PrinciplesOfChoice
Deuteronomy 30
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
[1]
It was a time of generational passing. Moses, the faithful leader of a faithless people had watched his generation die around him simply because they refused to trust a God who had worked innumerable miracles before their eyes. He had wrenched them free from slavery at the hand of a mighty ruler by calling nature to rebel on their behalf with curse upon curse. And the hard heart of Pharaoh had resisted until God struck at the hands of the nation that he ruled by bringing death to every home that was not protected by the blood of the spotless lamb later to be called the Passover Lamb, later to become God’s very own son, whose blood was shed for you. I hope that you are living under the blood today. I hope that the blood of Christ covers the home where you live and the heart that beats in you today.
It was a time of leadership transition. An effective warrior, a faithful protégé, an experienced follower but an untested leader was being passed the baton in the relay race of time and Providence. And a nation watched with mixed emotions. Sadness, fear, anticipation and a consciousness that the desert days were over . . . somehow. Because they were tired of the desert experience. They had been raised in the dust of their parent’s disobedience and the dryness of a distant relationship with a God who forever wants only to love His own. They watched as the mantle was passed and they knew that God’s will was being unfolded in their presence and that the past was a lesson to remind them that God was true to His Word. There was no obstacle that could ever stand in the path of His mighty will. There was no ruler, no political system that could withstand Him. They were the only obstacle in His path and He loved them enough to give them over the consequence of their choices. He loves us just that much as well. If we choose not to step forward, for God never leads His people in retreat, then He will let us become the architects of our own pain, the designers of our own destruction. Many of you who sit here today have lived long enough to realize that the choices that you have made and the directions that you have taken that are counter to His leadership are the ones that you would like to have the opportunity to remake, to re-choose.
The graduates who sit here today are in line for leadership in the church. The older that some of us get, the more difficult it becomes to imagine that we will turn this responsibility over to our children. While they live with us, we see that things as small as keeping a bed made, or picking up a bedroom floor, or recognizing work that needs to be done – which is so plain to us and so “invisible” to them – seems to be too much, too heavy, too unreasonable. And we can’t imagine that God would allow something so serious as the work of His kingdom to pass into hands so young, sometimes so “immature”?
But He has done this before. Nothing new and once again, God will raise up those who will faithfully lead and in turn and their own time wonder who will take their place.
It was a new day, a new challenge, a new opportunity, a new place. Has God ever brought you there? Well that’s where they were. Poised for something that these desert dwellers had never known and could hardly conceive. They were sending no spies ahead of them this time do determine the “do-ability” of their task because it didn’t matter to them. Death was better than the desert. This is where God really begins to use a person. When they finally become convinced that there is nothing worth going backward for. The minute a person or a generation wants to go backward, they stifle the Spirit at work in the present.
1 Corinthians 10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples a to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” b 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
[2]
1. You are free to choose.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses
You have the freedom to choose today. God will not force himself upon you. But we must remember that we live in a world that reflects the choices that we have made to disregard God. I have had good conversation with a friend this week who spoke of the idea that there are those who do not come to God because they cannot conceive that a God of love would possible allow a person to suffer for eternity in hell. There is no human punishment that seems quite so severe and merciless.
Let me say that the love of God allows us to understand fully that a person who will not honor God simply will not spend eternity with Him. God cannot allow human rebellion to co-exist with Him. A professor in school used to say that he was convinced that there was only one sin that caused a person to be shut out from God for eternity, one sin that would send a person to hell. That was final and ultimate rejection of Christ. To arrogantly refuse God’s greatest gift offering your own goodness as sufficient. What terrible pride! No matter how good you see yourself to be, when you fly the flag of your own righteousness in the face of his redemptive plan. It’s like proposing to sail around the world in an inner tube. Preposterous!
And you see, God has created us in His likeness. He has breathed into us a spirit that will never die. An immortal soul which must find an eternal home, either with God or without Him.
2. You are not free not to choose.
Indecision is decision. You cannot remain neutral in this area. Jesus said it. To decide not to choose is a choice. Am I making any sense? Let me make it very clear - to decide not to choose good is always a choice to choose evil.
