October 8, 2017 NOTES NOT EDITED
Choices
Deuteronomy
30:15-20
SIS--Choice, not chance, determines one's
destiny.
Yogi Berra, the
Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees, is as well known for his turn of
a phrase as he is turning the bases on one of his many home runs. In fact, a term has been developed to
describe Yogi’s unique phrases. They are
called, “Yogiisms.” Perhaps the most famous Yogi-isms is, “It ain’t over ‘til
it’s over!” He also once said, “It’s
déjà vu all over again.” He once stunned
a crowd by declaring, “The future sure ain’t what it used to be.” Yogi once described a major league player who
was a switch-hitter (batted both left and right handed), by saying, “He hits
from both sides of the plate. He’s
amphibious.” Yogi was quite
philosophical by nature, which is how he got his nickname as a kid. He once mused about life saying, “If the world
were perfect, it wouldn't be.” That’s
deep. Many yogi-isms were probably never
spoken by Yogi, but it seemed fit to give him credit anyway. In fact, Yogi himself once confessed, “I
never said half the things I said.”
One of my favorite yogi-isms declares, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Like many yogi-isms, they are profound in their simplicity. In life, we come to many “forks in the road.” The only way to have any hope of progress, is to make a choice. Every choice has consequences, but the so does, making no choice at all. Making no choice is perhaps the worst choice.
Years ago my pastor in a little church in Mira Loma, California preached a sermon titled, “Choice, Not Chance, Determines a Man’s Destiny.” It was a simple country church with a pastor few would long remember, but that sermon has stuck with me for nearly 40 years now.
One of my favorite yogi-isms declares, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Like many yogi-isms, they are profound in their simplicity. In life, we come to many “forks in the road.” The only way to have any hope of progress, is to make a choice. Every choice has consequences, but the so does, making no choice at all. Making no choice is perhaps the worst choice.
Years ago my pastor in a little church in Mira Loma, California preached a sermon titled, “Choice, Not Chance, Determines a Man’s Destiny.” It was a simple country church with a pastor few would long remember, but that sermon has stuck with me for nearly 40 years now.
Life is a sum of all your choices.- Albert Camus
To live is to choose. But to choose well, you
must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you
want to get there.- Kofi Annan
It is our choices ... that show what we truly are, far more than
our abilities.- J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter)
Nothing
impacts our lives so often, so subtly, or with such profound effect as the
choices we make. Every choice has a
consequence. There is no such thing as
an insignificant choice.
For
example: I took a dare in 1974 right
after graduating from high school. I'd just finished my first semester as a
chemistry major at West Liberty State College, in West Virginia. I was working at a filling station to pay my
way through school.
One
of our regular clients was the local Navy recruiter. One of my best friends
also worked at the filling station. The
recruiter was always asking us to consider the Navy. One day, my friend and my boss dared me to
make an appointment with the recruiter.
I'm not sure why they thought that would be so interesting, but not much
happens in a small town filling station.
I took the dare and made the appointment. In just a few days, I was taking the oath of
enlistment and heading for boot-camp in Orlando, Florida. And, as they say, "The rest is
history."
Had
I not made that decision it would have been very unlikely I would have ever
escaped the hills and hollows of West Virginia.
I would never have sailed around the world. I would not have attended California Baptist
College. I would not have met the love
of my life, I would not have the two wonderful kids I have. I would not be standing here this morning
telling you how very important even the most insignificant decision in life can
be. Every decision starts a change reaction of consequences.
Today,
we are going to look in on the Israelites as they stand on the edge of the
Promised Land. For 40 years they have
been wandering in the desert because of a decision they made after leaving
Egypt. They chose to give into fear
because of the challenges before them, rather than give into trust in the God
that was with them. That decision had
huge consequences. Now, God was setting
before them another opportunity to choose.
