1. Choice
A certain courthouse in Ohio stands in a unique location. Raindrops that fall on the north side of the building go into Lake Ontario and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while those falling on the south side go into the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. At precisely the point of the peak of the roof, just a gentle puff of wind can determine the destiny of many raindrops. It will make a difference of more than 2,000 miles as to their final destination.
The spiritual application is clear. By the smallest deed or choice of words we might set in motion influences that could change the course of others’ lives here and now, and could also affect their eternal destiny. Our Daily Bread, June 12, 1994
2. The Bible speaks a great deal about Choosing – Isaiah 56:1-8
Thus says the LORD:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the LORD:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
5 I will give in my house and within my walls
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8 The Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
Joshua 24:15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
3. There is power in choice – free elections and power of the people
I. Israel = God’s Chosen Nation Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
A. Blessed People –
1. Chosen and Blessed Because of Abraham Genesis 18:19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”
2. God’s Witnesses Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. . . .
B. People with Purpose Exodus 19:5-6 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’. . .
II. America = God’s Choosing Nation
A. We All Can Choose to be Part of the Chosen (Romans 11:17; John 10:16; Pentecost – 2 loaves of bread presented in temple)
1. Nineveh and Jonah
2. Psalm 100:1
3. Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-4; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8
B. God Has Been in Our History Because We Chose Him
1. Columbus – Matthew 24:14
2. Pilgrims – Mayflower Compact: “Advance the Christian Faith”
3. Recognizing “Unalienable Rights” are from God
4. Choosing Freedom Over Tyranny
Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
1 Peter 2:16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
5. Providence of God in Our History
George Washington to Nathanael Greene, 6 February 1783:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-10582
“If Historiographers should be hardy enough to fill the page of History with the advantages that have been gained with unequal numbers (on the part of America) in the course of this contest, and attempt to relate the distressing circumstances under which they have been obtained, it is more than probable that Posterity will bestow on their labors the epithet and marks of fiction for it will not be believed that such a force as Great Britain has employed for eight years in this Country could be baffled in their plan of Subjugating it by numbers infinitely less—composed of Men often times half starved—always in Rags—without pay – and experiencing, at times, every Species of distress which human nature is capable of undergoing.”
Choose Life - Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
On June 28, 1914, Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were being driven on the streets of Sarajevo. Unknown to them, an assassin was lying in wait. The assassin’s plan went awry, but his cohort happened to be loitering elsewhere. Suddenly, the cohort realized the Archduke’s limousine was coming down the street, the Archduke’s driver having taken a wrong turn in the crowded city. Two shots later and the Archduke and Duchess were dead. Four years later, more than sixteen million people were dead from the World War ignited by the assassin. All because of a wrong turn.
That story is true, but it’s an over-dramatization of this fact: Wrong turns can lead to tragic consequences—even death. The Bible says as much about the wrong turns called sin. Think of the deaths that resulted from King David’s sin of adultery: Uriah the Hittite, David and Bathsheba’s son, Amnon, Absalom, and the death of honor. And from those deaths, sorrow was multiplied to all who were affected. Sin gives birth to spiritual and physical death, and death to sorrow.
Pray about every choice, every change in plans. Go slow. Be careful. Reverse any wrong turns. Choose God’s way, not man’s; take the road that leads to life.
