Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It
Is To Men As They Are
"Preach The Word"
The Importance Of Making Right Decisions
Introduction: There are certain types of people that just naturally
annoy you. The Book of Proverbs tells of many. The "babbler," the
"brawler," the "odious woman when she is married" etc. James
speaks of the "double minded man." In our text verse Joshua asks them to
choose. I am sure some chose wisely, others did not. That is always the
case. I think the most miserable of people is the one who cannot make a clear cut
choice. They can get to a "definite maybe" sometimes, but no
further. The question Joshua asked was not for an opinion on the matter, nor to even
think about it. Look at how definitely it was. "Choose" (perfectly
clear)----"you" (personal)---"this day" (period of time
now)---"whom" (what person)---"ye will ((personal obedience)----serve
(practice).
The Bible tells of many, some good, some bad, who made clear cut decisions. Also,
the results of the decisions are given. Let's look at five now.
I. Rebecca- To exercise faith (Gen. 24:57-58).
Her decision- "I will go"
A. On a journey she had never gone before.
B. With a man she had just met.
C. To marry a man she had never seen.
D. Without knowing how long or what obstacles she
might face.
II. Rebellious Son- To experiment with the flesh (Luke 15)
He made several decisions after the first on in
verses 12-13.
A. Decided to go--not only go but to go to a
"far country."
B. Decided to live like he wanted to live (v.13)
C. Decided he could find help away from home (v.15)
D. Decided to at least think about home and repent
(v.17)
E. Decided to come home--no matter what he would find
(v.21)
III. Railing Crowd of Jews- To execute Father's Son (Luke 23:15-24)
A. God-Peter-others testified as to who He was.
B. Herod and Pilate found no fault in Him--yet they cried,
"Crucify him".
IV. Respected Love One- To excuse himself from family.
"Hobab" means "beloved by others (Num.10)
A. The Request- "Come thou with us" (v.29)
B. The Rejection- "I will not go" (v.30)
C. The Result- "I will depart to my own land"--Little
did he know that he would never be
mentioned again in God's Book. It will be the same
when the BOOKS are opened in Rev. 20.
V. Remaining Lingering Ones- Decided now they follow Jesus
From John 6 we see:
A. The Miracle - feeding the 5,000
B. The Message (of Jesus) (vv.32-48 to 51)
C. The Murmuring (v.61)
D. The Mistake (v.66)--"many went back and walked no
more with Him.
E. The Magnitude (of their decision)--(vv.67-69) "Lord to
whom
shall we go? Thou has the words of
eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God."
The word "Lord" in v. 68 is the
Greek word "kurios" meaning "the
Emperor Of Life."
Conclusion:
Simply--God said--"I have set before thee this day both a blessing and a curse--life
and death. It is your choice."
