Joshua 24:15 And if it seems 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.
The power of freedom of choice which was given us by God is not nearly understood for what it is. Some folks fall into the snare of ascribing responsibility to other persons, locations, conditions, politicians, the church, or family members, and even God, for their situation, when in reality, the choices and decisions we make are really the culprits in most instances.
The above passage tells us that we can use freedom of choice to do either good or evil, and therefore, by implication, we are to understand that there will be consequences to our actions. Consequences can either be good or bad, depending on the decision made, but at the end of the day, the choice is ours.
It’s not as if the freedom of choice is all bad, in fact it is one of the best gifts God has given to man. We should not view it only as the freedom pertaining to choosing between good and evil, for you can choose between two or more good things.
For instance, at your favorite restaurant you could choose between salad and fruit, both of which are good things. And in the earth made new there will be all kinds of fruit, and nuts, and grains to choose from. They are all good, and the freedom of choice will be there, so that persons can decide to try this or that item.
God is not too much in the business of preventing a person from doing what they decide to do, but He works within the framework of our free choice, to bring about His desired end.
This is a critically important point for folks to always remember, for many persons hope, pray, and expect God to stop them from doing that which they have already firmly decided to do, if it were to turn out bad.
It really doesn’t work that way, because we are free moral agents, blessed with intelligence, and for this reason, wherever one has their full mental capacity, we are to think things through, taking God’s will into consideration, before making a decision that could turn sour at the end.
We may not always make good assessments on our own, but if we are warned, and counseled by God, against a certain course of action, persons should be willing and humble enough to use their freedom of choice, to fall into line with what God has said.
And we are to always remember that God is not to be looked upon as The Preventer in Chief, for if God were to go about preventing this or preventing that, we will not need intelligence anymore. Thus, choice is a personal responsibility, that should never be laid upon the shoulders of others.
When the issue of our incredible freedom of choice is carefully understood, it could cause chills to run down your spine, when you consider some of the things God did not prevent. He didn’t prevent satan from picking a fight with Christ in heaven.
The other loyal angels were then placed into a funny position, in that they now had to fight against their former colleagues and God did not intervene to stop it from taking place. He permits intelligence, choice, and decision to guide His creatures in ways that may or may not be in harmony with His will.
He didn’t prevent Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of knowledge, of good and evil. He did not prevent Peter from cursing out the maid in the court room. He didn’t prevent Samson from marrying the Philistine, and again, the people who were fighting in Saul’s army were not prevented from eating the blood, after they had become hungry.
David wasn’t prevented from sleeping with the wife of Uriah, and even Jacob wasn’t prevented from his bout of lying, even when he had lied on God. In that episode God did not interfere anyone’s freedom of choice.
He made His will known, but He left each player to choose what part they wanted to play. The Lord let Rebekah and Jacob do their thing. He let Isaac do his thing, and He let the godless Esau do his own thing as he went hunting. Yet, at the end of the day, after it all shakes out, someway, somehow, God’s will gets done.
None of these persons were prevented, and that’s because The Lord respects the incredible freedom of choice He has given us, which, when it’s coupled together with intelligence, makes us the arbiters of our own destiny.
Again, come November, God will, as in times past, permit persons to choose whomsoever they choose. He will not interfere with any person’s choices, nor is He going to force anyone to do this or that.
Each individual will be left free to do and choose as they like if they decide to pick and choose but again, at the end of the day, someway somehow, God’s will is going to get done.
Thus, the Christian shouldn’t be consumed with the back and forth, and the uncertainty that is plaguing the nation, even as persons in high, and low places go into full-blown panic mode, because of earthly courts. Instead, we should be laser focused on what is taking place in the heavenly court, because there is where God’s will is revealed.
It should also be remembered that your incredible freedom of choice also pertains to salvation for God does not force anyone to be converted. God sends forth His Spirit to instruct, encourage, enlighten and strengthen, but never to coerce the unwilling mind into doing that which they would not freely choose to do. Let’s read:
Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
This does not mean that a baseball bat must also be employed, whenever witnessing to any prospective candidates for heaven. The seed of the Gospel must be sown besides all waters, and through a person’s choice and desire, it may or may not germinate and come to fruition. It all has to do with your incredible freedom of choice.