I remember in my college days taking a battery of personality tests. One that I remember by the obscurity of it’s name was something called the Minnesota Multiphasic Test. I never liked it. As I remember, it made you select one of several statements that best described you in each question. You could not modify or explain your choices. You just had to choose one and often it was so difficult because your choices created discomfort. I remember selecting things that did not represent me. One question choice in particular was something like: “I would rather shoot my dog than my mother-in-law” and different variations on that scenario. I loved my dog and I loved my mother-in-law. On a given day my choice might be different.
But you had to make a choice. And you do – every day of your life and it is plain to God which you choose. Your priorities and your lifestyle speak much louder than your creeds.
Jesus said,
Matthew 12:30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. [3] .
If you do not crown Jesus, you crucify Him. There is no middle ground.
3. You’re not free to choose the consequences of your choices.
You can't live equally in two worlds. If you want full acceptance in the world that you have chosen, you will find yourself estranged from the world that you have forsaken. If you want full acceptance in the world that you have forsaken, you must forsake the world that you have chosen. – Karl Ingersoll
You can choose what you wish to choose but you must accept the consequences of your choices. It’s amazing to me that we blame God for the suffering that He allows in the world but never stop to wonder why He allows the opulent lifestyles that we enjoy. Perhaps we should pray that God would take from the wealthy to provide for the starving millions. And if we were really concerned we should pray that He would start with us because compared to the vast majority of people in this world, you are richly blessed.
Are You Blessed?
If you own just one Bible, you are abundantly blessed. 1/3 of the world does not have access to even one.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people around the world.
If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest or torture of death, you are more blessed that almost three billion people in the world.
If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.
If your parents are still married and alive, you are very rare, even in the United States.
If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.
If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch.
If you prayed yesterday and today, you are in the minority because you believe in God's willingness to hear and answer prayer.
If you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, you are part of a minority in the world.
If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over 2 billion people in the world that cannot read anything at all.
You know the good thing about God? He refuses to paint false pictures and expectations. Your reward is not in this world. Because you choose to serve Him there may be more trouble that awaits you in the here and now. Sin will paint a one sided picture. You never get the “morning after” picture. (Ill. Bug Chasers”)
4. You are free to choose but you are not free to achieve.
There is no guarantee that because you choose a desired end that you will achieve that end. The choice is one thing. Your willingness to be involved in the process is another. Great faith is great involvement. The greater your dreams, the higher the price. It will cost you something to achieve, spiritually or otherwise.
5. Some big choices take care of a lot of little choices.
The moment we make up our minds that we are going on with this determination to exalt God overall, we step out of the world's parade... We acquire a new viewpoint; a new and different psychology will be formed within us; a new power will begin to surprise us by its upsurgings and its outgoings.
... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God
I had the pleasure of talking to a friend this week who articulated this very point. A man who has made some very bad choices in life and walked away from God at a point of great disappointment over something that God did not do – something that God failed to prevent.
He has discovered that life becomes dismal when you walk away from God. This man is extremely successful from a worldly perspective but all of that means nothing to him at this point. He is currently living his life and prioritizing from the perspective that God knows best. He has a commitment to his wife and children that eliminates the need for making a lot of small choices. Sometimes one big choice takes care of a whole lot of small choices.
6. God has chosen you that you might choose Him.
He has chosen you today. He is relentlessly, consumed and preoccupied with your salvation. If I ask you today if you would talk to me about your spiritual condition, you have the option to refuse. There are no lengths to which God will not go to bring you to himself. The notion of your eternal separation from Him is a violation of His will and character and today the Bible says is the day of salvation.
7. The day of choice is quickly passing.
Every moment that you live, brings you closer to God. Either He will return in this lifetime or the end of your days on earth will usher you into His presence. Your chances of making heaven become less the longer that you wait.
I may not use this today based on time. If not I will go to the end on “Choosing”. If I use this I will not use the other.
He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground. All of the garden's inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.
"You will love me, nature," God said. "I made you that way. You will obey me universe. For you are destined to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose."
All was silent as the Creator reached into Himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. "It's called 'choice'. The seed of choice."
Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form. An angel spoke, "But what if he...."
"What if he chooses not to love?" the Creator finished. "Come, I will show you."
Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow. "There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and bitter."
The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters. He saw the food and marveled at the warmth.
"Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation."
"Ah, but you've only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter."
A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, "what is it?" The Creator spoke only one word:
"Selfishness." The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths.
"This is the result of the choice?" the angel asked.
"Yes."
