Decisions Decisions Part 1
Decisions Decisions • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Decision-Making Process
Decision-Making Process
(Joke: Choices: one bad choice can lead to another: My dad bought my mom a piano for her birthday.
A few weeks later, I asked how she was doing with it. "Oh....that," said my dad, "I persuaded her to switch to a clarinet." "Gee, how come?" I asked. "Well..." he answered, "because with a clarinet, she can't sing....")
It is important for us to responsibly employee the capabilities God has given. God said He would meet our every need and provide. As I have said before, the question then begs an answer as to “What we define as a need in comparison to what God defines as a need.” God sees your needs as that which is required for you to fulfill His purposes. If God will meet my every need and knows my needs even before I, am I then to simply set back in leisure and wait on it to fall out of the sky? Is this what it means to wait upon the Lord? God forbid. God gave to man the gift of labor. Along with the gifts and provisions of God come responsibilities. In fact, in Heb:5:14 we are told, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” What does he mean “by reason of use or practice”? What is the implication here? It is that there is a responsibility on your part to do something.
Everything in your life, good or bad, God wants us to learn something through it. Every desire or idea God puts in your spirit or mind is God trying to speak to you or get you to fulfill something for Him. Sometimes, God does not want to simply give you the easy way out. The easy way is not always the way of gained wisdom. Sometimes God uses the Gradual Release of Responsibility method (I Do, We Do, You Do). We have made the Christian walk and the spiritual things of God all about our ease and comfort of living. When you get to your wits end, you’ll find God lives there where Responsibility plus Accountability equals Maturity.
If many Christians truly had the spiritual supernatural power that is potentially available, they would be dangerous. They would go around healing everything, raising everyone from the dead, praying for everything to be fixed and everyone being richly blessed and what they would ultimately do is make a big mess of many things and become a detriment. People who needed to learn stewardship and responsibility would never learn it. Those who needed to work would quit.
With every gift, promise, and provision of God comes responsibility. Just having authority alone is not enough. There are situations and times in life where God wants you to figure it out, learn and grow from it. Maybe you prayed for God to fix your washing machine and instead of fixing it He is trying to teach you some patience. Maybe instead of fixing your car, He wants you to trust Him to provide for something better. This is not to say that there are not times in desperation that God does not want you to employ the authority of the supernatural that He may even increase your faith and obedience in even His wondrous supernatural ability to provide manna as well. The issue comes down to growing beyond a religiously superficial authority to a mature wisdom of supernatural authority. This is a lesson God seeks for us to learn before He gives you the gifts of supernatural intervention. Often, we are saying God fix this and God is saying, no, utilize the brain I gave you.
So many Christians blame the devil or others for their situation or circumstance. So many question as to why God does not do something or why God allowed them to get in a mess. Most often it is not the devil, others, or even God. It is easy to say, well God must be trying to teach me something all the while God is saying, no, I want you to do something about your situation that you got yourself into. All too often, these messes are simply the result of poor decision making. Bad decisions never lead to good outcomes. We often say, God get me out of this mess and God is saying, learn to make better choices. Some minds are concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
Let's look at what the Word of God says about your God given ability to think, know wisdom, and make decisions:
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.
Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,
He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
I am often astounded as I counsel people about the situation they are in and the choices that got them there. What I have discovered is that many simply do not follow a good decision-making process. Most make decisions simply based on their emotions, out of crises or desperation, out of want. Many make ill-informed or completely uninformed decisions. Many simply leave the decision up to someone else or they choose to make no decision at all, which ultimately is a choice.
