Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Life is full of decisions.  We face a variety of choices each and every day of our lives.  Some choices are seemingly very small and do not require much thought at all.  On the other hand some of our choices are on a much bigger scale which requires much more thought and contemplation.  The lagging question for Christians is how to make choices that are pleasing to God.

The Objective Standard

It is vitally important that the first thing a Christian does while contemplating a decision is to compare it to the objective standard.  The word objective in lay men's terms means--black and white.  By using the word objective I am saying that the answer is quite clear.  How then does this relate to our decision making?  Upon gathering all the information about a decision you are faced with you must examine the word of God and see if the Bible opposes this decision.  Will this choice cause you to do something that is contrary to the clear teachings of God's Word?

Psalm 37

Psalm 37 offers some key insights about God's will.  There are some principles contained within this chapter that should be applied to every Christians life especially when considering God's will for your life.  Let me list a few key verses:

"Do not fret" (Ps. 37:1).

"Trust in the Lord" (Ps. 37:3).

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4).

"Commit your way to the Lord" (Ps. 37:5).

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him" (Ps. 37:7).

Counsel

The proverbs teach in several different verses that there is great wisdom in seeking counsel.  Particularly we read there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors (Prov. 15:22).  It is essential that a Christian enlist a group of advisers to seek counsel with when facing decisions.  When speaking with these counselors it is so important to present all of the facts and honestly listen to their assessment and advice on the situation.  This does not mean you have to follow through with exactly what they say, but all too often people seek counsel in an effort to only get the answer they want to here.  We need to be completely transparent with our trusted advisers.

Pray

Through the entire decision making process we should be praying fervently for the wisdom of Solomon.  The Apostle Paul asked to church at Colosse to pray in this manner, "They you may be filled with the knowledge of His will" (Col. 1:9).   Do you regular involve God in your decision making or do you think you have it all figured out?  Be sure that you seek the Spirit's guidance and direction as you strive to make choices that are pleasing to God.

For the Sake of the Nations

There are roughly 16,500 people groups that exist in the world today.  Typically a people group is placed in a category based on the language that they speak.  With every language comes ones own customs, culture and identity.  Some actually refer to these people groups as ethno-linguistic list of peoples.  Out of these 16,500 people groups over 7,000 are listed under the category of "unreached peoples."  Unreached peoples are those who do not have a local church, pastor or a translation of the bible in their own language.  To put it plainly: They do not know anything about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ!!  Our great commission is to penetrate these people groups with the knowledge of the Lord (Hab. 2:14).  In order for these peoples to be reached the established church must view themselves as a missionary organization.    They must make it their duty to see that the gospel of Christ infiltrates these cultures.  Trained missionaries must be sent to the field to reach these people with the support of the local church financially and through prayer.  What can the local church do to be part of reaching the nations for the glory of God?

Grow

It is healthy for the local church to have a vision and a mission to grow the community.  The larger the church grows the more dynamic of a missionary organization they become.  Now, we do fully rely on the sovereignty of God to build the church.  We also know that the means He uses to grow the church is us who go out in the places we live, move and have our being carrying the torch of Christ and pleading with people to come to Him.  I challenge us to think in terms of how we can grow the church for the sake of the nations.

Give

More than 90% of Mormons give at least ten percent of their income back to their church.  That is right...you read it correctly...more than 90%!!  It is no surprise that they are one of the fastest growing religions in the world as they are sending hundreds of missionaries to these unreached people groups.  How does the evangelical church compare?  On the high end roughly 25% of evangelicals give 10% or their income to the local church.  Many statistics were much lower than this, but for the sake of the article I chose the highest statistic I could find.  What this means is that 75% of professing evangelicals are being disobedient to the Lord's command to give back to God.  I urge all of us to see to it that we are giving for the sake of the nations.

Go

We need people that are willing to forsake life in the West and go to the field in order to reach these people. An erroneous idea has crept into the Western mindset that all we need to do is send money and others will take care of the missionary efforts.  They say, "Well isn't it more fruitful if local people go and share the gospel with them."  The problem is that in the unreached people groups there are no local people to go and plant the seeds of Christ.  Furthermore, the Apostle Paul himself went into every area he could possibly get into crossing cultural barriers every step of the way.  What we need are willing servants of God to take up the cross of Christ and GO into the mission field for the sake of the nations.

Titus 3:3-8: All of Grace and Good Works

Below you will find that last two sermons I preached from the book of Titus.  May the Lord bless you through these expositions!