiting the time you spend in the presence of God?  Are you doing what’s necessary to cling to Him?  Are you obedient to the commands and will of God?  It’s in those decisions that we find life or death.

Choosing Life in the Twenty-First Century

There is no decision that we can make that doesn't come with some balance or sacrifice – Simon Sinek

When we decided to bring our family to Taiwan, to preach the Gospel, there were a number of trade-offs that we understood would take place.  We’d be moving thousands of miles from our support system.  We’d be giving up our country and all the things that go with living in the United States.  We had to sell our car, our home and most of what we had.  We gave up friends and family to move here.  That was the trade-off to being in God’s will.  We made a decision to choose God’s will.

It wasn't about making more money.  It wasn't about an advantage that we could gain over other people.  It really wasn't about what WE wanted.  It was about God’s calling and God’s will for our lives.  Our destiny is tied to Taiwan.  There were trade-offs.  There are always trade-offs but living the will of God is a choice.

When Abraham left Haran to follow God to that place, he left everything behind:  He left family, he left friends, he left everything.  He chose the to follow the call of God.  He got blessed, but first there was sacrifice.  He made his decision on God’s calling.  The first thing you have to do is determine what it is that God’s calling you to.  It’s backwards to go and then try to determine whether or not it was God’s call. 

Let’s look at Gideon for a moment.  God has called Gideon to fight against the Midianites, but Gideon can’t believe it.  Gideon thinks, “I’m not a leader.  I come from the lowliest family in all of Israel.” He’s not sure if it’s really God that’s called Him. He wants to be sure, because there is a lot a stake.  So look what he does:

Judges 6:36-40 (NKJV)
^6:36 So Gideon said to God, "If You will save Israel by my hand as You have said-- ³⁷ look, I shall put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said." ³⁸ And it was so. When he rose early the next morning and squeezed the fleece together, he wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water. ³⁹ Then Gideon said to God, "Do not be angry with me, but let me speak just once more: Let me test, I pray, just once more with the fleece; let it now be dry only on the fleece, but on all the ground let there be dew." ⁴⁰ And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, but there was dew on all the ground.

Before he does anything else, he determines whether or not it’s God that’s called.  The thing is that God calls you according to HIS purpose.  God called Abraham to establish HIS promise.  God called Moses to deliver HIS people into the Promised Land.  God called Gideon to deliver HIS people from the oppression of the Midianites.  God always calls us to HIS purposes.

Do you want to know if it’s God that speaking to you?  If you do, then you have to determine what purpose God would have for that thing, you think is God’s calling.  God’s calling will be specific.  God doesn't call you to a place so you can get close to God.  He expects you to do that where you are.  God will have a specific purpose for your calling, something that will impact something God is doing.  When God called me to Taiwan I knew it was God because I understood His purpose in my coming here.

Granted there are benefits to me to be in Taiwan. It’s less expensive than living in the US.  I've met people whom I love, that I wouldn't have met if I stayed home.  I like living here, but that wasn't God’s purpose in my calling.  Those are the blessings of obedience.  The calling was for His purposes.

The Vantage Point

So why am I writing all of this?  Let’s go back to the forest for a moment.  We’re in the forest, among the trees.  Our vision is limited.  We can’t see past the obstacles to make a decision that will move us out of the forest.  We don’t have the proper vantage point for that, but God does.

Think of it like this, God is above; He sees the whole forest.  He sees where you are and where you need to be… He can guide you in the direction to go, to find your way out of the forest; to get past all the obstacles.  If you allow Him to He will order your steps.

Psalms 37:23 (NKJV)
^37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.

God directs our steps.  The steps of a good man are ordered. So God has a direction for you.  God has a plan for your life.  He’s calling you to something.  That’s what that means – the steps of a good man are ordered.  God can help you make a decision, but you have to be open to having your steps ordered.  Are you listening for God’s calling?  Are you really looking for God’s plan for your life?  Do you want God to order your steps?  If you’re not looking for God’s plan, it’s your plan you’re looking for.  If you’re not asking God to order your steps, then you’re asking God to make your plan work out.  “This is what I’m doing God, make it happen for me.”  Things turn out much better if we allow God to direct us. He’s up there looking at the direction you’re going.  “Turn right, there’s a big rock you won’t get past if you go left.  Stop, now go left because otherwise you’ll have that raging river to swim across.”  God can guide you around the obstacles in a way that will lead you out of the forest.

I was just reading a book on Mount Everest*.  This guy climbed the mountain and on the day he was supposed to summit, his Sherpa guide fell sick.  He was by himself.  He didn't have a Sherpa guide to help him.  So, he went alone.

He made it to the summit.  He took a few pictures.  He celebrated a few minutes up there, but on the way down something happened.  He went snow blind.  This is temporary blindness that comes from the reflection of the sun off the snow.  He was completely blind; he couldn't see at all and had to descend the mountain like that.  Here’s the thing, no one had ever survived that on Everest.  He thought he was going to die.  All he could think about was his family, his children and his wife, how much they would miss him, and how much they needed him.

