Choices

Knowing God helps us make good choices

In our study of God, more formally known as Theology, we want to focus on the truth that good theology feeds good choices, bad theology feeds bad choices.

We start where we left off last week. The Bible tells us that if the rulers of this age knew who Jesus was, they would have made a different choice.

1 Corinthians 2:8 (ESV) —8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Knowing God affects our choices. This past week Melina Roberge was sentenced to eight years in an Australian court for drug smuggling. She and her friends tried to bring in 209 pounds of cocaine to sell in Australia. I don’t know her faith or what she professes. I will simply put it this way. If she really knew God she would never do that!

Randa Jarrar, an English professor at Fresno State, when commenting on the death of Barbara Bush just hours after she died said that Barbara was “an amazing racist” who raided a “war criminal.” If she really knew God and Jesus Christ, she never would have said it, or at least not in the way she did.

If you can imagine any of the bad news that we hear so much, stop and think of this. What would those people do, what choices would change, if they really knew God?

Knowing God affects our choices.

Isaiah 6:1–13 (ESV) —1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe fillied the temple.

There’s a new king in town! Uzziah died and the Lord is now sitting on the throne in the temple.

The old king, Uzziah, had been around for a long time. He was crowned king at the age of 16 and held the post for 52 years. He died when he was approximately 68 years old.

Uzziah made some bad choices.

He started off making good choices.

2 Chronicles 26:5 ESV

5 He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This young man made good choices because he followed God.

In spite of a lifetime of good choices, he made one bad choice that affected his life in a significant way.

Have you ever noticed that one blemish can ruin a lifetime of accomplishments? Bill Hybels was planning on retiring in October. News came to light accusing him of sexually inappropriate behavior twenty years ago, a charge he denied. Things became so bad that he chose to resign two weeks ago instead of dragging the church through a long, drawn-out battle. I don’t know if he is innocent or guilty, but it doesn’t make any difference in one way. His reputation is shot!

Uzziah is in the same boat. A good life is ruined by poor choices. The poor choices came because he forgot God.

2 Chronicles 26:16 ESV

16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

This is the danger of success. Success can make us prideful. If you are good at what you do, if you have made your business grow, if all your children are high achievers and are doing well, we can forget God and in our own pride, believe that we are the reason everything turned out good. We made the right decisions. We were smart enough, experienced enough to avoid the mistakes that others made and so we flourished.

We are very deceived. There is no doubt that there is a connection between the choices we made and the success we have enjoyed. But one reason we make good choices is that we do what God created us to do. In other words, when we don’t worship money and are responsible stewards, that is what God created us to be. The reason that we had success in any area is directly tied into the closeness with which we followed God’s blueprint for us.

You say, “What about those who are not Christians who are doing well?” You look at their lives and even though they are not Christians, they are following Christian principles in their lives. The reason for their success is due in part to the fact that they are living as God created them to live.

We also benefit from favorable circumstances. If your child had different friends, he or she might have been pulled down the wrong road. Our business might have grown because we hit the economy at the right time. A year later or earlier and we might have had a different outcome. If one of your mentors had decided not to help you learn and grow, you might not have achieved what you did.

Whatever we do, we need to give credit to God who has blessed us in so many ways. Paul says, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Uzziah was full of himself. His success went to his head. He felt that as king he was entitled. He was entitled to do anything he wanted. He was entitled to not only be a king, but be a priest as well. The priests were the only ones allowed into the temple to burn incense to God. Uzziah didn’t care. He was king. Who said that a person born as a Levite was any better than he was. He was king and he could do what he wanted.

That was true until God intervened. He was struck with leprosy or some similar skin disease and banned from the temple for the rest of his life.

In the year that King Uzziah died, he died of leprosy as a judgment from God.

Some of you may say, “That’s an overreaction!” Before you go any further, let me ask you this question, “Did you ever ask your children to be in bed by 8PM? Were you angry when they were not?” What is the real difference between 8 and 8:30? The big difference, you would tell me, is that they knew the bed time, were reminded of it at 7PM, and you had to go down and pull them away from the computer to get them to go. In other words, it wasn’t the time, it was the intentional disregard of what you asked them that set you off.

