Making the Right Choice.

Making the Right Choice Today choices are tomorrows outcomes 15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20 New King James Version Every day we’re faced with thousands of choices, including this one: We can choose to do what God tells us to do in His Word, or we can disregard it. When we do what God tells us to do and make the right choices (and they’re not always easy), He will bless us. And when we don’t choose the right things, we’ll face the consequences. God says in Deuteronomy, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (30:19 NKJV). Maybe you’re going through a fiery trial of your own, right now. Maybe you’re facing a very hard set of circumstances. Here’s what the Bible says: “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12 We all make choices every day. Which shoes to put on, what color tie perfectly goes with my shirt, whether to brush my teeth now or after that shower I may or may not take...we all have choices to make. The ability to choose this person or thing or that situation is the reality that I have power over something. We all do well to be empowered to make choices. In our passage today from the book of Deuteronomy 30:15-20 the people of Israel are faced with a choice. Moses is nearing the end of his life and ministry, and he gives one final sermon to the people of Israel before designating Joshua as his successor. And he tells the people, make a choice. Deu 30:19 Life and prosperity. Death and adversity. Life. And death. Blessings. And curses. It seems clear-cut, right? Do what you are told to do. Obey the LORD your God. Follow the commandments of the Law, and you will be blessed? On the other hand, if you do not do these things, but turn away to worship other gods, you shall surely die. Similar circumstances that Adam and Eve were facing in the garden of Edem. Think about it. There, in the presence of the fullness of God in Creation, Nature at its finest, there are trees all around, and God says you may eat from all of them, except this one. We know the rest of the story: the serpent tempts Eve, while Adam is standing silently by, waiting for his turn though he knows it is the wrong thing to do, then Eve hands the fruit to Adam, and he partakes. And there suddenly the world has changed. In one moment, with the making of one choice, all of history shall never be the same. Sometimes in our world, choices are made on our behalf. Indeed, there are those in our world who have no power to make choices. What of them? Children are silenced by the cries of poverty, their only choice being whether to fight their siblings for the next morsel of food that falls to the ground at the marketplace. Expectant mothers being mistreated and surviving somehow without the necessities of life like love and acceptance, their only choice being whether to keep silent or die. Students who have come to our country to study in order to better the world both here and abroad, their only choice being whether to fight the system or to leave when they are told. Choices. Choices… Choices look different for different people. Here, in our text from Deuteronomy, the people of Israel are faced with a choice. Choose life, or choose death. Do they get it right? I don’t think so. If you know your Bible history, which I know you do, this is not the first time, or the last time, that this sort of interaction He had with the people. We’ve seen it in the Garden, we see it here in Deuteronomy 30, and we will see it again throughout biblical history, even as the story pours over into the book of Joshua, while the Israelites await the crossing of the Jordan to enter the Promised Land. God continually renews the covenant with Israel because they keep sinning and going after other gods, breaking their promise that they will follow God all the days of their lives. And believe me, when I say this, nothing has much changed throughout world history, we keep on going back to the gods of this world to find fulfilments, desires, and lusts of the flesh. This must not be so among the people of God. Touch not, taste not the lusts of this world and what it offers. By going after the gods and the lusts of this world it will only lead you astray, empty, and cut off from God and his blessings that are installed for those who obey his Word. Obedience is better than sacrifice. If you find yourself in the wilderness because of disobedience or the wrong choices that you have done, get off the wrong path, and ask God to lead you by his Spirit once again. So, if God is not afraid to keep renewing this thing with the people of Israel, what makes you think that God is not willing to keep renewing this thing with you? With me? With us? Perhaps the point of what God wants us to know is to show us throughout all the history of the Israelites, that God is faithful, regardless of where our faith lies. Oh, how quickly we forget that our story is so much like that of the Israelites. We forget that they faced some of the same challenges that we face in our world today. We make choices that end us in a tough place. Choices are made on our behalf that leave us in a tough place. Things happen, whether within or without our control and yet, God says, Ok, I’m still going to be faithful. This world is full of things that can cause our faith to waver, some things that have been caused by our choices, and some that are outside our ability to choose. Let us not forget that, whether we have the power to make choices regarding this and that or not, we serve a God who is still faithful. What will that faithfulness look like? I don’t know. Sometimes it might even seem like absence. But we have the promise, dear ones, the example set by God’s own self, that no matter how many times we fall down or get distracted or run away from the commitment, God is still going to be faithful to God’s people. God will continue to renew the covenant with us, again and again, because God knows how much we and the rest of the world need it. So here God sets before us a choice, a choice like every other choice and yet, unlike any other choice we’ve ever made. On this day, in this hour, choose life or choose death. What does it mean for us as a community of believers to walk in the choice of life? Moses says that if you choose to follow God properly, you will find life and prosperity and blessings. Otherwise, you will perish. Easy, right? Except when life proves otherwise and find yourself in trouble because you have made the wrong choices in your life. In our politically-charged, difficult, and sometimes downright terrifying world, what does it mean to follow God and choose God above all else? Today, even today, we will choose life, both for ourselves and our world. What would it look like? Maybe it looks like gathering together to cook a meal for someone who can’t leave his or her home because of sickness or Covit? Maybe it looks like reaching out to others in our community who are struggling with poverty, or homelessness. Maybe helping a single mother that has been left by her husband and has no support for herself or the children. Whatever it looks like for our faith community, may we have the strength and the grace to carry it out, to live in freedom and blessing, to choose life, even in the face of death. May we hear the voice of God, who calls us Beloved, and may we hear God saying to us, this day, even this day, choose life. Conclusion The same choice between life and death, (the blessing and the curse) is extended to all people, and although the specific terms of the Law of Moses applied to Israel alone, we are all born: dead in trespasses and sins, and we are all placed under the curse of the Law, for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God - for there is none good.. no not one. The choice of life and death is still on offer today, and all who will turn to Christ and trust Him as Saviour choose LIFE.. and the eternal, heavenly, glorious, UNCONDITIONAL blessings that follow the one Who believes in Him by grace through faith.. are beyond our human comprehension. Let me ask you this question, are you tired of going around the same thing over and over without a breakthrough? It may have been days, weeks, months, or even years and still, you are in the wilderness of your circumstances. What will take for you to listen and obey God? It did take Moses 40 years to move the Israelites out of the wilderness and into the promised land, why? Because of hardening hearts and disobedience. How long it will take you to move from dissobediance to obedience to God? Days, weeks, months, or years? The choice between life and death is still on offer today - but the one that rejects the free gift of salvation chooses DEATH.. through their own choice, and brings upon themselves the curse of the Law, as well as everlasting separation.. from the God Who loved them so much.. that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in HIM would not be cursed and punished and condemned and perish - but have everlasting life. No conditions, simply by grace through faith in Christ. Amen. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank You that in Your grace You offer the free blessings of salvation to all who will trust in Christ as Saviour. Thank You that You loved me so much that You became a curse for me and died in my place so that by faith in Your finished work on Calvary, I might be born from above and receive the many unconditional blessing of Your resurrected Life - thank You in Jesus name, AMEN. God bless, Ps Evangelist Donato R Diele. November 2020 Just Believe Ministries International 4