Do you know what he did?  He fell down on his knees and prayed for God to guide him.  He prayed God would help him, show him where to put his feet, help him to find the fixed ropes. He turned himself over to God’s guidance.

He went through a lot that day.  A three-hour descent turned into a seven-hour one.  There were missteps and fumbles but he made it through.  He made it to Camp Four, were there were people that could help him.

We’re often like that guy.  We do things; we get ourselves into situations, because we make decisions on our own.  He knew he shouldn't have gone up alone, bit he didn't want to be distracted from HIS goal.  He was blinded by his pride.  He didn't know if there would be another opportunity to reach the summit on this trip or if he’d have to come back again.  He didn't weigh it all out; he didn't seek God, first.  He went out and then after got into trouble, he asked God to bail him out. 

He finally surrendered.  I can’t do this alone God.  I will never make it through this on my own.  God you have a better vantage point.  God you can see the direction better than I can.  God guide my steps – pick my direction.  I will be obedient to your plan and I will be blessed. 

As far as the future goes, we’re all snow blind, but if we surrender to His directions, God can see us through.

* Blind Descent: Surviving Alone and Blind on Mount Everest, Brian Dickinson, Tynedale Publishing, (c) 2014

Can These Dry Bones Live?

There are highs and lows in life right?  Have you ever experienced a “mountaintop” experience?  The place where it feels as if God is moving powerfully just for you?  That place where all feels right in your life?  That’s a mountaintop experience, but there are also valleys in life.  There are valleys in your walk with God.  There are times when it feels as if you’re alone. It feels as if God has left you for dead.

You become discouraged.  You don’t have the victory.  The valley’s a cold place.  It’s the last place the sun reaches in the morning.  How often in life do we find ourselves in that kind of place?

Today, in our text God speaks to that:

Ezekiel 37:1-10 (NKJV)
^37:1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You know." ⁴ Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord." ' " ⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live." ' " ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

  

The Dry Bones

God sets Ezekiel into the valley.  The valley isn't the mountaintop.  It’s a low place.  It can be a difficult place.  There’s no vision in the valley; all you can see are the edges of the valley.

It’s not like the mountaintop.  You can see the power of God on the mountaintop.  You can see the larger vision on the mountaintop.  You can see the work of God.  It isn't hemmed in – vision isn't limited. 

The mountaintop is the place where you meet with God.  Moses met with God on the mountaintop.  Abraham saw God’s provision on the mountaintop.  The mountaintop is the place where you find yourself in the presence of God.  God revealed Himself to Elijah on the mountain top.

The valley is the lowest place.  It’s the place from where we have to climb.  When we’re in the valley we often struggle.  In our text, the valley is the place of the dry bones:  The place of death and failure; the place of discouragement. 

Psalms 42:5 (NKJV)
^42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.

Why are you cast down, O my soul?  Why are you discouraged?  The psalmist is discouraged.  His soul is no longer on the mountaintop, it has been cast down into the valley. 

Psalms 23:4a (NKJV)
^23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…

This is the place Ezekiel has come to, the valley of Death:  the place of the dry bones.  God has brought him here to show him something.  “Can these dry bones live?”  Ezekiel says, “I don’t know – You know God.”  How much is he like us?  God is asking him, “Is the impossible, possible?”  Ezekiel doesn't know – He can’t see the possibility. 

It’s easy to believe in God’s power on the mountaintop.  When you’re on the mountaintop you can believe God for anything, but what about when you’re in the valley and you’re up against the facts.  Those bones are dead!  It isn't easy to believe they can live.  It’s hard to see the possibilities when everything that you can see is dead.  When you’re struggling it isn't easy to believe that God can do the impossible for you.  Can these bones live?  God says they can.

Ezekiel is in the valley, he’s looking over the bones:  They’re dead; they’re lifeless.  There’s no movement.  There’s no momentum.  Nothing’s happening.  They’re scattered all over the valley.  They can’t be put back together again.

Ezekiel isn't seeing the power of God at this moment.  He’s seeing only death and failure.  He’s seeing only discouragement, and God asks him, “Can these bones live?”  Can these dry bones live?  God says they can!  God tells him, “Prophesy!”

Prophesy

Prophecy isn't just telling the future.  Prophecy is speaking the Word of God.  God would give the words to the prophets, and they would speak them to the people:  Straight from God’s mouth to the ears of the people.  “Thus says the Lord God to these bones…” God speaks into the problems and disappointments in people’s lives.

Can these bones live?  God says they can!  It’s something He will do.  It’s something that comes through the Word of God.  God will give them life.  God will raise them up.  That’s sounds like preacher talk, but it isn't.  God has the power to raise you up out of the valley of your circumstances.  God can make the dead bones in your life live. 

