The Power Of A Choice
Genesis 13:10-13
I want to begin today by telling you that we live in a very sensual society.
On a daily basis people make decisions thinking only of what will gratify their physical appetites.
So many of the choices that are made never look beyond the here and now.
We have raised a generation that has adopted the philosophy that if it feels good do it.
Many times over, life choices are made with the physical body rather than the intellectual or even spiritual mind.
There has been a massive watering down of our value system. We are facing a barrage from hell, trying to dumb down the minds of men and women by convincing them that what they do today, and the choices they make today have no effect on their tomorrow.
Now don’t get me wrong I’m not a negative preacher, and I certainly didn’t come to preach a negative message, but I would be a fool, and less than your friend and Pastor if I tried to convince you that the decisions you make today do not affect your tomorrow.
I submit to you right now that there may be some here today who are feeling the effects of choices that others have made.
Don’t get me wrong - I am not preaching that others are responsible for your salvation.
Paul said in Phil. 2:12, that you must, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
In Acts 2:40 Peter admonished the crowd that gathered on the day of Pentecost that it was their responsibility to, "save yourselves from this untoward generation."
So please don’t misunderstand – I’m not preaching that you can go through life with a victimized mentality, blaming others for everything wrong in your life. But what I am preaching to you today is that there is power in a choice.
What you do today might not affect you tomorrow. It might not affect you the next day. It may not happen next week, next month, or even next year, but somewhere along the line, if sin is left unchecked, it is going to rear it’s ugly head and you are going to realize the power of a choice.
We read to you this morning about Lot.
And the place where we find Lot is at a crossroad in his life.
He is at a place of decision.
Standing in the cross-hairs of choice.
Lot probably didn’t realize that the decision that he was about to make would, forever, change the course of his life.
Abraham looked at Lot and said if you go right, I’ll go left.
If you go left, I’ll go right.
Lot the choice is yours.
Now allow me to pause here for a moment and tell you, that I believe what Lot should have done, was repent for the strife between his men and Abraham’s, and ask Abraham to allow him to stay.
See Abraham was in covenant with God, and no matter where Abraham went, God had promised to bless him.
Let me encourage someone today.
You may have been through heartache. You may have seen strife.
And the natural tendency is to say that you are going to go your own way. But allow me to compel you, under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, before you make any life altering decision and allow folks to push you away, why don’t you just make a decision to stay with the church.
Don’t allow folks to push you away - stay in the house where the blessing is?
But see Lot began to look around. And when he looked, he liked what he saw. Lot fell in love with the world. It looked good to the eyes. It felt good to the flesh. Pride began to take over when he began to think about how good it would be to be on his own.
So he fell in love with the world. But I would like to remind you of the words of 1st John 2:15-17..... Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever
Hear me today Church – there is power in a choice!
Lot didn’t realize that with one decision he was going to seal the fate of his entire family.
You just go over a few chapters and read the outcome of Lot’s choice. He had to leave daughters and sons in-law behind in Sodom and Gomora. He lost a wife because she had grown so attached to sin that she had to turn around and have one more look.
The two daughters that he did escape with, had become so perverted by the society in which they had lived, that when the got to the mountain of their escape, they got their dad drunk, and had incestuous relationships with him.
From those relationships were born two children. One named Moab, from which the moabites descended, and the other named Ben-ammi, from which the Ammonites descended. And the result was that the Ammonites and the Moabites were the enemies of Israel for years to come.
You see my friend, there is power in a choice.
There was pleasure for a little while. It was great for a season. But when it came time to pay the piper the price was heavy.
I am preaching to somebody today who has begun to realize that you have gone much farther than you ever anticipated.
There are some who have been gone much longer than you intended.
And there are others here who have already had to start paying the price for your choice.
I’ll say it again, there is power in a choice.
But I am also glad to be able to inform you today that that’s not how the story has to end.
You see, by reason of the fact that you are in this room today, it lets me know that it is still not too late to make a better choice.
We read in Number 14:18 The LORD [is] longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation]. about the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children, but I come to share with you some good news.
The only way that sin can continue to have power over you is if you choose to remain guilty.
Church, if you will make the right choice today, the curse of sin, and the curse of death, and the curse of hell can be forever broken over your life.
See just like bad choices affect your family and your future, right choices do the same thing.
2 Peter 3:9 -The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
Rev. 22:17 - And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely
Whether you realize it or not today, your actions in just the next few moments are going to determine your choice.
I’ve preached the Word, and I’m setting before you a choice today. (Read Deuteronomy 30:19 ) - I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
I can’t speak for everyone else today, but my battle cry is found in Joshua 24:15, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