When the Gospel is presented to people, persuasion and conviction by The Holy Ghost can be employed, but when it comes down to the decision, they must be left free and clear to make deliberate, intelligent choices. The human mind is left untrammeled by God, so that persons can make uncoerced decisions.
And it is in this context that we must interpret what might seem on the surface like God forcing pharaoh to do something against his own will. Basically, in a nutshell, it never happened and never will. Pharaoh, like all other intelligent, free moral agents, was left to choose to be in harmony, or out of harmony with God’s revealed will.
But, after repeatedly deciding to do otherwise, like as it was with Isaac God worked through the natural stubbornness of the king, to get His will done. But if pharaoh had chosen to obey, he would immediately be in God’s good graces, just like Nebuchadnezzar.
Many issues which are currently labeled as genetic and hereditary, beyond a person’s control, do not take into consideration the fact that folks do make choices with commensurate results. God does not propose to prevent any intelligent man, or woman from exercising their freedom to choose.
In the Scriptures, God is often represented as doing that which He does not prevent and because of this, many persons, including Christians have gone away with a great misunderstanding of God.
Thus, we are to study the following references very closely, lest persons fall for some of satan’s favorite snares, which he often palms off as valid reasons why folks had no choice but to do such and such, as if persons have no choice in the matter, for in most instances, you always have a choice. Let’s read:
Jude 1: 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.
God does not keep a person from falling, against his or her will. If a person has no inner desire to be kept The Lord does not force His way into the heart, and prevent one from falling. He stands at the door, and knocks, but the person will have to open the door of the heart, by their own free will. Let’s read:
Revelation 3: 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
In stark contrast is the devil, who does not ask, nor wait to be invited in. He kicks down the door of the heart, and bullies his way in, and takes possession, as persons repeatedly succumb to his temptations.
Even if you do not like him, he will take up residence if Christ is not in the heart, for demon possession is at its very core, the use of force. There is currently now a very strong presence of demonic spirits that is actively engaged across the land. And this is as a direct result of the choices being made. Let’s read:
Matthew 12: 43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Luke 9: 41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
When persons deliberately choose to go to those meetings where persons are strewn all across the ground, around some preacher who is charismatic, and claims to have slain them in the spirit, we may know for certain that it is not The Spirit of God, but the spirit of satan, for devils throw persons down, but Jesus lifts them up.
But, if persons decide to go, against the revealed will of God, then the result would be a person’s own responsibility. The devil cannot make you do it, and he cannot force you to go if you do not first give him leeway through your incredible freedom of choice.
Hence the reason why the genius of the Gospel is to first and foremost, restore one’s ability to choose in a free and clear manner. “If the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed” and that includes the freedom to choose. Let’s read:
[The Desire of Ages pp 324] It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart and he will make it his abiding place.
One day I saw a very interesting clip, which asked a question that’s pertinent to this study. Here it is: “Lord, why don’t you stop me if you see me doing something stupid?”
It sounds like a sincere plea for help, in preventing a person from making any grave mistake, and it’s true, that at times, The Lord could prevent us from doing something stupid, if we are willing to be stopped. In the instance with Balaam, God tried to stop him, but he insisted on doing something stupid.
Therefore, whenever push comes to shove, and the human agent insists on having their own way, God respects their freedom of choice, and very often will permit persons to make very grave mistakes.
Note well, that God at first tried to stop Balaam, but afterward He granted him the freedom to go if he so chose, in spite of God’s revealed will. It all has to do with your incredible freedom of choice. Let’s read:
Numbers 22: 12 And God said unto Balaam, You shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them…
In fact, The Lord may warn and give counsel to the contrary, but if a person deliberately decides to do something stupid, there is nothing that God will do, in most cases.
God has given in His word clear instructions on what clean meats can be eaten. But if anyone is hell bent on doing it “MY Way” God allows them to eat their fill of forbidden foods.
Thus, persons can go to their favorite restaurant and eat as many crabs and lobsters as they like, whether it is all you can eat, or all you should eat, it matters not. The choice is yours.
Folks will not find any angel of God, with a flaming sword at the entrance, preventing any person from having their fill. It all has to do with your incredible freedom of choice which was given to us by God, to hopefully use in ways that will be in harmony with His good will.
