Participants:
Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH021915A
|
00:35 Good morning, friends.
00:36 Welcome again to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:38 here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:40 in Sacramento, California. 00:43 We would like to welcome our online members 00:45 and also our friends 00:46 who are joining us across the country 00:48 and around the world 00:49 on the various television networks. 00:51 And as always, 00:52 we'd like to welcome our regular 00:53 Sabbath School members right here in person. 00:55 And I know we do have some visitors 00:57 who are joining us, some from different states. 01:00 And we even have some visitors from other countries, 01:03 and a very warm welcome to all of you. 01:04 We are delighted 01:06 that you've chosen to join us for our study time today. 01:09 Now if you've been attending 01:10 or you've been watching over the last few weeks, 01:12 you know that we started a brand new series of studies 01:15 dealing with the subject of the family. 01:18 It's our new lesson quarterly entitled "Family Seasons." 01:21 And today we're gonna be looking at lesson number two, 01:24 that's entitled "The Choices We Make." 01:27 Now for those of you who are watching, 01:28 if you don't have a copy of the lesson, 01:32 you can get one for free 01:33 by just simply going to lesson.aftv.org. 01:38 That's lesson.aftv.org, 01:41 and you can download today's lesson, 01:43 it's lesson number two, 01:44 and you'll be able to study along with us. 01:47 We also have a free offer 01:48 for those who are joining us online 01:50 or those who are watching on the various networks. 01:52 It's one of the Amazing Facts study guide lessons, 01:55 it's entitled "A Love that Transforms." 01:58 And we'll be happy to send this to anybody for free 02:00 who calls and asks. 02:02 The number is 866-788-3966, 02:06 and you can ask for offer number 710. 02:10 Or you can receive a digital copy of our lesson 02:14 by simply texting the code "SH003" 02:20 to the number 40544, 02:23 and then you'll be informed as to where you need to go 02:26 to get a digital copy of this great lesson called 02:30 "A Love that Transforms." 02:32 Well, before we get to our study this morning, 02:34 as we always do, let's bow our heads 02:36 for a word of prayer. 02:38 Dear, Father, once again, we are grateful 02:39 that we're able to gather together in Your house 02:41 and open up Your Word and study about relationships, 02:44 and more importantly the family relationship, 02:47 how we can interact with each other. 02:49 We know that the family was created by You, 02:52 and it is a reflection of the family of heaven. 02:54 So we do pray 02:55 that Your Spirit would be with us, 02:57 guide us in our study. 02:58 We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 03:01 To bring us our lesson today is our family life pastor 03:05 here at the Granite Bay Church, 03:06 Pastor Shawn Brummund, 03:08 and he'll be studying with us 03:09 lesson number two entitled "The Choices We Make". 03:12 Thank you, Pastor Shawn. 03:15 It's good to see your smiling faces 03:17 here again this morning 03:18 as we come together to study God's Word. 03:20 And I always look forward to study 03:23 whether I'm up in front 03:24 or whether I'm sitting in the different chairs 03:27 as we come together. 03:28 The main thing is that we're opening the Bible, amen? 03:31 And this morning is no exception. 03:34 I wanna thank you for that opening prayer 03:35 and introduction, Pastor Jean, 03:36 and thank you also for all of those 03:39 who are viewing, either right now 03:40 or later on television networks. 03:42 It's always good to be 03:44 able to have you join us here together. 03:46 We're looking at one of my favorite subjects, 03:49 it's Family Seasons, 03:51 which is the quarterly that we just began last week. 03:54 As we move into a new quarter, 03:56 we move into a new series. 03:59 And I have the privilege of teaching the first three, 04:04 and we're in lesson number two here for this particular study. 04:08 And so we're moving to page 14 04:10 which is entitled "The Choices that We Make." 04:14 And something that ran through my mind, 04:16 it has probably ran through yours 04:18 if you would study this in any capacity 04:20 throughout the week before we came together here, 04:23 and that is, 04:24 where is the family part in this? 04:27 And, of course, 04:28 I think it's Wednesday or Thursday's lesson. 04:31 It talks about choosing a life partner 04:33 and certainly that is family related. 04:35 So one day is directly family related 04:38 as far as the topic of family goes. 04:40 But I suspect more than anything else 04:42 that the authors of the quarterly 04:45 had a burden to be able to lay 04:46 a very important foundation for us 04:48 to have a successful family. 04:49 And so before we get into a lot of the nitty-gritty, 04:52 direct family issues, 04:54 and what the Bible says on those different issues, 04:57 we wanna make sure 04:58 that we know how to make good choices 05:00 that will help us to have good families 05:02 and good lives, 05:04 and make a better world because of it. 05:06 And so we're looking at the choices that we make. 05:10 The memory text on page 14 says this, 05:13 and of course, it's from Joshua 24:15. 05:17 It says, "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 05:21 choose for yourselves this day whom you'll serve." 