I am sure that there were a lot of people who broke God’s laws and didn’t get leprosy. But Uzziah was the king. He was a leader of the people. Azariah came in with eighty other priests to stop him. Uzziah got angry at the whole group and was just ready to perform a religious duty that God didn’t want him to do and to do it with a crowd of at least 81 people around him. Before he could act, he was visibly struck with leprosy.

They rushed Uzziah out of the temple. He went willingly at this point! He was unable to go into the temple for the rest of his life because he was physically unclean.

There is a direct link between Uzziah’s choice and his death. Uzziah, according to the account, was proud. A proud person is focused on themselves. They resent anyone who doesn’t give them proper attention or is above them.

James 4:6 (ESV) —6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Isaiah refers to Uzziah’s death when he writes,

Isaiah 6:1 ESV

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

What a contrast. King Uzziah died. The Lord lived.

Uzziah died because he should not have been in the temple, The Lord is reigning with life from the temple.

Uzziah was brought down, the Lord was raised up.

Uzziah lost his throne, the Lord sat on a higher throne.

He lost his throne because his theology was bad. He believed that he knew more than God, was more powerful than God and that he could disobey God with impunity. He really didn’t know God at all. He did not know one major truth about God that, if in his heart, would have changed his actions.

He did not know that God was holy. That never entered into his mind.

Isaiah is in the temple and he sees the Lord. What does he learn about God?

He learns that God is holy.

2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Did you know that God was holy? His holiness is expressed by the thrice repeated phrase, “Holy, holy, holy!” Our God is a holy God!

Do you know what holy means? If the holiness of God is going to inform our choices, then we need to enter in with Isaiah to know God and to let that knowledge change our lives.

A holy object is an object dedicated to God.

The Sabbath was a holy day for the Jewish people because God said, “I rested from creation on this day. You rest as a sign that you are my people.”

A Holy Bible is a book that is dedicated to God. In other words, the Bible is a holy book, a reliable book, a book that tells us right information about God.

Holy people are people who are consecrated to God. They are on his team. They are set apart as God’s people.

A holy God is the true God. He is different and separated from false gods. He is perfect. His nature is perfect and perfection flows out of him. He cannot sin and cannot tolerate sin.

Uzziah didn’t know this about God. He didn’t know that God was perfect. He acted differently than someone dedicated to God would act. He didn’t understand that a holy God stands so strongly against sin. He made a bad choice and it cost him his life.

In other words, bad theology leads to bad choices. When we do what we want to do and step outside of God’s approval, our choices may look good for the short haul, but in the long run will hurt us or others we love.

What is helpful in this passage is the contrast between Uzziah and Isaiah. Uzziah did not know that God was holy. Neither did Isaiah…that is until he saw this vision in the temple.

Notice the effects that knowing God had on Isaiah.

Knowing God humbled Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

We have a problem. Our problem is that we always compare ourselves to others. You may be a better parent than your parents were. You may lead a better life than the person with whom you attended high school. We also see some people who are better than us. I will never compare with Mother Theresa. Billy Graham was so passionate and committed to God. I can’t compare myself to him without realizing how low I am.

Isaiah saw the King, the Lord of hosts! He saw God as he was by nature, perfectly separated from sin and pure.

The contrast between God and his own life hit him hard. He said, 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

There was no way Isaiah could measure up to God. He knew himself too well. He looked better than Uzziah. He didn’t look good before a holy God.

He also recognized that his fellow Israelites were no better off than he was. He was living in the midst of people with unclean lips. I find it fascinating that the place Isaiah felt the most condemnation was in what he said. He just couldn’t get his words right and sometimes he didn’t want to.

I have to say that if you really come to know God, you are going to have feelings of inadequacy, self-condemnation and guilt.

I believe that one reason many people don’t want to walk into. Church is that they will feel condemned. They may not be condemned by the people, but they know in their hearts that they don’t measure up to God.