Let's read about that choices:
15 See,
today I have set
before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 For I
am commanding you today to love the Lord
your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and
ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land
you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do
not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not
live long in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. 19 I
call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you
life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your
descendants may live, 20 love the Lord
your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him. For He is your life, and
He will prolong your life in the land the Lord
swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Moses
now has come to the end of his ministry with the nation. 40 years before Moses had led a throng out of
Egypt carrying with them all the treasures of their former home in exile. Moses had faithfully guided these people (1-2
million or more) through the barest and meanest terrain on the earth. Moses had compassionately cared for them and
consistently taught them. Now Moses set
forth in summary the whole matter faith in one word, "choice."
Moses
sets forth this final admonition in three parts to demonstrate the profound
effect that our choices have upon our lives -- both temporal and eternal.
1.
Moses sets forth a CLEAR CHOICE (15; 11-14)
15 See,
today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and adversity.
life and prosperity, death and adversity.
Years ago, a man of dubious distinction said, “I want to make one thing perfectly
clear!” Being a politician, what
followed that statement was clear as mud.
This is not the case in regard to a man—or woman’s—response to God. The choices are clear: either you are for Him, or you are against Him. Devotion knows no middle ground.
This is not the case in regard to a man—or woman’s—response to God. The choices are clear: either you are for Him, or you are against Him. Devotion knows no middle ground.
It would be impossible to set forth the matter of
God's full gospel any more clearly, or any more simply than this verse in
Deuteronomy. So often, much preaching is
convoluted, rambling, and set forth for altogether the wrong reason -- that is
to entertain, rather than enlighten.
There are other preachers who feel the need to dig
deep enough into the text to find some obscure message that has nothing at all
to do with the plain teaching of the gospel. Those who sermonize like they are
before seminary class consider their message quite deep.
I had one professor tell us: "The
reason one cannot see the bottom of a sermon is not because it is so deep, but
because it is so muddy." He was
referring to preachers who preach to "impress," rather than
"inspire."
Not so with Moses:
he was clear as a bell. The
options before Israel were unmistakably simple.
In fact, Moses reminded the congregation of the absolute crystal clarity
and profound simplicity of God's message in the verses before. Look in verse 11ff:
11 “This
command that I give you today is certainly not
too difficult or beyond your reach.
12 It is not in heaven, so that
you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to
us so that we may follow it?’ 13 And it is not
across the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it
for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ 14 But the
message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.
God's message is not a collection of propositions
and ideas to be discussed, but a manual for living He expects us to
follow.
There are indeed some verses in the Bible (few
actually) that take some effort to comprehend.
This last week I was reading in preparation for tonight's sermon from
the Greek New Testament. I was reminded
of the great service scholarly translators have performed in giving us the many
translations of the Bible we now have.
This is especially true when we study matters that are quite distant
from our own place and time -- like buying meat sacrificed to idols.
Indeed, a few passages in the Bible out of the
thousands may present a difficult climb to fully grasp their meaning. Even fewer may be so obscure as to allude the
grasp of even the best scholar.
But, the basic message of the gospel shines clearer
than the most brilliant diamond -- life is a matter choosing between only two
clear options:
God and the devil, His Way or your way, life and
prosperity, or death and adversity. In
regard to the most profound issues of life, the options are crystal clear --
choose the way of life or the way of death.
To get Israel to see the importance of this issue, Moses
also set forth:
2. a SOLEMN WARNING (vss 17-19a)
17 But
if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow
down to other gods and worship them, 18 I tell you today that you will
certainly perish and will not live long in the land you are entering to possess
across the Jordan. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you
today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.
I very rarely venture far from my text when
preaching by giving my impressions or speculations. I do not count myself as possessing the gift
of prophecy. Yet, I feel very impressed
at this moment to speak boldly as in, "thus
sayeth the Lord":
My suspicion is that many--perhaps most--people who
name themselves as part of the congregation of God are living under a curse and
don't even realize it. Most church
members have never stopped to examine what God has said about "cursing and
blessing." Here in our passage
Moses gives us a clear evaluation of both.