05:24 Now, the capacity or context 05:25 of this particular statement of Joshua 05:27 is Joshua, the succeeder or successor, I should say, 05:31 of the Prophet Moses standing up before Israel. 05:34 And Joshua was no fool. 05:37 Just like any other pastor, 05:39 he realized that not everybody in this flock 05:41 is as committed to Christ as he is. 05:43 In fact, some within his flock, some within Israel, 05:47 you know, he recognized 05:48 weren't sure if they really even wanna follow God 05:50 in any real capacity. 05:53 And so he says, 05:54 "If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 05:56 choose for yourselves whom you will serve this day, 05:59 whether the gods from your fathers serve 06:01 that were on the other side of the river," 06:03 speaking of their lives very previous in Egypt 06:06 or just between Egypt and Canaan 06:09 for many of that generation, 06:10 they had found themselves giving birth 06:13 and growing up in the desert, in the wilderness 06:16 as they're wandering between Egypt and Canaan, 06:19 "or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. 06:22 But as for me and my house, 06:24 we will serve the Lord." 06:27 And many of us as Christians, 06:30 you know, one of the most famous 06:31 and popular sayings, 06:33 you know, we even have it on the court rack 06:35 in our entry to our house. 06:37 And it says home, 06:38 and then it says, 06:39 "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 06:43 And so it's one of the most famous quoted passages 06:45 that we can find. 06:46 Many of us as Christians have it on different signs 06:48 or different ways posted in our homes 06:52 declaring to all visitors 06:53 that we had made a choice, 06:56 and we're gonna come back to that choice little bit later 07:00 as we continue through this particular study. 07:04 And so the choices we make is no small subject. 07:07 In fact, this is one of the most largest 07:10 or biggest and most important subjects, 07:14 most practical subjects as well as spiritual, 07:17 of course, subjects that we can look at. 07:19 And so I'm glad that we're looking at it. 07:21 And again, it's laying a foundation, 07:23 it's laying a bedrock for us 07:26 to have successful marriages, successful families, 07:30 and family life. 07:33 There's an old saying, and many of you heard it. 07:36 In fact, probably most of, 07:37 if not, all of you have heard the same before. 07:39 There's only two things that are certain in this life. 07:41 You know the rest of the answer, 07:42 don't you, which is... 07:44 Okay. 07:45 I see some people in the front, they're saying death and... 07:47 Taxes. And taxes. All right. 07:49 So the old saying says 07:50 there's only two things certain in life, 07:51 death and taxes. 07:53 Well, after reading this lesson, 07:54 as well as I kind of jumped ahead 07:56 and looked at next week's lesson as well, 07:59 these two lessons actually tell us 08:00 that we need to add 08:01 at least two more points to that. 08:03 And so we can expand the old saying, 08:05 there is at least four things that are certain in life, 08:08 death, taxes, 08:09 choices, and change. 08:13 Okay, choices and change. 08:16 And so this week, 08:17 we're gonna be looking at choices. 08:18 Are choices inevitable in life? 08:22 Can you make it through the day 08:23 without making a choice? 08:26 You can't, can you? Okay. 08:28 From the time that we get out of bed 08:30 to the time that we go to bed, 08:33 I would suggest 08:34 that we make at least dozens of different choices 08:37 throughout that day. 08:38 Now I've never done a study. 08:39 I never actually sat down one day 08:41 and took the time to actually write it out. 08:43 But I would say that it might even be... 08:45 It wouldn't even surprise me if somebody did the research 08:47 and starting to do a tally that it's even in the 100s. 08:50 Now you might say, "Wait a minute. 08:51 I don't remember making 100 choices yesterday." 08:54 Well, that's because most of them are very small, 08:56 unconscious choices that we make. 08:58 Am I going to brush my teeth this morning 08:59 or am I not? 09:01 Now it's such a routine for many of us 09:04 if we have a healthy habit of doing it 09:06 that we make that choice unconsciously. 09:08 We just kind of pick up the tooth brush 09:10 in the morning 09:11 and we kind of look in the mirror 09:12 and do our things 09:14 as we're starting to come to consciousness, 09:16 or after breakfast, 09:17 or whenever it is that you have that routine. 09:20 And so we make all kinds of different choices 09:22 throughout each and every day, 09:26 from the time we get out of bed 09:27 until the time that we go to bed. 09:30 Well, I couldn't help but asking myself 09:32 and I knew there's gonna be somebody out there 09:33 is gonna be asking this, 09:35 and that is, "Well, 09:37 what if I don't get out of bed?" 09:39 Well, the fact is that 09:40 you just made your first choice, haven't you? 09:43 Okay, and that choice is that 09:44 you're choosing not to get out of bed. 09:48 And so even if you don't get out of bed, 09:50 you've already made a choice. 09:51 And we can escape choice, 09:53 choice is something that God has given to us, 09:57 it's a gift that God has given to us 10:00 because with choice as we looked at Sunday's lesson 10:03 also means that we have free will, doesn't it? 10:07 And free will, 10:08 as we're gonna talk a little bit later 10:09 is it's the very foundation of true love. 10:12 And so we're gonna answer to that question. 