In this article I would like to address the youth and discuss the fact that "CHOICES DETERMINE CONSEQUENCES." In the last chapter of the Old Testament book of Joshua, he was giving the nation his final message. Joshua ends his address with what has become known as one of the most powerful and courageous testimonies in all of scripture. In his old and perhaps quavering voice, he shouted in verses 14-15,
"Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. (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."
He knew these people had the POWER OF CHOICE.
They could choose to serve the false gods, and the idols their ancestors worshipped.
They could choose to serve the gods of the Amorites, whom God had overthrown from the land.
They could choose to worship and serve the God of heaven who had given them their life and this great land.
FIRST: This was an INDIVIDUAL choice. The verse says: "Choose you …" Each and every one of you have made or will make thousands of choices. You have or will be making choices whether to:
*Obey or to disobey your parents.
*Obey or disobey your pastor.
*Obey God or not to obey God's Word,
*Go to school every day, or not to go to school and face the consequences.
*Commit to keep yourself pure until marriage, or not to keep yourself pure and pay the consequences that will scar you the rest of your life.
*Lie or tell the truth about a situation.
*Commit to being in the house of God each and every Sunday, or to come only when you feel like it.
*Live in harmony with your family, or to live in utter disharmony and anger all the time.
*Finish school and go onto college, or quit school and then go from job to job wondering why things are so hard for you.
*Accept God's gift of eternal life though faith in Jesus Christ to one day spend all eternity in Heaven, or to reject God's gift of eternal life and one day die and go to Hell.
It's up to you; you have the POWER OF CHOICE.
SECOND: This is an IMMEDIATE choice, "Choose you THIS DAY…" This is a choice you must make TODAY, not tomorrow or when you grow older. The decisions you make in your life TODAY will impact you in the days and the years to come. Remember this:
Life has Choices…
Choices have Consequences…
Make the RIGHT Choices.
Choices have Consequences…
Make the RIGHT Choices.
You have to decide whether or not you believe that this book, the Bible, is the absolute and final authority, the very Word of God. Your decision will have a decided impact on the direction of your life. Let this thought sink into your mind:
"There is no such thing as a small decision. Every decision is vital for this reason–decisions determine other decisions. Little decisions affect big decisions later. And each decision affects destiny.
THIRD : This is an INTENT TO SERVEchoice. The reason for this decision is to choose whom you will serve. No man is without service to someone. You will either serve God or Satan. You can make the choice to practice righteousness or iniquity. The choice is actually in your hands. God did a wonderful thing when He placed within our hands the power of choice. We are free moral agents, who have the ability to make vital choices and exercise our intellect in matters that affect our immediate and eternal future. Remember this:
Life has Choices…
Choices have Consequences…
Make the RIGHT Choices.
Choices have Consequences…
Make the RIGHT Choices.
But also realize this: when God gave us the ABILITY to choose, He also gave us the RESPONSIBILITY to make the right choice. Every privilege carried with it a responsibility. God has clearly laid out for us in the Bible right and wrong, life and death, Heaven and Hell.
God said, "Here is right and here is wrong. You choose what you are going to do."
God said, "Here is Heaven and here is Hell. You choose where you are going to go."
God said, "Here is peace and here is turmoil. You choose which you want in your life."
God said, "Here is Heaven and here is Hell. You choose where you are going to go."
God said, "Here is peace and here is turmoil. You choose which you want in your life."
Now although you can make choices, you cannot determine the outcome of those choices. You cannot choose what takes place as a result of your decision. The consequences are already fixed.
Galatians 6:7 tells us, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." KJV. You can make the wrong choices, but you can't decide the outcome. The outcome is already fixed. You CAN decide to do your own thing, but you WILL reap what you have sown.
When the Law was given to the children of Israel, Moses said in Deuteronomy 11:26-28 these words: "I set God's Word before you, and it is both a BLESSING and a CURSE. It is a BLESSING if you make the right choice and choose to obey. This same Law is going to become a curse to you if you choose to disobey." As your MINISTER, I can't make the right choices for you, nor can your best friend make the right choices for you.
We can tell you the TRUTH. We can point you into the RIGHT DIRECTION. We can protest when we see you making the wrong decisions, but if you decide to do it anyway, we really can't stop you.
All we can say is, "Go ahead, but you'll be sorry." The consequences of the wrong decision are fixed, AND WHAT YOU WANT IS NOT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET.
You have the awesome POWER OF CHOICE, and YOU are responsible. You hold your destiny in your hands.
*The choices people make today are going to decide whether they go to Heaven or Hell.
*The choices you make today will decide what your life will be like five, ten, or even twenty years from now.
*The choices you make today will determine whether you will reap the BLESSINGS from God or the CURSES of the world.