(1) The Course of Blessing and Prosperity.
In the first place Moses describes the course of blessing as "real life." Obviously, when Moses says, "I set before you life" he is
not referring to physical life alone, because all his audience possessed that
quality. Moses was talking about
"real life," or life with a special quality about it.
Real life for the Hebrews was synonymous with
"prosperity." This had to do
with much more than wealth in a material sense.
Prosperity for a Jew meant absolute completeness. It meant happiness. It meant family. It meant basic goodness, as David declared in
his famous Psalm:
"And goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm
23:6).
The course of blessing as Moses sets forth the
biblical principle is "real life" in its most full and purposeful
state. There is something much sadder
than death at the end of one's life, and that is to have never really lived in
the first place. The course of blessing
is "real life."
Moses further expounds on the course of blessing
referring to "increase." Verse
16 says,
16 For
I am commanding you today to love the Lord
your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and
ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
Yahweh, Almighty God, does not know how to
"add" when it comes to His blessings, He "multiplies." The Word describes His manner of blessing as
a "floodgate" opening up from heaven (as we learned a couple weeks
ago). The verse from Malachi is
illustrative of how God "multiplies" His blessings to and upon His
children:
Mal 3
10Test Me in this way,” says the Lord
of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a
blessing for you without measure.
The New Living
Translation brings out the meaning with even more clarity:
I will open the windows of heaven
for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take
it in! Try it!
Put me to the test!
Put me to the test!
I never want to deliver a corrupt gospel that
implies that God's best gifts are material--as with the
"health/wealth" preachers. Material blessings are like costume
jewelry. They sparkle and look nice,
make a women feel snazzy, but they have little or no real value.
I never want to deliver a corrupt gospel that
implies God is some kind of cosmic vending machine in which we deposit a select
verse or two (out of context usually) and God delivers a treat. No, that is not blessing in the
"flood-gate" sense.
However, I do not want to deliver a corrupt gospel
that implies God does not give us "great stuff." He does bless us materially and physically
and emotionally, as well as spiritually.
And, He does it in grand measure.
When God waters the garden of your life, He uses a fire hose. The Course of Blessing involves
"increase."
At the very core of the Course of Blessing is what
Moses calls, "God's favor," or God's blessing. Nothing means more to a child than to receive
the "favor" of their father.
What a great tragedy--and downfall of our
society--that one out of every two children in America will not grow up in the
home with their birth father. This has
had a disastrous affect upon our society.
More than anything in the world (or out of this
world) we should desire the "favor" of God upon our lives.
As I said before, I strongly suspect, (deep in my
soul I am convinced) most people who sit regularly on pews throughout churches
in America are living under a "curse." Moses goes on to describe the
2.
Course of the Curse and Adversity
In contrast to the "real life" that comes
with God's blessing, "real death" comes from living under the
curse. This does not refer to the moment
our breath is gone and our soul separates from our body. Real death refers to the eternal separation
of our spirit from Almighty God. In
whatever way you describe hell, at its very worst is an eternity of separation
from Almighty God and His goodness. The
Bible describes "real death" in the most horrible and disgusting
manner possible (Mk. 9:44-48):
42 “But
whoever causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me —it
would be better for him if a heavy millstone
b were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And
if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell—the
unquenchable fire, [44 where
Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] g
45 And
if your foot causes your downfall, cut
it off. It is better for you to enter life lame
than to have two feet and be thrown into hell— [the unquenchable
fire, 46 where Their worm does not die, and the
fire is not quenched.] m
47 And
if your eye causes your downfall, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter
the kingdom of God with one eye than to
have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where Their worm does not die, and
the fire is not quenched.