10:13 Why is free will so important in relationship to true love? 10:19 Anybody here ever made a poor choice? 10:23 Anybody made a poor choice, raise your hands. 10:26 All right. Okay, good. 10:27 Some of you that didn't raise your hand, 10:28 you made another poor choice, you decided to lie. 10:34 All right. 10:35 I know, some of you just are so tired 10:36 you didn't wanna raise your hand. 10:37 That's fine. You're just enjoying being here. 10:39 And we're glad you're here. 10:40 But yeah, 10:43 you know, we all make poor choices at times. 10:45 All of us look back with regrets. 10:47 Some of the choices that we make, 10:49 we don't realize until we've made that choice 10:50 and then we realize later 10:53 and then we start to experience regret, don't we? 10:56 And we realize, "Wait a minute, that was a really bad choice, 10:58 that was a poor choice that I made 11:01 and things didn't turn out too well," and such. 11:05 Fact of the matter is that sometimes, 11:07 we're guilty of making poor choices 11:09 and we know it 11:10 while we're making that poor choice. 11:12 When it comes to making ethical choices, 11:15 you know, it's not untypical for us to know 11:16 in the back of our head, 11:17 the Holy Spirit saying, "Hey, 11:19 you know, you're making a poor choice right now. 11:22 You know that's not what I would choose," 11:24 the Lord is saying as He whispers in our ear. 11:27 You know, we're just studying that 11:28 as we go through verse by verse through Genesis, 11:30 and Abraham made a poor choice 11:32 when he decided to tell a foreign king, 11:34 "Hey, this is not my wife. 11:35 She's actually just my sister." 11:38 That was a poor choice, wasn't it? 11:41 Okay. Did things go sour after that? 11:43 Sure, he did, didn't he? Okay. 11:44 Did Abraham live with regret after that? 11:47 Sure, he did. 11:48 So sometimes you don't realize until after the fact, 11:51 sometimes we even know while we're making that choice. 11:54 And so that's why this subject is so important for us 11:57 to understand and study and pray over 11:58 because it is my prayer and I know it's God's desire 12:01 that we're able to make better choices more often 12:04 so that we can be more successful in our life 12:07 and in representing Christ in our life as well. 12:14 Well, this is where we can thank God for His grace, 12:16 and His mercy, and His help as well, isn't it? 12:19 Sometimes when we make bad choices, 12:22 we need His forgiveness. 12:23 We need to come to God and say, 12:25 "Lord, in the name of Christ, 12:26 will You forgive me, I've made a bad choice. 12:28 I blew it in such and such a way today." 12:32 More often than not, when we make bad choices, 12:35 we hurt other people, don't we? 12:37 And so because of that, 12:39 we also know 12:40 that not only are we responsible now 12:42 to ask God for forgiveness, 12:43 but we also need to approach 12:45 one or more other person as well 12:48 and ask them for forgiveness as well. 12:51 And so mercy, grace, 12:55 in God's case, help from Him to be able 12:57 to not only experience that forgiveness, 12:59 but then ask God to give us the power 13:01 and the ability to make a better choice 13:04 when those particular circumstances come up again. 13:08 And so these are all important aspects 13:10 of choices in life. 13:13 Now, sometimes we can pile 13:15 bad choices upon bad choices, can't we? 13:18 Because we can find ourselves making a bad choice. 13:22 And again, I just can't help 13:23 but my mind is fresh in studying, 13:25 you know, Genesis Chapter 12 is the first time 13:29 and then the second time, I think, it was Chapter 20 13:31 we are studying in Genesis, 13:33 where Abraham made that poor choice twice. 13:36 There's 25 years in between, 13:38 but he made the choice, bad choice. 13:40 Now the second time, 13:41 he's on record of making a bad choice 13:44 in response to being held accountable 13:46 for that bad choice. 13:48 Adam and Eve made the same mistake, didn't they? 13:51 When God called Adam 13:52 and He says, "Listen, I'm holding you accountable 13:54 for your bad choice." 13:55 How did Adam respond? 13:57 He said, "Well, it's your fault. 13:59 You gave me that woman over there. 14:01 And she made me do it." 14:03 Okay. Was that another bad choice? 14:06 Sure, it was, wasn't it? 14:07 When Abraham was called, 14:09 you know, when Abimelech, the foreign king 14:11 that reprimanded Abraham for making a bad choice 14:14 and not being totally honest with him. 14:16 Abraham made another bad choice 14:18 and he started to try to justify it. 14:20 He said, "Well, actually, she is my sister as well, 14:22 you know, by the way, 14:23 you know, we share the same mother 14:25 but not the same father and so on." 14:28 And so his first choice was 14:31 to add a bad choice 14:33 to another bad to the original bad choice. 14:38 Now, certainly we know that the Bible record tells us 14:40 that Abraham came around 14:41 and he repented for both those bad choices, 14:44 because the rest of his life 14:45 and the testimony of God tells us so. 14:49 But so often, we can find ourselves making a bad choice 14:52 to try to cover up a previous bad choice. 14:55 Sometimes we'll blame Satan, 14:56 say, "Well, if Satan wasn't there, 14:58 and he wasn't tempting me, 14:59 then I wouldn't be in this condition. 15:01 I wouldn't have made that bad choice." 15:02 Well, is that a good... 15:05 That's maybe one bad choice upon another. 15:07 We want to blame our sinful nature. 