Fake News Week 4: It’s Your Choice

Communion

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 NLT

27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.

Are things right between you and God?

If not, you need to know that the blood that he shed was for you

Blood was the only acceptable payment for sin

It had to be from a spotless lamb in the Mosaic law

Jesus was the perfect lamb of God

For those that have experienced salvation we move into a blessed ordinance

We enact this ordinance because it is one of two that were commanded by our savior.

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 NLT

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Thank Him for His Body

Partake of The Bread

1 Corinthians 11:25 NLT

25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

Thank Him for His Blood

Partake of The Cup

1 Corinthians 11:26 NLT

26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

We announce His death to celebrate His resurreciton

Romans 8:11 NLT

11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Opening

This series, Fake News, is about exposing the lies the enemy has been spreading since the garden and replacing them with the truth of God’s Word.

Last week in Back to Reality, we learned that freedom begins when we stop living by the enemies whispers and start living by God’s truth.

The plans of God for mankind are good…and in Christ we can experience them

In Christ, we are fully accepted, eternally secure, and unshakeably significant.

We have forfeited this reality by listening to the enemies narrative.

We must learn the truth so the truth can set us free to experience the reality God has for us.

Today we are going a step further because knowing the truth is only the first step.

Our next battle takes place within in the context choices we make.

Every day we’re faced with decisions that either align us with God’s truth or keep us trapped in the enemy’s lies.

The lie of the enemy…or the fake news if you will… says your life is shaped by chance—but the truth is your life is built one decision at a time.

Today we’re going to confront those daily lies and learn how to choose faith over fear, obedience over convenience, character over comfort, and surrender over control

Today I am preaching to you around this thought: It’s Your Choice

John 8:31–32 NLT

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Let’s Pray

Keys Dismissed

_________

Introduction: The Weight of a Choice

Our lives are built one decision at a time.

The Bible is full of stories that make this principle clear: we don’t drift into destiny… we decide our way into it.

I will go one step further…you didn’t drift your way into your current reality…you decided your way into it.

When we approach scripture for a precedent in this area it’s not hard to see this play out.

Adam and Eve are cast from the garden…because they decided to eat the fruit

Noah and his family are saved…because he decided to build an ark.

Abraham inherits wealth and land…because he decided to leave his fathers house

Joshua conquers Jericho and leads the people…because he decided to obediently do what didn’t make sense.

All of these examples had defining choices that led them to their ultimate destiny within which they shaped history

I submit to you today that we all have defining choices presented to us on a daily basis.

Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

Overcoming the lie of uselessness and walking into our purpose is often less about our chances and more about choices. Today I want to invite you into the will of God by inviting you to make some choices.

___________

1. Choosing Faith over Fear

One thing that we can find at nauseam in our world are reasons to become afraid

The newsfeeds full of violence

The teetering of geopolitics

The instability of financial footing.

Not to mention the ever changing appearance in the mirror.

The natural reaction to much of what we see in our world is to be fearful…but just because something is natural doesn’t mean that it is beneficial.

___________ We were made for the supernatural

As a Spirit-filled believer I am called to pursue a life of supernatural experiences.

The gifts of the Spirit are supernatural

Walking in freedom is supernatural

Finding peace in the midst of storms is supernatural.

While these are clearly supernatural experiences they are peripheral outcomes to scriptural references regarding the gifts of the spirit…our response to moments calling for fear have an explicit answer in the listing of the gifts of the Spirit.

While fear is a natural response I am called to something greater than what comes natural.

1 Corinthians 12:9 NLT

9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.

Fear is natural, but faith is supernatural.

__________

A cautionary tale

We need to stop approaching our life from the sole perspective of caution.

Caution is a fear based approach

Fear asks “what if it fails?” 

The business…the marriage…the investment

When we are cautious in our approach we are minimal in our effect.

Following Jesus has never been an effective lifestyle for the risk averse.

While fear pushes us towards caution with the thought “what if it fails”…Faith declares boldly “what if God shows up?”

2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Wrap it up: Each of us have multiple opportunities to decide how we will live our lives.

Almost daily you will face the fork in the road between fear and faith.

The choices you make determine the future you experience.

