Divergent: Making Wise Choices

Introduction:

There Once Was a Road Through the Woods, Rudyard Kipling

THEY shut the road through the woods Seventy years ago. Weather and rain have undone it again, And now you would never know There was once a road through the woods Before they planted the trees. It is underneath the coppice and heath, And the thin anemones. Only the keeper sees That, where the ring-dove broods, And the badgers roll at ease, There was once a road through the woods.

Yet, if you enter the woods Of a summer evening late, When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools Where the otter whistles his mate, (They fear not men in the woods, Because they see so few.) You will hear the beat of a horse's feet, And the swish of a skirt in the dew, Steadily cantering through The misty solitudes, As though they perfectly knew The old lost road through the woods. But there is no road through the woods.

Paths get unrecognized because of lack of use.

Maybe it’s time to remember once again the old paths and reestablish them by use.

Matthew 7:13–14 NIV

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

narrow vs wide

difficult vs broad

life vs destruction

few vs many

1.Start with the Right Gate

Gate: protection and passage. lots of commerce. People gathered there to share news.

There is a choice.

Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV

19 This day I call the heavens and the 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

Illustrations of early choices that have long-lasting consequences (from inconsequential to eternal in scope)

inconsequential - board games / card games - once you win the bid in a game of Rook, you have to choose which cards to keep and which to discard. You have to choose the trump suit as well.

More consequential - in extracurricular activities you go through a refining process. Karl Mecklenburg and Mr. Halsted - scouting or football, one will have longer lasting results than another.

Post-High School choices - trade school, university, work-force, military service. I once found a high school career guide for a student in a small town in the 40’s. I so wanted to locate him to see what he chose and how it played out.

Eternal - choose to begin following Jesus.

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Choose life!

2. Stay on the Right Path

Matthew 7:13–14 The Message

13 “Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. 14 The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.

Q: What are the habits that anchor you?

Via Dolorosa - the path to the cross. It was then as it is today - noisy, commercial, colorful, attractions. All sorts of people selling and buying. But Jesus walked right through without a glimpse of the merchandise. He might have seen the people, but he had a destination in mind.

2 Timothy 3:16 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Testing, pain, going without are all means to greater godliness. Why, then do we continually choose comfort over perseverance?

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Psalm 20:7 NIV

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Plague in the Roman Empire. People fled the cities, but the Christians remained to serve the sick and dying.

“Most of our brother Christians showed unbonded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Needless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy.” (Dionysius, 260 AD)

Same is true of Yellow Fever in Philadelphia shortly after the revolutionary war. The free black community of Christians stayed to help - many died. But out of this sprang a strong and vibrant AME (African Methodist Episcopal Church)

Advent is a season of preparation for the celebration of the Christmas. It is a time of reflection, of simplicity, and of isolation and service. We’ve lost that somehow.

I was once part of a missions movement that had nights of prayer - I mean the whole night! Many African churches still do this today.

It used to be common for people to read through the Bible in a year. And when we came to November and looked at the amount left, we binge-read the rest. What are we binging today?

I’ve been a fan of baby steps to get people back on track. And I think that’s appropriate for many. But there are people who keep trying baby steps without ever graduating to toddler steps and then youth steps and adult steps.

There is a path through the woods that is overgrown and underused. Let’s restart that trail. It is not too late.

This is not an easy path, but it is rewarding.

If success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration I want to end the day arm in arm with other leaders - sweat dripping from foreheads and bodies aching from hard work, yet experiencing the unquenchable satisfaction that it’s worth it all. People transform. Organizations grow. The Kingdom advances. We are doing what God has made us to do.

3. Strive for the Right Reward

Jeremiah 21:8 NIV

8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.

The easy path leads to destruction. Any by the time it arrives you have so lost the path that you may not find it.

Life happens now. I have few regrets about my life. But of the few regrets, none are about choosing to follow Christ.

Conclusion:

There are actually four sets of choices in this final section of the Sermon on the Mount.

Staying on the right path means listening to the right voices.

There are false prophets and prophets of truth. Listen to the true prophets and bear fruit that lasts forever.

Staying on the path means that you become a different kind of follower of Christ

There are false disciples and true disciples. A false prophet claims the name of God, but never does anything for others. The true disciple settles into a relationship with Jesus and also does the things that he requires.

Staying on the right path means that you build on a solid foundation.

Finally, there are false foundations that are like building on sand. And there is a true and solid foundation like building on a rock.

I believe that the whole of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized by Mt 7:24

Matthew 7:24 NIV

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Hear the Words of Christ

Put them into practice

Enjoy a kingdom life that withstands the blows of the storms.

Erwin McManus wrote a book during his struggle with cancer called, The Last Arrow. his desire is to enter the gates of heaven having just shot his last arrow.