15:09 "Well, that's just the way I am. 15:10 This is the way I'm made." 15:12 This is another bad choice 15:14 that we can make in response to a previous bad choice. 15:19 We can sometimes blame our circumstances 15:21 and say, "Well, the circumstances 15:23 kind of compelled me or forced me 15:25 to make that bad choice." 15:27 And so there's a number of different negative, 15:30 or bad choices, or responses 15:33 that we can make to the original bad choice 15:36 that we can sometimes be making before that. 15:39 We want to blame something, 15:43 we want to blame someone else. 15:46 Can I share example with you? 15:48 As a pastor, I've heard this, 15:49 and it just hurts my ears every time I hear 15:54 these kind of words, 15:55 but over the years, I've heard different people 15:57 and they'll say, 15:58 "Well, you know, I wasn't in church last Sabbath 16:01 and reason was that my boss sat me down. 16:04 And he or she told me that 16:07 if I didn't start working on Saturdays 16:10 on the Sabbath, 16:11 then I would lose my job." 16:14 And or perhaps she might say, "Well, you know, 16:17 you know, my boss sat me down 16:18 and my boss told me that if I don't say a certain lie, 16:22 a certain dishonesty 16:24 in concern to my business sales, 16:26 in order to increase my sales, 16:29 I wouldn't be able to keep my job. 16:31 And so my boss left me no choice. 16:34 I had to work on the Sabbath." 16:37 Okay, do you see where this is going? 16:39 Okay, I've heard this more than once over the years, 16:41 and particular, in response to Sabbath. 16:43 'Cause Sabbath is one of those things 16:44 where it's harder to hide when we're not at church 16:46 and say, "Where were you? 16:47 We missed you the last couple of weeks." 16:49 And so the subject comes up. 16:53 Is that response true? 16:55 Did the boss leave 16:56 that particular Christian no choice? 17:00 Some of you are kind of quiet out there. 17:02 Some of you are nodding, okay. 17:06 The fact is that that's not true at all, is it? 17:09 Did the boss leave that employee 17:11 or Christian a choice? 17:13 Sure, they did. 17:14 In fact, it's the actual the opposite. 17:16 And so when a Christian comes up 17:17 and says, "Well, the reason I'm working on Sabbath now 17:19 or every second Sabbath 17:21 or every Sabbath once every month 17:23 is because my boss left me no choice. 17:25 It was either that or lose my job." 17:27 And so the opposite is actually the truth, 17:30 is it not? 17:31 The opposite is really the truth. 17:34 What the boss said was that, "I'm giving you a choice, 17:38 and you have two or more options. 17:39 The first option is 17:41 that you start to work on Sabbath," 17:43 whatever Sabbaths that he wants you to, 17:46 "or you go and find another job." 17:50 Okay, so there's at least two choices there, isn't there? 17:53 Now, as it turns out, as I've canceled 17:54 many of these different individuals as well 17:56 and some of them have found and made victorious choices, 18:00 successful choices, good choices 18:03 even after they are able to be able to see 18:05 through their self justification 18:07 and that there is choices, 18:08 and they'll make the third choice. 18:10 And they'll say, "You know what? 18:11 I'm gonna pursue this 18:12 and I'm gonna approach my local conference, 18:14 I'm gonna approach different religious liberty resources, 18:17 and I'm going to approach my employer 18:21 and let them know that there are legal rights, 18:24 religious liberty rights that protect my employment 18:26 and protect my right 18:28 to follow my religious convictions and practices 18:32 according to the law of the land 18:34 and according to my conscience." 18:36 And so there's at least three choices 18:39 as I've had these conversations with different church members. 18:43 Do you see the difference, friends? 18:44 And so sometimes, we want to declare that, 18:48 "I was left without a choice," 18:49 when really there's at least two 18:51 and sometimes quite often 18:52 there's three or four different options 18:55 or choices that we can make in response to that. 18:59 So I hope that helps 19:00 as we continue on in this very important subject. 19:03 Really what we're saying 19:05 when we're in this kind of situation 19:06 is that we wish that it were true 19:09 that we had no choice. 19:11 And the reason that we say that, 19:13 and I speak for myself as well. 19:15 I'm just as human as you are, 19:16 I'm in the same condition and struggle as you are. 19:19 And that is really what we're saying to ourselves 19:21 is that the right choice is so difficult 19:25 that I want to pretend 19:26 and have everybody else confirm to me 19:28 that I really had no choice. 19:30 Because it's much easier to make the wrong choice 19:33 than it is to make the easy choice. 19:35 You know, where I'm coming from here, don't you? 19:37 Why? Because we're both the same, aren't we? 19:41 And so yes, I understand. I sympathize with you. 19:45 I believe that the Lord sympathizes with you 19:47 that when we are in circumstances like this, 19:49 and we want to declare that we have no choice, 19:52 because the right choice was so hard. 19:54 God can help you make that right choice. 19:58 He can help you make that right choice. 19:59 Will it be easy? 20:01 No, it won't be easy 20:02 I know by personal experience, I've had to make choices, 20:04 the right choice that is very, very difficult. 20:08 And sometimes, 20:10 you know, shaking a little bit, 20:11 you know, when I'm doing the right thing, 20:14 because I'm so overwhelmed or nervous by it. 20:16 But, friends, you could make the right choice. 