Owning It

Intro:

Good Evening Parkside. I hope things are going well for everyone. This Wednesday Night series has been like a diary of some the issues I have had to take head on. My prayer is that as believers we are growing and maturing to be more like Christ. Have you ever been in a position and had to make a decision where you knew not everyone would be pleased by the decision you made. That happens quite often in my household. We have three kids under 2, many times the kids are not pleased with the decisions that Krista and I make. Kids have it good don’t they? For the most part they have it made, as long as they obey their parents. I am confident that is why the Bible is clear that children obey their parents. But parents you are not off the hook, the Bible also is clear that as parents we train our children up in the way they should go. Tonight I want to explore owning your decision

Mark 2:13–14 NIV

Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

Levi is also known as Matthew. So here Matthew sitting at a tax booth collecting taxes. Jesus and the disciples come along, which by the way the disciples just saw a paralyzed man healed, and Jesus asked Matthew to follow Him.

Making A Decision

Have you ever been in a spot where you had to make a decision right away. These “Right Away” decisions can be dangerous and they can be destructive, but they also can be the right decisions. Matthew is faced with following Jesus or not following Jesus. There are many possible reasons Matthew decided to follow Jesus. Matthew is a Jewish man and it’s possible he saw Jesus as a Rabbi and had dreamed as young boy of being a Rabbi’s disciple. It’s possible he was looking for a way out of being a tax collector for the Romans. Whatever the reason he chose to follow Jesus.

For some of us we struggle with making decisions, especially when it involves risk, when it involves not knowing the outcome. It would be great if we lived in a world where we could sit back and only make decisions that we knew what the outcome was going to favor us. But that’s not the world we live in. I agree that it is wise to make informed decisions where the outcome is good. However as followers of Jesus there are many times where we have to make decisions where we don’t know what the outcome is going to be and we have to trust God. Our flesh despises this. Making the decision to follow Jesus is a decision where we have to trust God for the outcome. We are trusting that we will be forgiven our sins, we are trusting God to spend eternity with Him. The point is if you struggle with making decisions you probably have a trust or faith issue. This is something you need to deal with right away. The Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith.

For some of us we struggle with making impulse decisions. Did Matthew make an impulse decision, maybe. Or Maybe he knew God’s voice and when Jesus said Follow Me he recognized that to be God’s voice. There is a real danger in making impulse decisions and saying the Lord told me to. If God told you to, then absolutely obey God. But if you are saying the Lord told you to to get your own way then you are in danger and so are other people. The Bible is very clear about not causing others to stumble. When I do something and say God told me to and that isn’t the truth then I have big problems. Number 1 I am lying. Number 2 I very well could be hurting other people. This could be a sign that I have a control problem. Because how can anyone challenge that I didn’t hear from God? It’s possible if I say God said then my flesh is feeding itself control. If God said then at the very least the concept of what He said to you should be in the Bible, and not in just one verse either. The concept should be all the way through the Bible. For example redemption is all the way through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Sin is all the way through the Bible as well. So is love, wisdom, and faith. What I am saying is don’t claim it’s from God unless you know it is. You can confirm if it is or isn’t by searching God’s Word, and by talking with a mature Christian who will be honest with you. If you make impulse decisions I encourage you to take some time to pray and give the Holy Spirit time to speak to you. Sometimes if you and I would pray and wait a day we would save ourselves some trouble. Just because something seems good in the moment doesn’t mean it is good. Not everything that shines is gold. Take some time and investigate.

Own It

Whether you struggle in making decision or you struggle with making decisions too quickly, all of us need to own our decisions. Think about Matthew again. Here he was a Jew collecting taxes for the Romans. This was despicable in the eyes of his fellow Jews. Can you imagine what the other disciples were thinking or maybe even said. “He’s a tax collector, he doesn’t belong here with us.” Regardless of what the disciples thought or said, Matthew owned his decision to follow Jesus. We all struggle with sin in our lives. Far be it from me to judge someone for making a decision for Jesus because I can see outward sin. When we make a decision we have to own it. If it was the wrong decision then lets own it, admit our mistakes, repent, turn to God and seek Him for direction. Regardless of what others think we need to make decision based on God’s will and direction for our lives. It is key to seek God. Making decisions for God won’t always be popular, but we have to obey God and remain true to our convictions. Sure sometimes we will miss the mark and make mistakes, but owning it and allowing God to correct will help us grow and mature into the people He created us to be.

Let’s Pray

I am so glad you were able to join us. I hope you are encouraged and filled with joy, hope, peace, and love. God Bless you and have a good night.