Again, referring to Hebrews 5 the writer speaks of those who by reason of practice have their senses trained. Just as this applies to spiritual gifts, it also is an applicable principle to good decision making. The more you practice and employee good decision-making principles the more wisdom you gain thus improving your decision making and the more confident you become in the decisions you make. Notwithstanding that the foundation of your decisions is built line upon, precept upon precept, Biblical principle upon principle, of sound doctrine, and godly wisdom. In such a way we can develop decision making from personal experience, the experience of others, as well as knowledge gained. (Knowledge, Understanding, Wisdom)
I once studied a great commander who was before Napoleon. His name escapes me but his lesson I heeded. When asked how such a man of his stature and youth was able to conquer such greater armies than his own, he replied, “I simply learned from their mistakes what they failed to learn. Their failure to learn from their mistakes and make better judgments became their weakness and my greatest strength.”
This is one of many reasons God has given us so many examples of lives, situations, the choices they made, and the consequences that followed throughout Scripture.
Some examples of people God put in the place of decision:
● Abraham to leave his family and city.
● Moses to lead the people into the desert.
● Joshua to assume the leadership.
● David and Saul
● Peter to step out of the boat.
● Others
God gave you a brain - The Decision Making Process
1. Recognize a decision that needs to be made. Am I at a point of decision or do I need to give more time, gain more understanding and information?
2. Recognize where the authority lies to make the decision. Is this decision really mine to make? Do I have delegated authority or am I overstepping my bounds?
3. Identify the root of the problem. Is this a moral or ethical decision? Is this an issue of my heart, my thinking, my conduct? Is it an issue of opinion, perception, or principle?
4. Analyze the problems and impacts. Distinguish between faults, facts, and fiction. Distinguish between character and personality differences. Distinguish between assumptions and misconceptions or presuppositions. Distinguish between what is on the surface and looks like the problem and what is really at the root of the problem.
5. Gather and analyze the information. Ask questions of yourself and everything and everyone involved. Ask questions you did not ask before then ask again. Ask what is there you have not considered or what is there you do not know you do not know. Look at the situation from every angle and different perspectives then look again. Separate yourself from the problem and your emotions. Do not just gather information but make every effort to ensure you gather the right information then relate to the problem.
6. Compare it to other principles. What principle are involved? What are the what’s and whys? What sound Biblical principles, expectations and intents of God are being violated or contradicted in the situation. What wrong needs to be made right?
7. Pray and seek confirmation. Fast, pray, and seek godly counsel. Matthew 18:16
But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
8. Seek godly counsel. Ps 1:1
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
So many in the church have often sought out ungodly counsel. The Scripture is clear here. It does not say do not seek counsel at all. If you are not seeking godly counsel, it only leaves two other choices, 1. To seek no council at all or 2. Seek godly council. Would it be wise to seek no counsel at all? I think not. Nor would you seek legal counsel from your butcher or hairdresser. No more than it would be wise to take your car to your attorney to be repaired. In youth ministry I was often amazed at how young people would go to their peers for advice on life issues thus refusing or never considering going to an elder or someone of experience particularly in areas specific to their situations or point of decision that they could trust.
9. Identify possible courses of action. What are at least three if not more possible courses of action I could take? What resources do I have to work with? What possibilities have I not considered? What initiatives could I take? What are some long and short-term goals that could make a difference?
10. Analyze courses of action. What are some changes I need to make to impact the situation? You cannot keep doing things the same way and hope for a different outcome. If there is a problem something must be broken and there must be something that needs to change. What changes are relative to the situation, and will they make a difference and what difference will they make? What outcome am I really wanting and what am I willing to pay for it?
11. Compare courses of action. War game the ramifications or consequences of each possible course of action. If I do this, what impact does it have on other people, things, etc. What other problems will it create? How will others interpret or respond if I do this? What will be the long-term effects of this course of action and what will it ultimately end up costing me?
12. Identify assumptions and facts. What assumptions am I making about the situation, myself, and others. What assumptions am I making based on my perspective, opinions, and emotions? What is God's take on it? What can I identify as objective, factual truths verse what is left to interpretation and hear say?
13. Identify and compare weighted criteria. What is most important here? And what is the highest priority?
14. Make a decision and stick to it. James 1:8
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Decision-Making Process