20:18 God gives you the ability, and the strength, 20:22 and the power to make the right choice, 20:24 even sometimes when that choice is difficult. 20:28 When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, 20:34 and He had to make the hardest choice 20:36 in His existence, 20:39 and the Bible tells us that it was so hard 20:41 that three times He fell before His Father 20:45 in that garden in the night. 20:47 And it tells us that He... 20:48 The choice that He had to make was so hard, 20:51 and it was so overwhelming, 20:53 and it was so difficult 20:55 that the anxiety that was accompanying His experience 20:59 caused the little blood corpuscles 21:01 under His skins to burst, and the sweat 21:04 that it was already running down His face 21:08 was added to by the blood 21:09 that's starting to come out of those same pores. 21:12 Was that a difficult choice? 21:15 Yes, it was. 21:17 But when Jesus got up back on His feet 21:19 and He wiped the blood and the sweat away 21:20 from His brow, what did He say? 21:25 He said, "Not My will but Your will be done." 21:30 He made the right choice, didn't He? 21:33 Thank God, He made that choice. 21:35 It was a hard choice, the hardest choice 21:37 any human being has ever had to make. 21:38 There's no choice that God puts you in, 21:40 no circumstances that we can face 21:42 that is more difficult than the choice 21:44 that Jesus had to make. 21:45 So there's our ultimate example, isn't it? 21:47 There's our ultimate example. 21:48 Jesus tells us that no matter... 21:51 There is nothing that we can face 21:53 that is that hard, and Jesus tells us we can make it. 21:55 He modeled that for us. 21:58 Now sometimes we develop bad habits. 22:01 Or those bad habits could even develop into 22:03 what we call clinical addictions. 22:06 Some of us might be facing 22:07 and dealing with an addiction right now. 22:10 Okay, I know that between everybody 22:12 that's in here and everybody that's watching 22:14 that there's more than one of us 22:16 that is dealing with an addiction right now. 22:18 We have a bad habit 22:19 that the Lord is speaking to us on, 22:21 and such, so either a bad habit or outright clinical addiction. 22:27 You know, sometimes when we're found 22:28 in a very ingrained bad habit or an addiction, 22:32 it can seem to leave us without a choice in the matter. 22:35 It controls us, our mind is telling us one thing 22:39 and our hands are doing another thing, aren't they? 22:43 Okay? 22:45 And so addictions can be so compelling, 22:48 so powerful, that it can seem 22:51 and it can even convince us that it is beyond our power, 22:55 that we have no choice in the matter 22:58 but to continue to practice that particular addiction. 23:01 Drug addictions, all kinds of other addictions, 23:04 of course, that are existing today. 23:08 Is that true? 23:13 Is it true that it's, 23:14 they have no choice in the matter? 23:17 No, of course, I also know that there's some in this room 23:20 or some that are watching here that are previous alcoholics, 23:24 they are ex-alcoholics, they are ex-drug addicts. 23:28 There's all kinds of people that are victorious 23:31 and haven't been involved in their particular addiction 23:33 of the past for years. 23:35 And so we know that it's not true. 23:37 We know that an addiction 23:38 is not something that cannot be overcome. 23:40 We know that it is not something 23:42 that is out of our control. 23:45 There are too many people existing today 23:47 that can tell us otherwise. 23:50 And so not ultimately, it's not beyond our choice. 23:53 All of us are given two very important powers. 23:56 Number one, we have the power 23:57 to surrender our hearts and our lives to Christ. 24:01 We have that power. 24:02 It's not by coincidence that the success of Alcoholics 24:05 Anonymous has one of those key elements, 24:07 which is that you need to be able to surrender yourself 24:10 to the higher power called God. 24:12 You need to be able to look beyond yourself to something 24:14 that's bigger and more powerful than you. 24:17 Okay, so this is critical. 24:19 We have that choice to be able to surrender ourselves to God. 24:23 And then we also are called 24:25 to seek upon God-given resources 24:27 that God gives to us. 24:28 In America, we are blessed 24:30 with hundreds and hundreds of detox centers 24:32 that are across America. 24:34 And those detox centers... 24:36 There's some of us here watching 24:39 that have looked to those and experience those 24:41 as a critical key 24:43 in overcoming that particular addiction in our life. 24:45 And so detox centers are God given therapists, 24:48 help and support groups 24:49 that are organized by different organizations, 24:52 and many of them are led by ex-addicts 24:55 that are addicted to the very same thing 24:57 that you may be addicted to today. 25:01 Intercessory prayer by believers, 25:04 requesting other believers, "Please pray for me. 25:07 I need to overcome this particular bad habit 25:09 or addiction in my life." 25:11 These are God given resources, accountability partners, 25:14 12 step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, 25:17 Narcotics Anonymous, 25:19 and there's all kinds of plethora 25:20 of different organizations that are out there 25:22 that we could use that are God given resources 25:24 to work in cooperation with a heart 25:26 that is surrendered to God. 25:28 And when you put those two different ingredients together, 25:31 you too can count yourself an ex-addict. 