In contrast to the "increase" that comes
from God's multiplied provisions through the Course of Blessing, the Course of
Cursing and Adversity brings multiplied decrease. The spiral away from God is always a spiral
away from fullness and light into a black hole of want. The Course of Cursing manifests itself in
constant desires that are never quenched or satisfied. The curse perpetually diminishes everything
it touches. It shortens life and
decreases pleasures. Verse 18 points out, especially in the New Living Translation, the diminishing
nature of the curse:
You will not live a long, good life
in the land
you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
Over and over and over again I encounter people--I'm
talking about church people--who are living a life of want and emptiness. And . . . I don’t mean a life lacking in
material stuff. This is symptomatic of
the Curse. Everything money can buy . . . and none of what it can’t!
Finally, Moses describes the Course of Cursing as Divine
Disfavor. That's the essential meaning
of the word, "curse."
Now, after examining this clear description of the
course of life and blessing versus the course of death and cursing, Moses
warning takes on a very solemn and weighty tone:
17
But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to
bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I tell you today that you will
certainly perish.
The term "perish" is constructed in the
Hebrew in a way to give emphasis to word.
It could be translated, "and perishing you will perish." The word for perish many times implies
destruction in a violent manner. It also
implies "waste and loss." John
the Apostle picks up on this idea in the most famous verse in all Scripture:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that
whosoever believes in Him need not PERISH, but can have everlasting life."
The penalty for a bad choice in regard to your
relationship with God will bring horrible loss, violence, waste, and
destruction in your life -- absolutely and of a certainty.
This was Moses' solemn warning to the
Israelites. Moses continued to fill out his final instructions to the Israelites
with
3. an URGENT APPEAL (19b-20)
Choose
life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain
faithful to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in
the land the Lord swore to give to
your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Our text brings us right back to the matter of
"choice." Choice, not chance, determines one's destiny." A great idea, a high-minded philosophy, a
deeply spiritual experience will all come to naught if you do not make the
right "choice" in regard to Who you are going to serve in life.
Salvation and blessing doesn't "just
happen." Salvation and blessing
come as the direct consequences of one's choices. Elijah saw Israel wavering between serving
the gods of wealth and prosperity (Baal), and serving the One True God. Elijah called upon the people to:
"Choose, today, whom you will serve."
The urgent appeal to come to God in Christ is no
general invitation -- neither in the N.T. nor the Old.
It is a specific, urgent appeal to decide
now. Follow Moses appeal throughout this text:
v11: "This command I give you TODAY."
v15: "See, today, I have set before you life."
v16: "For I am commanding you today."
v18: "I tell you today."
v19: "I call heaven and earth as a witness against you today."
v15: "See, today, I have set before you life."
v16: "For I am commanding you today."
v18: "I tell you today."
v19: "I call heaven and earth as a witness against you today."
Clearly, whatever God is calling you and I to
decide—He intends for us to decide NOW—TODAY!
God is appealing to you to decide what you will do
"some day," but what you will do "today." I don't know that you have a tomorrow, or
even long today, to decide on the important matters of life and
prosperity. Any time but right now may
be "too late."
A wise, elderly gospel preacher once lamented the
practice of no longer giving an urgent appeal to sinners. He said,
Do you know why more men do not come to Christ? It
is because men are not given an urgent, specific invitation. You get a general
invitation from your friend, “Come around some time to my house and dine with
me.” You do not go. But he says, “Come around today at four o’clock and bring
your family and we’ll dine together.” And you say, “I will come.” And you
go. The world feels it is a general invitation to come around sometime and sit
at the great gospel feast. Men do not come because they are not specially
invited. It is because you do not take hold of them and say, “My brother, come
to Christ. Come now–come now!”
I've shown you how very important the choices are
that we make in life. No choice is
insignificant--and certainly not the choice of whether to obey God fully or
turn a deaf ear to His Word. Do not put
off for one more minute--not one more second--but right now heed the urgent
appeal and "CHOOSE LIFE!"
Choose to become a fully obedient disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ no
matter what it costs. The matter is of
utmost urgency.
Richard
Baxter, the Puritan preacher of the 17th century conveys the urgency, the zeal
of Christian witness when he said, "I preached as never sure to preach
again, and as a dying man to dying men!"
