The freedom to choose is one of the greatest gifts God has given to us, and we should understand the responsibilities that go along with it, because our lives, our successes, and failures, depend to a large extent on the decisions made, and actions we take. For instance, even though the Bible has given us a general average of our lifespan, we ourselves can either greatly extend, or greatly shorten that period by what we choose to do. In other words, both Mc Donald’s, and Wholefoods sell burgers, fries, and salad; the choice is ours!
Sometimes we may make the mistake of respecting only the good choices others make, and not the bad ones, but as Christians we should respect both. We may counsel, plead, pray, and exhort, we may shed many bitter tears, in grief at the pursuit of a wrong course of action, but at the end of the day, after all is said, and done, the choice would remain with the person.
Again, parents, and brethren may be praying for a wayward child, and we may quote several promises from the Bible, pertaining to their recovery by The Lord Jesus. Then, in response, to the petitions, and entreaties made, God’s Holy Ghost may prick their consciences, with special graphic interferences from heaven. All this is well, and good, but if that child insists on doing wrong, their choices made, with the accompanying results must be accepted for what they are.
The parents of Samson begged him not to marry the philistine, but when he insisted on his choice, they respected his decision, and showed their respect by attending the wedding ceremony, and the banquet, which followed after, all the while, knowing full well that the path Samson chose would end in disaster, as the immutable word of God has clearly stated.
The tragedies which unfolded later were the results of his own choosing, and although God’s grace, and mercy followed him, yet it did not prevent him from pursuing a ruinous path. God’s grace, and the many prayers of his parents may have contained much of the collateral damage for very many years, but as the Title states, ultimately, “The Choice Is Yours. Let’s read:
Judges 14:1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is
there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
4 But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines.
Thus, it is a sad, but true commentary of our day, that the majority of us die prematurely, with very few reaching the years God allotted us. In addition, very many of the problems people now face can be fixed through the choices we make. Prayer is very important, and God’s guidance is indispensable, but at the end of the day, our choices can make all the difference, because God’s blessing, and prayer are almost never allowed to override personal choice.
God blessed Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston with the gift of singing, but because of their choices, their lives ended tragically and prematurely. Indeed, when we examine very many of the questions, and complaints that are lodged against God for calamity, failure, and tragedy, the root causes almost always go back to the choices we made, and the actions we took. Therefore, as we proceed with our study, it is important that we view objectively, that which God has to say on the matter, throughout sacred history. Let’s read:
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Genesis 13:8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before thee? if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
2nd Samuel 11:2 And it came to pass in an evening-tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her.
Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
If Abraham didn’t want to sleep with Hagar, nobody could have forced him. He wanted to do so and that is why he did it. Which raises another issue of great importance, pertaining to choice, for if we sincerely desire to do something, we will do it. We will find all the ways, and means to surmount the difficulties in the way, and circumvent every possible obstacle we may encounter, but one thing is certain, we will do it if we really want to. The same is true when we do not want to do something; we will find all the ways, and means, excuses and reasons why we would not.
It’s amazing the amount of apparently valid excuses we come up with when we really do not want to do something. Excuses such as no motivation, money, no moral support, lack of encouragement, January 1st, tiredness, lack of energy, unjust criticism, family, poor attendance, etc. However, the fact is that if we really want to do something, and it is considered by us to be important enough, we will do it, period.
There is almost no stopping of the human agent, with a determined will, for if we put a man on the moon, we can certainly do most of the mundane things we view as impossible. Therefore, the real problem is that we do not want to do it, whatever “It” is, and this is what moves our choices into the do, or don’t columns. Let’s read:
Genesis 11:6 And the Lord said, Behold, nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
This leads us to our study for this evening, because when God called Moses to go speak to pharaoh, he too found a whole lot of “Valid” excuses not to go, and even though The Lord proposed to take care of every deficiency, and every obstacle mentioned, he still found more, and more excuses. That’s because whenever we don’t want to do something, that very fact spawns a multitude of apparently valid excuses, and with each additional reason given, the purpose of not doing so becomes more, and more rational in our own eyes which then directly affects our choice. Let’s read:
Exodus 3: 14 And God said unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you.