25:34 Do you believe that, friends? 25:35 Everybody's pretty quiet out there this morning? 25:38 This is golden stuff, is it not? 25:40 This is golden truth that God has given to us 25:43 that we might understand that there is no reason, 25:46 there is nothing in this world, there is no circumstance, 25:50 there is no devil, there is no sinful nature 25:54 that cannot be overcome with those two resources. 25:58 God-given resources here on earth, 26:00 and support, 26:02 and a heart that surrender to God 26:04 and looking to Him for strength. 26:07 I heard a couple of amens out there, 26:08 I'm glad that I'm not alone here this morning. 26:13 And so that brings us back to our memory text. 26:15 The only way that we can find ultimate success 26:18 in making good choices 26:19 is by making the most important choice 26:20 that anybody can possibly make. 26:24 Choose whom you will serve this day. 26:28 And so there we have this key verse, 26:30 and the key word which is choose. 26:34 And then that choice must be repeated on a daily basis. 26:37 As we join hands with Joshua and with Joshua's family, 26:40 because he says, "As for me and my house," 26:43 now house in Bible terms, in Bible writers' minds, 26:46 in this context, 26:47 and over and over throughout the Bible, 26:48 always represents your family. 26:50 He's not talking about the physical structure, 26:52 whether it's a four bedroom house or three, 26:54 he's not talking about that, he's talking about his family, 26:57 he's talking about the people in the house. 27:00 And so Joshua was saying, 27:01 "As for me and my family, 27:03 we will serve the Lord." 27:06 And the most successful loving families on the planet 27:10 have made that critical choice. 27:13 Has your family made that choice? 27:16 Have you, as the head of that family, 27:19 made that choice? 27:21 These are important questions for us to ask 27:23 because this is the key and the bedrock 27:25 of having a successful and loving family. 27:30 And it has to be repeated on a daily basis. 27:32 It's not a onetime choice. 27:33 Sometimes, we as Christians, 27:34 have made the mistake of believing 27:35 that if we come to an altar call one day, 27:38 when the Lord is speaking to us in a genuine way, 27:40 and we genuinely give our hearts to the Lord, 27:42 and then we just kind of go on with life 27:44 after the days that followed. 27:46 No, that altar call and that surrender 27:48 and that time that you're found on your knees, 27:49 giving your heart to the Lord 27:51 means to repeat it on a daily basis. 27:54 Every single morning, 27:56 you need to repeat that altar call experience. 27:59 Every single morning, 28:00 you have to kneel down before the Lord and say, 28:02 "Jesus, I accept You as my Lord and my Savior. 28:05 Today I die to myself and I want you on the throne, 28:09 the throne of my heart, the throne of my life." 28:13 Now I'm not making this up, of course, the Apostle Paul, 28:15 for many of us have read these 28:16 different verses, 1 Corinthians 15:31. 28:20 Paul gives these three powerful words, 28:22 he says, "I die daily," 28:25 as many of you know that scripture already. 28:28 It's a daily experience and a daily choice. 28:30 In other words, Paul is saying, "Every day that begins, 28:34 I begin with the decision to die, 28:37 to die to myself." 28:39 Yeah, it unpacks out a little bit further 28:40 in Galatians 2:20, 28:42 when he declared, "I have been crucified with Christ, 28:46 it is no longer I who live 28:47 but it is Christ who lives in me. 28:50 And the life that I now live, I live by faith 28:53 and the life that I now live in the flesh, 28:55 I live by faith in the Son of God 28:57 who loved me 28:58 and gave Himself for me." 29:02 That's a longer version of, 29:04 "I die daily." 29:08 Well, I'm thankful to know that the Bible teaches 29:10 that there is not a single person or family 29:12 who can't make that saving choice. 29:14 Do you believe that, friends? 29:15 Now unfortunately, 29:16 there are some very large 29:18 Christian circles and traditions 29:20 that have tried to convince us 29:22 that God determines even before we're born, 29:24 whether we're saved or lost, 29:26 that He predestines us outside of our choice, 29:29 outside of our free will. 29:30 And no matter what we do, no matter how much we desire, 29:33 my desire to make a saving choice, 29:35 we will be lost when it's all said and done. 29:38 But, friends, 29:39 I categorically reject that particular teaching. 29:43 Why? 29:44 Because I find that the Bible says 29:45 different over and over and over again 29:48 throughout the Bible. 29:51 Now we have some volunteers 29:53 that are going to be reading for us here 29:56 and Hoftis is going to read the first scripture 29:58 it looks like this morning 29:59 and that is 1 John 2:2. 30:03 Thank you. 30:04 "And He Himself is a propitiation for our sins. 30:08 And not for ours only, 30:10 but also for the whole world." 30:14 Okay, now I have to confess, 30:15 the first time I read that verse, 30:16 I had to go straight to my dictionary on my shelf 30:20 and look up that word propitiation. 30:22 And maybe you're one of those as well 30:23 and you're saying, you know, "What in the world? 30:24 I've never used that word in my life." 30:26 And typically, we don't use that 30:28 in our day to day conversation. 