Is It Really Settled?
Scriptures: Joshua 24:15; James 1:6-7; Hebrews 11:1, 6
The title of my message this morning is “Is It Really Settled.”
How many of you have ever been in a meeting where topics were being discussed and there were differing opinions as to what the decision should be. You had some who believed one way and others having an opposing belief. After much discussion a decision had to be made. Finally, when it seems that there will be no agreement between the two opposing views, the leader of the meeting makes the decision. When the decision is made it is said that the issue is “settled.” What happens after the issue is settled? There is no more discussion on the topic. Even those who were not in agreement with the decision now get behind it because they are part of a team and they must move forward as a team.
There is a legal term called “double jeopardy” and I am not referring to the game show. Double jeopardy is a “procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction.” In other words, when a decision is reached the case is “settled.” The person cannot be retried by the same court (state or federal) for the same crime that they were either acquitted or convicted of. The court cannot change the decision (unless the decision is appealed to a higher court) and the ruling stands. Even if it’s appealed to a higher court, once that court has ruled, the decision stands. My point is this: at some points in the legal process a decision will be made. When that decision is made there will be no turning back – everyone must abide by that final decision. I was talking with Ariana about her college choices and I asked her about something she had said to her father. In her consideration she talked about if she considered one decision that would be the same as learning to ride a bicycle and then trying to go backward to training wheels. Her point was to not to go backwards. Many of us are not moving forward because we are still looking behind us. We have not settled the issues within our lives so that we can move forward with them being settled. One of those issues is our relationship with Jesus the Christ.
This morning I want you to consider if that issue (your relationship with Christ) has been settled. Are you secure in your decision or do you find yourself wondering back and forth when it comes time for you to put your “final” decision to the test. You see it’s one thing to accept Christ as your personal Savior and something else to walk in that decision. Accepting Him was the easy part, living the life is where we reflect back on the impact of the decision that was made. Some Christians accept Christ as their personal Savior but live a “modified” life of acceptance depending on the situation. If we look at our salvation as a final decision that can’t be changed and therefore we must live within the confines of that decision, our walk would be different. If we were acquitted in a court case by a jury of our peers, would any of us choose to live a modified life as if we were found guilty? Absolutely not! Once that not guilty verdict was delivered and we were set free, we would resume our lives and put the trial behind us. We would not live in the shadows as if we were guilty! This is what Jesus Christ did for us when we accepted Him – He delivered us! He set us free! Jesus said in John 8:36, “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” So back to my point, if our Lord and Savior has set us free why are we still trying to live modified lives? If our decision to accept Him is settled, we need to start living as if that decision is settled. Let me give you a few examples.
When Joshua brought the Children of Israel into the Promised Land he had witnessed how they continued to change their minds as it related to what they believed about God. They witnessed the miracles of God and been privy to His blessings and yet they operated at times with minds that wavered. They would believe fully one day and waver in that belief the next. One day they had faith, the next day they would doubt. Joshua had witnessed this behavior for years so when he was close to death he called the leaders to him and asked them a question. This is what is recorded in Joshua 24:15: “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” Joshua made a declaration of a decision that had been made as it related to his house. There was no doubt, wavering or remorse in the decision. He knew God and knew what God had done for him. He had witnessed the awesomeness of God and he knew that there was no other god(s) that existed beside the one true God whom he served. So after asking them to make up their minds about whom they would serve, he said “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” Joshua was preparing the people to walk with God after his death but he knew that they would have to make up their own minds. He put a stake in the ground for himself though. When he used the word “will” there was no other discussions to be made. He had settled the issue, He and his family “will” serve the Lord.
I want you to think about the word “will” and what it means. While you think on this word, let me read to is recorded in James 1:6-8. It reads, “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Our enemy will always try to knock us off our stance when we put a stake in the ground on a decision we have made. He will test us, fight against us with the hope of getting us to waver on what we are believing God for. At this point we have a choice to make, we can stand our ground or we can give up. Standing our ground means that the issue is settled because of the decision we have already made. We can’t turn back! However we can also choose to give up (in this one challenge) and think it’s no big deal to lose one every now and then, but that speaks to a heart issue. Do you believe all the time or some of the time? Those who believe some of the times are the ones James was referring to. For them the main decision to walk with Christ at all cost is not settled! Spiritual growth means that we are growing. We may fall down, we will make mistakes, but we get back up because of the decision we have already made to walk with Him! Faith knows what it wants. It does not waver, it does not move. Faith stands in one spot even when everything else (everyone else) is moving around it. James said the person must “ask in faith.” The Greek word for “ask” is “aiteo” and it means to be firm or adamant in requesting assistance. The Greek term “in faith” signifies that the person is locked into or as something that is unmovable. In other words, the person is praying from a decided, immovable position. He/she knows what they want and are not going to budge. Their faith does not waver.
Finally James says that the person when asking in faith must not doubt. The Greek word for doubt is diakrinomai. It means “to differ or to be at variance with one’s self. In other words, your mouth may be saying all the right words but your heart is not really in agreement. Until our hearts and mouths are in agreement we are not asking in faith! And this my friend is when James said that if you’re not standing in faith because you are doubting you are like wave of the sea – one that rolls one after another. Waves look impressive but they do not last long. When Nikki and I are on the beach in Destin, we sit and watch the waves come in. They start off high and strong, but by the time they get to the shore, they are smaller without much force. This is the image that James paints for us – a person who does not stand in faith may temporarily look or sound impressive when they pray, but their prayers and desires are ever changing and therefore they are not standing firm in one position.