The failures:  The times when you wanted to live the will of God for your life, but failed.  The disappointment, the betrayals, the hurts:  The times when you thought God wasn't there for you.  When you had needs that seemed to go unmet.  You can stand in the middle of THAT valley in despair; stationary, immobile, paralyzed and you won’t see anything happen.  You can’t get to the mountaintop, if you don’t move forward.  God says “Prophesy!”  Speak the words of God.  God doesn't speak failure; God speaks life. 

John 6:66-68 (NKJV)
^6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. ⁶⁷ Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" ⁶⁸ But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Jesus has just come off the mountain.  He’s been on the mountain with His disciples (John 6:3).  While He’s there he feeds five thousand men and their families; a powerful miracle.  They can see the power of God:  They believe Him.  On the mountain you can believe.  Then, He leaves the mountain, crosses the sea.  He’s in a low place now.  He’s in the valley, and the people come to Him again.

He begins to preach.  He speaks to them about the Bread of Life, but they have come for the material bread, and they can’t believe.  “This is a hard saying, who can believe it?”  So, they leave.  He’s in the valley.  It’s a valley of dry bones.  It looks like failure; everybody has left.  So he turns to the disciples, and says what?  Are you leaving, too?  Are you giving up, too?  You can see their response in verse 68:

John 6:68 (NKJV)
^6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (emphasis mine)

“Where would we go, You have the words of Eternal Life.”  God speaks LIFE – Dry bones LIVE in the Word of God.  Prophesy!  Speak life into your circumstances.  Speak life into your failures.  Speak life into your despair and disappointments.  Don’t dwell on what isn't happening.  Speak what CAN happen.  Don’t get stuck on the dry bones.  Speak what God has promised.  God said to the dry bones, live, and they came together.  It was something God did, but Ezekiel had a role to play.  Ezekiel had to speak the words.  Ezekiel had to prophesy.

God did it.  The Word of God touched them.  They moved and rattled and came together.  The Word of God touched them.  The Word of God moved them.  The words spoken by Ezekiel brought them together, but it was the Spirit of God that gave them life.  It was something that God did.

Ezekiel spoke the words that activated a move of God.  Ezekiel spoke the words that activated the Spirit of God and the Spirit gave them life.  God did it; God moved.  It isn't any power in Ezekiel.  Ezekiel didn't do a miracle.  He was only obedient to speak the Word of God and the Spirit of God made them live.

It’s really hard sometimes, isn't it?  We don’t see anything happening.  We’re struggling with the same problems day after day.  We’re stuck; we’re not getting anywhere and we begin to speak out of our bitterness.

“It’s not going to work out.”

“God brought us out here to die.”

We begin to speak words of failure and disappointment.  We begin to speak defeat.  We’re not speaking life into our circumstances.  We’re speaking death.  We’re prophesying failure.  We’re speaking of the dry bones.  God calls us to command life. 

“With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Those dead bones can live.  Prophesy!  Speak life!

An Exceedingly Great Army

Finally, our text tells us that when the bones came alive they were an exceedingly great army.  An army represents a nation’s power.  An army is made up of individuals who become one powerful unit.  An army is the sum total of the strength of individuals.

The dry bones of failure, disappointment, and struggle; while they are still dry bones there’s no power there.  While we’re seeing those things as dry bones they have no power.  They represent only death, but after a move of God they lend their strength to an army.  What you’re struggling with now, what you see as weakness now, can be turned into strength.  As we overcome, as we struggle through things, after we have gone through them we are made stronger.  We become more powerful. Failure can make you stronger if you press through it.  Disappointment can be turned into hope.  Despair can be turned into resolve.

Once those bones came alive they were able to move.  They were no longer stationary; no longer scattered.  They became a powerful army.  Now they have the power to move.  Now they can ascend the mountain.  Now they can rise out of the low place.  Now there's strength and power available.  Can these bones live?  God says they can! 

If you want to see victory, you have to do something.  You can’t sit around and wait for God to move.  You can’t sit around despairing over all the problems.  You have to do something.  It’s up to you to activate a move of God in your life.  It’s up to you to stop dwelling on despair and defeat.  If you prophesy that nothing will happen…then nothing WILL happen. But if you speak the power of God into that despair, then a miraculous change can take place.

Ezekiel was in that valley pondering the future of Israel.  The bones represent the nation of Israel.

Ezekiel 37:11 (NKJV)
^37:11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!'

Is that you?  Is that what you say?  Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we’re cut off or separated from God?  Are you feeling like you've been left for dead?  Are you feeling like you’re hopeless to overcome the problems and struggles in your life?  Are you wondering where God is?  Has He forsaken you?  Are you feeling like dry bones?

If you do then you’re like Ezekiel.  He doesn't know if they can live again.  He’s not sure if God can do something.  He sees only the bones he doesn't see the possibilities.  He doesn't know if the dry bones can live, but God knows.  God hasn't left them for dead.  He raised them – dry bones CAN live.  The Spirit of God can bring them to life.  Contend for the Spirit of God.  Prophesy – Speak Life!