30:29 So when I looked it up, 30:31 it basically said in a nutshell, 30:33 you know, winning the forgiveness of, 30:35 or winning the covering of. 30:37 And so, of course, here we find that the Bible is declaring 30:42 that Jesus is the winner of the forgiveness 30:44 not only of us. 30:45 Now, of course, he's speaking to the Christian church 30:47 when he's writing that letter. 30:48 So the us is you and me, the Christian church, 30:51 but not only for us only 30:53 but also for the whole world, it says, doesn't it? 30:58 Okay, so how many did Jesus die for? 31:01 Everybody, 31:04 Jesus wants everybody in heaven. 31:06 He has predestined 31:08 every single human being for eternity, 31:11 for heaven. 31:13 But then He leaves us free choice 31:14 of whether we want to accept that predestination. 31:19 And so this is really what the Bible teaches. 31:22 And so the ultimate key is not the false belief 31:24 of whether you have been predestined 31:26 by God to be saved 31:27 or lost regardless of your good choices 31:29 that you desire to make, 31:30 but whether or not you're going to respond 31:32 to His knocking on your heart, 31:35 because not only does the Bible tell us 31:36 that Jesus died for you, for your sins on the cross, 31:40 but then in addition to that, 31:42 ever since He is resurrected to the glory, 31:44 the Bible says 31:45 that He's knocking at our hearts, 31:48 He's knocking at our hearts. 31:50 One of my favorite verses, Revelation 3:20, 31:52 "Behold, 'Jesus says.'" 31:54 This is in red letters. 31:55 If you're in Revelation 3:20, 31:57 "Behold, 'He says,' 31:59 I stand at the door and I knock. 32:03 And if anyone opens the door and invites Me, 32:07 and I will come in and dine with him 32:08 and he with Me.'" 32:11 Isn't that a beautiful text? 32:13 And so the knocking takes place on 32:16 every single person's heart. 32:19 But Jesus never reaches down to the doorknob. 32:21 That's why we have some of these 32:22 beautiful artistic renditions, 32:24 you know, where we have pictures of Jesus, 32:26 and He'll be pictured there knocking on the door. 32:30 But quite often, if not all the time, 32:31 you'll see that the artists 32:33 have the insight to understand 32:35 that Jesus will never open the door 32:37 and so it's a one doorknob door. 32:41 In other words, the outside of the door 32:42 where Jesus is knocking on, 32:43 if you look carefully, 32:44 almost I think everyone I've ever seen 32:46 doesn't have a doorknob there. 32:49 The only doorknob on that door is on the inside. 32:52 That's where you are, aren't you? 32:53 And so if we reach down and turn the doorknob 32:56 and open the door, then He'll come in. 32:58 So Jesus never opens the door. 33:00 He never kicks the door open. 33:02 As Christian traditions 33:04 and history is full of Christians 33:05 that believe that we need to kick the door down, 33:08 and we need to be able to force people, 33:10 compel them to follow Jesus, is that possible? 33:15 No, on the outside, you might get some success 33:17 but not on the inside. 33:18 And so, no, I don't recommend it, 33:21 neither does Jesus. 33:22 And so making that ultimate choice 33:25 is how we will respond to the knocking of Jesus 33:28 on the door of our hearts. 33:32 Well, let's turn to our next scripture. 33:34 And we have another volunteer 33:35 that is going to be reading 33:36 Matthew 22:37. 33:42 Thank you, Dave. 33:43 Matthew 22:37, "Jesus said to him, 33:46 'You shall love the Lord your God 33:48 with all your heart, with all your soul, 33:51 and with all your mind.'" 33:53 Okay, thank you. 33:55 This is the greatest commandment 33:56 of all the Bible Jesus tells us, by the way, 33:59 to love the Lord your God with all your strength, 34:00 your heart, and your soul, and your mind. 34:02 In different times, 34:03 there's different aspects of our being that it includes. 34:06 But the point is that we love Jesus with everything. 34:11 Now the only way 34:12 that we can truly leave out the command 34:15 is to have the free will to choose not to love. 34:18 Ever thought about that? 34:20 The only way that we could leave out that command 34:22 is have the free will and the choice, 34:24 therefore, to not love. 34:28 In other words, if I don't have the free will 34:29 and choice to not love, I cannot truly love. 34:32 Why, because love requires free will. 34:35 And that's why free will is most valuable to God 34:38 above all things. 34:39 He creates us with free will, 34:41 and He will never take that free will away from us. 34:44 And by the way, 34:45 that's why so much horrible things happen 34:47 in this life, 34:48 because that's part of the cost of keeping that 34:49 until judgment day comes, 34:52 is that free will. 34:53 If I don't have the choice not to love, 34:55 I can't truly love. 34:56 Why? 34:57 Because then otherwise we're just robots. 34:59 Okay, can you create a robot 35:00 that tells you they love you every day? 35:03 Okay, I think you can get robot 35:05 that will vacuum your room 35:08 and make your breakfast in the morning, maybe if... 35:10 You know, we're approaching that, 35:11 aren't we? 35:13 And these are all loving things that they can do for us, 35:15 but do they truly love us? 35:18 No, because they don't have the choice not to love us. 35:20 They're programmed only to say I love you. 35:23 They never have the choice to say I don't love you. 35:26 And so in order for us to be above robots, 35:28 God has to give us free will, the choice not to love. 35:33 All right. 35:34 Let's move to Monday 35:35 because we're running out of time quickly. 