16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
Exodus 4:1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.
2 And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand.
5 That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6 And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11 And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
14 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
There are certain things we will not want to do, but which should be done anyway just because they are good. Most people will love to have a healthy body, as long as they can, but the effort required is often often viewed as an unwelcome guest. In fact, if we could get the desired body without the effort, many millions will immediately sign on. Take again water; some people do not like to drink pure water, but we should because it is good for us, even though it may taste bland, and we may not “feel” like drinking it.
The same is true of the Christian pathway, for there are many things we will not “feel” to do, which are good for us. To fight the good fight of faith means to war against what we naturally love to do, and to fight against oneself goes contrary to our natural, fallen grain. Thus, sound decisions and choices must be given preeminence over what we feel, if we are to live victoriously in Christ Jesus. Let’s read:
Romans 7:15 For that which I do I allow not, but what I hate, that I do.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Then, after explaining our wretched condition, Paul explains how the impossible becomes possible, and how through the power of Christ, the weak become strong. As Christians who believe in the omnipotent Christ, we should try to avoid groveling in our own inabilities, weaknesses, and failures, for by doing so, a dark shadow will overspread all those good things we attempt to do. Unbelief is contagious, and tends to color every noble aspiration with clouds of doubt and uncertainty, which then stifles energy, and any enthusiasm we may have had. Let’s read:
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
That law of sin which Paul is referring to can only be subdued by choice, and the enabling power of God. In our day, a lot of emphasis is placed upon feelings and emotions, and too often these are permitted to affect the choices we make. But self-denial doesn’t “Feel” good, and if we are to be saved eternally, our choices must be guided by the word of God alone, even when there may be conflicting emotions, and feelings tugging us in different directions. Let’s read:
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Whenever circumstances are permitted to mold our decisions, and choices, then we will view the word of God in the Bible, as being subjective, and we will become the sport of circumstances. When it comes to doing that which is good, and right, no negative circumstances should be allowed to cast a shadow over our decision-making processes, or enthusiasm. Thus, if anything is worthy of being done, especially when it is written or commanded by The Lord in His word, maximum effort should be exerted until it is accomplished.
A very important exposition is written by the pen of inspiration, pertaining to the way our decisions and choices ought to be made, and if counsel and advice given is adopted, it will make a huge difference in our outlook, our potential to achieve, and the way we view, and approach daunting challenges. Let’s read:
[Christ’s Object Lessons. pp 330] God will accept only those who are determined to aim high. He places every human agent under obligation to do his best. Never should we lower the standard of righteousness in order to accommodate inherited or cultivated tendencies to wrong-doing. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, and everyone who receives Christ as a personal Savior is privileged to possess these attributes.
But Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble, all-round character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected.
Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life. Many whom God has qualified to do excellent work accomplish very little, because they attempt little. Remember that you will never reach a higher standard than you yourself set. Then set your mark high, and step by step, even though it be by painful effort, by self-denial and sacrifice, ascend the whole length of the ladder of progress.
Let nothing hinder you. Fate has not woven its meshes about any human being so firmly that he need remain helpless and in uncertainty. Opposing circumstances should create a firm determination to overcome them. The breaking down of one barrier will give greater ability and courage to go forward. Press with determination in the right direction, and circumstances will be your helpers, not your hindrances.
In closing, as we approach that period of earth’s history, when the faithful will need to walk by faith, and faith alone, it is imperative, that we buckle up our shoes, and run with patience, the race that is set before us, being determined, relentless, brave, and resilient, through the power of The Holy Spirit. If we say we believe in Christ, we must begin to live and act like we do, which leads us to our final text for today. Let’s read:
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
God bless!