The same was true of pharaoh, of whom the Bible says God hardened his heart. The Lord does not and He has never hardened anyone’s heart, against their own will. Like as it is with any created intelligence, the Egyptian monarch was free to choose, and thus, if he chooses to do good or evil, God could, and will work within the paradigm he chooses. Let’s read:
Romans 9: 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardens.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, why does he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
God can justifiably find fault, because in every single instance, without exception, God has permitted the human agent to exercise intelligence, and freedom of choice. That is why he did not prevent Isaac from choosing to go contrary to His revealed will.
Instead, He worked through Isaac’s folly to get His will done. And that is why He did not prevent Jacob and Rebekah from doing the unthinkable, because we are free moral agents, and the intelligent mind is always to be left untrammeled, to make deliberate decisions, either for good, or for evil.
The fact is that God never hardened pharaoh’s heart by preventing him from doing the right thing. At the first interaction with pharaoh, God, through Moses told him to let His people go, and if at that time, the king was disposed to obey, there would have been an entirely different after history of that ill-fated monarch. Let’s read:
Exodus 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, thus, saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
2 And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
Pharaoh was a naturally stubborn man, and this can be observed in his response to his own magicians, who pleaded for some common sense, and rational thought by the king.
But the same stubborn choices made against God were now leveled at his very own magicians, and, it was because of his naturally stubborn nature, why God worked through his folly to get His will done.
Thus, even though the Bible says that God hardened pharaoh’s heart, He in fact never did, because as we stated before, God is often represented in the Bible as doing that which He does not prevent. Let’s read:
Exodus 8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, this is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
32 And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Exodus 9: And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
Exodus 10:7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, how long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
Thus, we must become familiar with what is God’s will for such a time as this, so that if we so choose, we may fall into line with what has revealed.
In the Scriptures we have been repeatedly told that there would come a time, when the winds of strife will begin to blow across the earth, especially in the land of the free, which would then usher in the time of the latter rain, that is promised just prior to the return of Christ.
The tensions, uncertainty, and political infighting we are currently seeing across the land, tell us with the clearest certainty that the winds have already begun to blow, and because of this, the remnant people of God will need to exercise their freedom of choice in ways that should be in harmony with God’s will.
The panic mode that is now gripping the nations, is a signal to us that now more than ever, we must be ready, willing and humble enough to be led by The Spirit of God in our decision-making processes.
It all hearkens back to that question that was posed to us earlier: “Lord, why don’t you stop me if you see me doing something stupid?” If we desire to be led in our choices, and decisions, we must be humble enough to let God lead, not in some things, but in all things.
The tendency to allow Him to lead in some matters, whilst excluding Him from other areas of our lives, will lead to a lopsided form of guidance, where we would become vulnerable to making serious errors in judgement, at a time when we cannot afford to. Let’s read:
Proverbs 3:4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
Several key decisions may need to be made in the not-too-distant future, by those who know what’s coming. We have recently taken another significant step towards the mark of the beast, and the truth in the matter will soon dawn in many minds, as to the real ramifications of recent rulings.
Should some folks be considering relocating to the country, as per the counsel given to us for so many years?
If it turns out that situations were to turn sour in November, would we be positioned intelligently, to make decisions in harmony with God’s will.
Are we still tethered to the debt bandit, in ways that will make it difficult for us to extricate ourselves, if we suddenly needed to?
Are we so rooted and grounded in Christ and the truths of God’s word, so that we cannot be shaken, as the winds of strife begin to blow?
Do we still trust God with reservations, time frames and deadlines, or are we learning to trust Him with no holds barred.
Many persons are searching for leaders, others are searching for answers, and some are at their wits end, as persons only see bad choices on the menu. Therefore, it is at such a time as this, that the real leader, even Jesus Christ is to be lifted up as the One and only One who could be trusted to lead us in our decisions.
Let us therefore try by God’s grace to cultivate that humble and teachable spirit which is necessary for Christ to lead those who are willing. Let us not, like Isaac, try to force our way through, if we know that something is not God’s will, for who knows, He may choose not to prevent us, for, as we have studied, God honors our incredible freedom of choice.
In harmony with this truth, we’ll end our discourse with a passage that contains an important promise, and which would be fulfilled in real time, if we are humble enough to be led by God. Let’s read:
Psalms 32: 8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle….
God Bless!