One final point from James before we go back to Joshua. In verse seven and eight James says that the man who prays in doubt should not expect to receive anything from the Lord because he is double-minded. Please understand that the God we serve desires to bless this man and answers his prayer but because the man shifts and does not remain steadfast in one place he does not give God time to bless him. His mind is not settled. Let me paint this picture. Have you ever went to a fast food restaurant and stood in line waiting to place your order? I once stood in line with several people in front of me. All of us were looking at the menu and deciding what we wanted as we waited for the people in front of us. Finally it was the person’s turn that was standing right in front of me. This person had been standing in the line longer than me and yet when it was their turn they started asking questions about the menu and changing their mind about what they wanted. I do not consider myself to be an aggressive person but I so wanted to shove them out of the way until they made up their minds. I could feel the irritation building up within me. Now here me closely on this one so that you do not miss this point: the person taking their order COULD NOT ring it up and act on it until the person placing the order had made a decision and stuck to it! I am not saying that God is a fast food worker just waiting to take our orders, but what I am saying is that I can see how difficult it is for God to answer prayers that are not grounded in faith. The person praying that prayer has not put a stake in the ground sayings it’s settled and they are wavering! Like a wave of the sea, that person shifts from one request to another about the same issue and when a little pressure or challenge arise, they doubt and shift again. God wants us to stand firm. He wants the decision settled. He wants our minds to be made up.
Joshua said to the leaders of the Children of Israel “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” I asked you to think about the one word “will.” That would signifies a decision. Let me contrast that word with a few others. Listen closely to this sentence as I will only switch one word. Consider the impact of that one word change in what is being said.
I could deny myself and totally give my life to Christ my Savior.
I might deny myself and totally give my life to Christ my Savior.
I can deny myself and totally give my life to Christ my Savior.
I should deny myself and totally give my life to Christ my Savior.
I will deny myself and totally give my life to Christ my Savior.
Do you see the point of the word “will”? The word “could” declares a choice that could be made if we choose to make it. The word “might” gives the impression that there is a consideration but no decision. The word “can” speaks totally about our will, authority and choice – it might or could have some pride attached to it. The word “should” speaks to an understanding of the decision that ought to be made but has not been. Only the sentence with the word “will” speaks to a firm decision that has been made and an action that will follow the decision. This is where God wants us to be. He wants us at the decision point where there are actions that will follow those decisions!
I want to close with what is recorded in Hebrews 11:1, 6. It reads “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen….And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” It is impossible to please God without faith. We have been trained to believe in what we can see, feel, smell, taste or hear. If it interacts with one of our five core senses then it must be real. I believe chocolate is real because I can see it, touch it, taste it and smell it. I know it’s real! You cannot tell me that it does not exist because I have personal experiences with it. I know what to expect from it and the different flavors of it. So when it comes to chocolate, I am a believer!
But you know what? I have not seen God face to face. I have not touched Him with my hands. I have not smelled Him with my nose. But I have heard His voice. I have felt Him within the core of who I am. I have witnessed His influence within me and within this earth. And you know what? I believe in God’s existence more so than I believe in chocolate. Some of you are thinking my cheese is sliding off my cracker so let me explain. Chocolate comes in many flavors and can be changed at the will of man. It can be diluted and “tweaked” to meet the flavor requirements of the consumer. So to state this clearly, not all chocolates are created equal. When I say I believe that chocolate is real because I have experienced it, that is true but it’s only true to the extent of the “types of chocolates” that I have had. This is not true with God. There is only one true God and He cannot be “tweaked” or changed because of the desires of men. When I interact with Him I get the same God that someone in France gets because He does not change. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ does not change to meet the needs of men – we change! The Holy Spirit is not different to me than He is to you. My personal interactions with Him will be different from yours but it’s not based on Him changing, it’s based on me. God is the same today as He was when He created man – not so with my chocolate. So from this high level point of view, God is more real than chocolate to me because He has never changed and cannot be changed by man. Oh, did I mention that He is the one who actually created chocolate? Enough said and point proven!!!
We are about to close out another year and we are running out of time to impact this world the way we should. I want you to think about where you were this time last year. Where were you with your jobs, school and/or family situations? Has much changed? Where were you spiritually? What were you doing for Christ? Are you doing more now or less? Has anything changed spiritually for you? Are you closer to Him today than you were this time last year? Are you doing more today than you were at this time last year? Do you “feel” more connected to Him today than you did last year?
Each year we should be growing. Each year we should be walking in the decision that we made years ago that that our lives are not our own but are His to direct and lead. It is time that we begin walking and executing on a decision that was supposed to have been settled when we accepted Christ. Can you say what Joshua said or are you the person James was speaking of? Find out one way or the other before this year closes out so that on January 1, 2017 you will hit the ground running with a renewed focus and energy to walk with God. By the way, once you know for sure you do not need to wait until January 1, 2016 to start.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