Today Moses set before us two clear options. He have given us the most solemn warning
outlining the awful results of making the wrong choice. Moses concluded his final instructions to
Israel with an urgent appeal to make the choice now.
There is a time on everyone's clock marked not by a
number, but by the words, "too late."
There will come a time--perhaps today--it will be too late to make the
right choice and avoid eternal disaster.
Every choice sets a course for either blessing or cursing—there is no
middle ground. It is a matter of eternal, infinite folly to
respond to God’s urgent appeal with lackadaisical, lukewarm apathy.
Consider Adam and Eve's choice. It seemed like such a small thing: one bite from one apple from one tree. Every bad thing that has ever happened or ever will happen is in some way connected to that "choice."
Consider Adam and Eve's choice. It seemed like such a small thing: one bite from one apple from one tree. Every bad thing that has ever happened or ever will happen is in some way connected to that "choice."
The choice God sets before us is a clear choice, an
eternal choice, an urgent choice. Choose
life. Choose prosperity. Choose Christ. Choose now.
On
the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree
just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts
and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts." One
for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy. Several
dropped and rolled down toward the fence.
Another boy came riding along the
road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the
cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, "One for
you, one for me. One for you, one for me."
He just knew what it was. He jumped
back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend, he met an old man with a
cane, hobbling along. "Come here quick," said the boy. "You
won't believe what I heard! Satan and the Lord are down at the cemetery
dividing up the souls."
The man said, "Beat it kid!
Can't you see it's hard for me to walk?" When the boy insisted though, the
man hobbled slowly to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard, "One
for you, one for me. One for you, one for me..."
The old man whispered, "Boy,
you've been tellin' me the truth. Let's see if we can see the Lord."
Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see
anything. The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter
and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord. At last they heard,
"One for you, one for me. That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the
fence, and we'll be done."
They say the old man made it back to
town a full 5 minutes ahead of the kid on the bike.
Today is the only day you have to
“Choose” to live for Christ. The Devil is looking for souls.
Choose wisely. Choose now.
SOMETHING EXTRA
A STORY ABOUT URGENCY
We all know the story of the Titanic, how on April 14, 1912 an iceberg
scraped the ships’s starboard side, ripping open six watertight compartments
and leading to the death of over 1500 people.
On board the ship that night was John Harper and his much-beloved six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it was apparent that the ship was going to sink, John Harper immediately took his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety; however, it never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed his precious little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would see him again someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected the tears on his face as he turned and headed towards the crowd of desperate humanity on the sinking ocean liner. As the rear of the huge ship began to lurch upwards, it was reported that Harper was seen making his way up the deck yelling "Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble deep within. Most people thought it was an explosion; actually the gargantuan ship was literally breaking in half. At this point, many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below. John Harper was one of these people.
That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal. Mr. Harper swam up to one young man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, "Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not.
Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it to the man and said "Here then, you need this more than I do..." and swam away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation. Of the 1528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was this young man on the debris. Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how John Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people, yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim. His last words before going under in the frigid waters were "Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter. This servant of God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved.
John Harper knew what it meant to live life with urgency.
On board the ship that night was John Harper and his much-beloved six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it was apparent that the ship was going to sink, John Harper immediately took his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety; however, it never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed his precious little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would see him again someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected the tears on his face as he turned and headed towards the crowd of desperate humanity on the sinking ocean liner. As the rear of the huge ship began to lurch upwards, it was reported that Harper was seen making his way up the deck yelling "Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble deep within. Most people thought it was an explosion; actually the gargantuan ship was literally breaking in half. At this point, many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below. John Harper was one of these people.
That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal. Mr. Harper swam up to one young man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, "Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not.
Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it to the man and said "Here then, you need this more than I do..." and swam away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation. Of the 1528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was this young man on the debris. Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how John Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people, yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim. His last words before going under in the frigid waters were "Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter. This servant of God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved.
John Harper knew what it meant to live life with urgency.