"They will forget you?"
"They will reject you?"
"Yes."
"They will never come back?"
"Some will. Most won't."
"What will make them listen?"
The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until He stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then, He could smell the hay that would surround Him.
With another step into the future, He paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler of a bald hill. The trunk was thick, the wood was strong. Stony brow of another hill. And soon He would be mounted on it. He felt the wood rub against a back he did not wear.
"Would you go down there?" the angel asked
"I will."
"Is there no other way?"
"There isn't"
"Wouldn't it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn't it be easier to not give the choice?" "It would," the Creator spoke slowly. "But to remove the choice is to remove the love."
He looked around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind. Men clad in soldiers' garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed. Men clad in religion stood
off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought, by killing this false one. Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill.. Speechless. Faces tear-streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn't leave. " I will stay," she said softly. "I will stay."
All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command. "It must be done..." He said, and withdrew. But as he stepped back in time, He heard the cry that He would someday scream: "My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?" He wrenched at tomorrow's agony.
The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful..."
The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love." They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within Him. God's form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks freshened. A finger moved and an eye opened.
But more incredible than the moving of flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped. Perhaps it was the wind who said if first. Perhaps what the stars saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it: "it looks like... it appears so much like...it is Him!"
The angel wasn't speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside--at the soul. "It's eternal!" gasped another. Within the man, God had placed a divine seed. A seed of his self. The God of might had created, not a creature, but another creator. And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.
Have there ever been times in your life when you doubted God's power? Surely if he was the God who made the heavens and the earth, how could he allow my friend to die? How could He allow millions to starve every night? Isn't God suppose to be almighty?
Let's stop blaming God and blame ourselves. He spared not even Himself to bring about the salvation of man. He knew that He could lose us and yet created us. The most beautiful of all is that He gave us a choice to love Him because He first loved us.
The choice is ours. We have to choose God first before we can fall under the protection of His wings of love.
Is there an area in your life where you need to choose God over something or someone else? He chose the painful path and has been patiently waiting for you to choose Him. It's your turn now.
"Choosing"
His name was Steven, but we called him "Spike."
Spike was a freshman living at the end of the hall during my sophomore year in college. We christened him "Spike" simply because his appearance was anything but wild, and we suspected he would never live up to the outrageous-sounding title.
We "helped" Spike adjust to college life. We assisted other dorm residents in playing practical jokes on him. When clouds of crickets invaded Abilene that fall, we gathered up forty or fifty dead ones and placed them in a semi-circle around his door, like tiny worshipers gathered at a religious shrine. We made prank phone calls to his room. We gave him bad advice on purpose.
Besides being an incredibly good sport and putting up with a lot of stupidity, Spike did one thing that truly impressed me. Late one night, we jammed his door shut. We expected him to get up the next morning, realize he was going to miss class, and begin banging on the door for help. If nobody responded, we assumed he would just sit in his room and skip class, figuring he had a pretty good excuse.
Spike did no such thing. Instead, he jumped out the window, a very high window, rather than miss class. I think that was when I realized that Spike had a little more "spike" in him than we thought. He had decided what he was going to do, and nothing was going to stop him.
After almost a decade in ministry, I am still amazed at people. I see people coming to church who have no business coming to church. They get up early, get ready, and drive here in spite of health problems that would stop most of us. They make it here because they want to be here.
I see people giving money to this church who have no business giving money. Their own finances are precarious at best, yet they still choose to honor God in their giving, simply because He matters to them.
I see people whose lives are such a mess they can hardly cope, people who have taken the very worst that life throws at anyone, people who have no business trying to help others because they are fighting just to stay afloat themselves...I see these people ministering, caring, serving, simply because they choose to.
I see the other side as well, those with amazing gifts who are unwilling to serve, those with incredible talents who simply won't use them. The excuses always sound reasonable, and even practical, but I sometimes wonder whether the excuses are real, or just convenient. Of course, sometimes I am the one making the excuses.
In the end, I have come to believe that most of the time, most people manage to do what they really want to do. We usually find a way to make life work the way we want it to work, and we usually find a way to get out of doing the things we truly dislike.
----
[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) . Zondervan: Grand Rapids
a Or types ; also in verse 11
b Exodus 32:6
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) . Zondervan: Grand Rapids
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) . Zondervan: Grand Rapids