God knows that. He knows what happens when someone like Isaiah or like you comes to that point.

Knowing God revealed a God of mercy and grace.

Isaiah 6:6–7 ESV

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

We are unholy people. If we deny it, our own personal growth suffers. It is not until we are able to acknowledge that we don’t measure up, that grace can come in.

Notice that when Isaiah felt so bad about himself and the nation of Israel God didn’t condemn him.

He didn’t disagree. He saw that Isaiah was an unholy person. He did not measure up to what God wanted and expected.

What did God do? God did the only thing that one can do with a truly guilty person. He forgave him.

The seraphim stopped shouting, “Holy, holy, holy” and said, “your guilt is taken away and you sin atoned for.”

What if I was to tell you that your guilt was taken away? What have you done that you feel guilt for? Isaiah had his own list. What is yours?

Just as Isaiah had his guilt taken away, Jesus took your guilt away at the cross. This is why he died. He not only took your guilt away, he atoned for your sin.” We used to sing the song, “Jesus paid it all…”. I am telling you today that if you come to Jesus and trust him, your guilt is taken away and your sins are atoned for, they are all dealt with and taken away.

What does a person look like who has no guilt and no sin? A person with no guilt and no sin is a holy person. That is what Jesus did for us. He made us holy people. The Bible’s term for a holy person is saint. Every Christian is a saint. We are saints because Jesus took our guilt away and atoned for our sins.,

What kind of choices do holy people make?

We have seen the choice that Uzziah made. Isaiah, who is not a holy person, is able to hear the voice of the Lord, who says,

Isaiah 6:8 ESV

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

If God is holy and we are holy, we will want what God wants. God wants someone to send and go out for God. What are the choices for Isaiah?

The first choice is to say, “No…”. Holy people don’t say no to a God they know is holy.

The second choice is to say, “Thanks, I’ll pray about it…” Praying is a good thing when we don’t know what to do. But God is speaking directly to Isaiah. There is no need to pray. God is telling Isaiah he needs someone to go. Isaiah knows that God is asking him to step up to the plate. I

The third choice is to say, “Here I am! Send me.”

Why would Isaiah say that? He would say that because he knew that a holy God would only ask him to do what was right to do. His theology informed his choice.

The whole point God has laid on my heart to share with you is this. What you know and believe about God determines the choices you make in life.

How many decisions have you made that were made totally about your own comfort or wants. How many decisions have you made that you knew were totally against what God would want you to do? How many times have you chosen to treat others differently than you know God has treated you?

I believe that if we look at the struggles and difficulties we have in life, our bad choices are tied to our lack of knowledge of God and of what he wants.

This has affected our quality of life. Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. That eternal quality becomes stronger when we know God and Jesus.

Isaiah saw God. He also saw Jesus. The Old Testament has certain appearances of God that were actually Jesus Christ before he came to the earth.

John makes this comment about Jesus when he says,

John 12:39–41 (ESV) —39 Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

Isaiah is one of the great heroes of the Bible. He is listed in Hebrews 11 as a man of faith. He is one of the most quoted authors by Jesus, Paul and others. His life was built around the eternal. Where Uzziah wanted to focus on this world and his reputation and standing in it, Isaiah, after seeing what God was like, chose to build his life around the eternal.

There’s stuff that needs to change in your life. The first step is to put your trust in Jesus. Come to him in faith and he will forgive your sins. Follow him and he will lead you in the right path.

There are some in our church who would testify that they have caught a glimpse of God and that their lives are more centered around the eternal as a result. They have seen God’s glory and it has hit them in the heart. Their whole life has taken a different path because of Jesus.

That could be you.

Next week we are going to look at how our theology influences our prayer life. The more we know God, the more focused our prayers become. I would like you to look at Psalm 90 this week. As you do, ask yourself these questions.

Psalm 90

First, what did Moses know about God?

Second, what was his prayer?

Third, has Moses’ prayer ever been your prayer or will it ever be? Why or why not?