_____________

2. Choosing Obedience over Convenience

We have a convenience crazed culture. I was reading a survey the other day that estimated that 50% of restaurants in the US are quick service model (fast food)

We don’t make decisions based on what’s best for us…we make decisions based on what’s easiest for us.

That’s why McDonalds is still in business.

If it ain’t quick and easy…we ain’t about it

The issue we will have in our faith journey is this: Following Jesus and living in the identity he has for us is not easy.

It will almost always cost convenience

The highest pursuit of my life must not be that I experience highest level of convenience…but rather that I walk in the most faithful form of obedience.

____________

Partial obedience is not obedience at all

Have you ever tried to just do part of what God told you to do?

God told you to give a large amount…you give a small amount to try and appease your consience

The time at Forward my card giving didn’t go through.

We aren’t the first to try and get away with this level of obedience.

Saul thought partial obedience was enough, but God said otherwise.

He waited for the Lord for a little bit but then he got impatient and enacted a sacrifice outside of God’s time table.

When Samuel showed up and scolded him for it…he said look what are we talking about…I did the sacrifice…what’s the big deal?

1 Samuel 15:22 NLT

22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

Walking out a life of radical and full obedience is not an easy thing…

Obedience is rarely easy… but it’s always worth it.

When you choose obedience, often it will cost you comfort

3. Choosing Character over Comfort

We all have a comfort zone.

There are places and spaces where we feel the most at ease and as such are the most like ourselves.

It is hard to grow when you are unwilling to leave what’s comfortable.

Comfort zones feel safe, but they stunt growth.

__________

We need character

Character: the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.; strength and originality in a person's nature.

In order for me to fulfill the destiny that God has for me…to be the Father, husband, pastor, citizen, etc…

I need something called CHARACTER.

Character is forged in the fire of discomfort.

Romans 5:3–4 NLT

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

Everyone wants to grow…but not many want the process that growth entails.

Don’t pray for growth if you’re going to demand comfort…

My seasons of greatest discomfort have resulted in the seasons of greatest growth.

Character is a greater pursuit…

Comfort makes our life easier…character makes our life more meaningful.

Keys Come Out

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4. Choosing Surrender over Control

Giving God our sin is one of the easier measures of surrender we have to operate in as Christ followers.

Giving God your sin ensures your eternity

But having a certain eternity does not equate to having a purposeful and supernatural present.

Before I can see God do miracles in my life I have to take my hands off of what I need a miracle done in.

__________

The call to surrender my plans

We do our best to maintain control of situations in our lives.

We want to dictate where, when, and how God will move.

But when we dictate where, when, and how God will move…We are assuming the role of God.

I’m not good at being God.

Understanding how much we love to be in control…here is my observation:

I submit to you that

The hardest thing to give God isn’t your sin…it’s your plans.

Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Surrender doesn’t mean losing….it means realigning.

My plans…to his plans

My dreams…to his plans

My definition of success…to his definition of success

When you surrender, you’re not giving up….you’re sowing a seed of choice into the harvest of your future.

Closing: The Cumulative Effect of Choices

Choices are like seeds. Today’s “yes” or “no” becomes tomorrow’s harvest.

What are you sowing into for your family?

On Sundays

In the evenings

What are you sowing into for your health?

With your meals

With your activity

What are you sowing into for your mindset?

With your scrolling

With your rest

What are you sowing into your spirit?

Scripture reading

Prayer

Galatians 6:7 NKJV

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

The enemy would love to convince you that your life is defined by a few major milestones…but the realities we experience are less about a handfull of big moments and more about small daily choices.

So today, what will you choose?

Fear or faith?

Convenience or obedience?

Comfort or character?

Control or surrender?

_________

Ending

The big takeaway today isn’t big at all…it’s the realization that your destiny isn’t waiting on one big breakthrough moment it’s being shaped right now in the quiet, ordinary decisions you make every day. You don’t drift into a Spirit-filled life; you decide your way into it. So today, don’t settle for fear, convenience, comfort, or control. Choose faith. Choose obedience. Choose character. Choose surrender. Because when you decide God’s way, you’re not just moving your life forward…you’re sowing into a future that will bless generations after you.