GOOD CHOICES are paid for in advance. Before Daniel ever got to Babylon and was ever tempted by sin, he had already determined he was going to do right. In Daniel 1:8 we read,"But Daniel PURPOSED in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank…"
*It takes Character to make the right choices when the wrong choices are more convenient.
*It takes Character to make the right choices when the wrong choices are more popular.
*It takes Character to make the right choices when the wrong choices are more prosperous.
*It takes Character to make the right choices when the wrong choices are more enjoyable.
RIGHT CHOICES must always be paid for in advance, before you enjoy the results of your right decision. Victory in the Christian life and the power of God are paid for in advance by making the right choices when the wrong choices are available.
BAD CHOICES are paid for AFTER they are experienced. This is like the use of CREDIT CARDS as they do in the USA. You whip those things out like there is no tomorrow. You buy and you spend. You enjoy all the freedom, until one day in the mail there arrives this itemized list and with it a bill. Not only is there a bill for all you owe, also there is this 14% interest tacked on to the final balance. Now you must pay the price for all that enjoyment. That's a very clear picture of making wrong choices.
Wrong choices are always paid for after they are experienced.
Many people who make wrong choices are deceived by the devil into thinking that there is no price at all, until the decision has already been made and experienced, and it is too late to change.
Many people who make wrong choices are deceived by the devil into thinking that there is no price at all, until the decision has already been made and experienced, and it is too late to change.
Remember there is a time of sowing, and there is always a time of reaping. Someone said,
1. You always reap exactly what you sow; you cannot expect to sow one thing and reap a crop of something entirely different.
2. You always reap later than you sow; the sowing may seem to be innocent and innocuous, but those seeds sown will come up after a while.
3. You always reap more than you sow; one tiny seed may multiply itself may times over in the future.
2. You always reap later than you sow; the sowing may seem to be innocent and innocuous, but those seeds sown will come up after a while.
3. You always reap more than you sow; one tiny seed may multiply itself may times over in the future.
There is always a day of reckoning where the wrong choices will be paid for with interest. Please listen, "NO MATTER WHAT STAGE OF LIFE YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN, TODAY YOU ARE LAYING THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH YOU MUST LATER LIVE.
*David made the wrong choice, and it cost him trouble in his family.
*Jonah had his own way, but he paid for it in the belly of the whale.
*Lot had the convenience of "Easy Street" in Sodom, but he lost everything that he had a little later.
*The prodigal son had worldly pleasure for a short season, but he paid for it in the hog pen.
God has placed in your hands the POWER OF CHOICE.
It costs something to make the right choice, whereas it costs more to make the wrong choice.
Right choices are paid for in advance.
Wrong choices are paid for after they are experienced.
Right choices are paid for in advance.
Wrong choices are paid for after they are experienced.
It will cost you a little now to obey, but it will cost you a whole lot later to disobey. The choice is yours. You can pay now, or you can pay later. You hold your destiny in your hands.
Over the years I have watched many teenagers make choices, some made the right choices and they reaped blessings. On the other hand there were others who made the wrong choices and reaped curses and destruction in their lives.
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:1 these words, "Remember now thy CREATOR in the days of thy YOUTH, while the evil day come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them." Then King Solomon draws all this to a conclusion in 12:13-14 when he says, "Fear God" (that implies faith); "Keep His commandments" (that implies obedience to God's commandments which are found in the Word of God). Now notice the verse concludes with: "This is the whole duty of man." The whole duty of man is to believe God and obey His Word.
As we consider our lives and the ministry which the Lord has entrusted to us, it is wise, I believe, that we consider the seeds we are sowing. If we want a blessed, fruitful tomorrow, we are well advised to sow wisely today. Every choice we make has a consequence.
Instead of dealing with consequences when the harvest comes in, we would do well to deal with our choices in the season of sowing. The day of reckoning is always preceded by the day of reasoning. If we will yield ourselves to scriptural authority in the time of reasoning, we will be well served in the time of reckoning.
Choices! Choices! Choices! They are unending! There are decisions to be made every day. Take thought in these choices. Use godly wisdom rather than the rules of expediency. The consequences will be forthcoming based on how the choices are handled. Make the right choices today in anticipation of happy consequences tomorrow! THE CHOICES OF TODAY DETERMINE YOUR CONSEQUENCES, either BLESSINGS or CURSES.
I don't know the choices you want to choose right now, that business startup, that education? That job? That marriage partner? All I know is that when you connect to the owner of the mental faculty you will always have the better choice.
David never lost any battle because he always enquired of the Lord before making any choice.
1Sa 23:2 "Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah."
1Sa 23:4 "Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand."
2Sa 2:1 "And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron."
You need to always inquire from the Lord to acquire your heritage.
Keep soaring and be blessed with multiple wisdom from heaven to make the right choices.
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