35:36 What does the Bible say 35:37 and how we can make the right choices? 35:39 Well, number one, we need to pray. 35:42 How often should we pray? 35:45 We need to pray without ceasing 35:46 as the scripture is quoted in the quarterly study. 35:50 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." 35:53 And so we need to have a prayerful life. 35:56 We need to pray in a regular basis. 35:58 We need to be able to stay close to God, 36:00 keep talking to God about the life 36:02 and the circumstances in which we live. 36:04 We need to remember to ask God for wisdom. 36:08 God gives us there certain amount of inherent wisdom 36:11 and such, but if we ask for wisdom, 36:14 we can receive so much more. 36:16 James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, 36:19 let him ask of God 36:20 who gives to all liberally and without reproach, 36:22 and it will be given him." 36:25 Does God counsel us to ask Him for wisdom? 36:28 Sure, He does. 36:29 Do we need wisdom to make good choices? 36:31 Sure, we do. Okay, so we need to pray. 36:33 And in the midst of that prayer, 36:35 and part of that prayer, we need to ask God, 36:38 "Please give me the wisdom 36:39 that I need for today's choices and decisions." 36:43 Well, how else can we make good choices? 36:45 Well, we have a volunteer 36:47 that's going to read 2 Timothy 3:16 36:50 for us this morning. 36:52 2 Timothy 3:16, 36:55 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God 36:57 and is profitable for doctrine, 36:59 for reproof, for correction, 37:02 for instruction in righteousness." 37:05 Okay, thank you. 37:06 So this is a powerful summary 37:08 of what the Bible actually tells us about itself. 37:10 And we need to look to the Bible 37:12 to make choices that are in harmony 37:14 with its teachings, 37:15 with the principles that it reveals. 37:17 Sometimes it corrects us 37:19 and helps us to make better choices, 37:22 and it also instructs us in righteousness, 37:25 and tells us what those good choices are. 37:27 And so are the choices that I'm making, 37:29 are the decisions that are before me in harmony 37:32 with the teachings, with the principles, 37:34 with the law of God? 37:35 This is important question for us to ask 37:37 to make good choices. 37:39 Then Proverbs 3:5 and 6. 37:43 It says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart 37:46 and lean not on your own understanding. 37:48 In all your ways, acknowledge Him 37:49 and He shall direct your paths." 37:53 And so God here is telling us 37:54 that we need to continually keep God in it, 37:57 always have God involved, always have God involved. 38:01 Invite God to every decision, 38:03 every choice that you're making throughout the day. 38:05 "Lean not on your own understanding." 38:09 Then in Proverbs 24:6, it says, "For by wise counsel, 38:13 you will wage your own war. 38:16 And in a multitude of counselors, 38:18 there is safety." 38:21 And so this is one that I believe 38:23 that has been undervalued by many of us too often. 38:29 And, of course, we always have to remember 38:32 that when we do choose to seek counsel 38:34 from other human beings, 38:36 we have to consider the source. 38:37 This is very important. 38:39 So not only it's important to follow the council 38:41 and remember that there's wisdom 38:42 in the multitude of counselors, 38:44 one of the God-given resources God gives to us 38:47 is other human beings 38:49 to help us make good choices to find that wisdom. 38:53 But we need to ask ourselves, 38:54 "Is the person that we're talking to 38:56 connected with the Lord himself 38:57 or herself? 38:58 Is that important? Sure, it is, isn't it? 39:01 Okay, so we have to make sure 39:02 that the counselors that we're choosing 39:05 are connected to the Lord. 39:06 Do they serve and worship God? 39:08 Have they demonstrated wisdom in their own lives? 39:11 If you ask a fool for counsel, is that gonna help much? 39:14 It's not going to help much, is it? 39:15 In fact, it would probably make things worse. 39:17 So you want to make sure 39:19 that you're observing that person is saying, 39:20 "Okay, this person seems to give evidence 39:23 that they're connected to the Lord. 39:24 And they've demonstrated 39:26 that they have wisdom in their own life as well." 39:28 Particularly if you're making a big decision 39:30 in a particular area, 39:32 it's much more helpful if you choose counselors 39:34 that have already demonstrated success 39:36 in that area. 39:37 So if you're looking for a good education 39:39 and you're wondering 39:40 what decision should I make in concerned to my education, 39:43 it's probably a good idea to talk to somebody 39:45 that's already succeeded in in the educational world 39:48 and in their life experience. 39:50 And so I think that's helpful. 39:53 And so seek counsels, counselors here on earth. 39:57 Well, Tuesday then goes on 39:58 and says, "Well, how do we apply 40:01 the principles in the Bible 40:02 in order to make good friends?" 40:06 Is choosing our friends important? 40:11 Or should we just kind of make friends 40:12 with anybody that's friendly? 40:18 Too often, I believe, I fear 40:21 that we underestimate the power of friends 40:23 to influence us for good or for evil. 40:27 God has told us 40:28 that we shouldn't make friends with anybody that's friendly. 40:32 Okay, being friendly is important, isn't it? 40:34 Okay. 40:35 It's no fun being friends with somebody 40:36 that's not friendly. 40:39 There's an old saying, and it says this, 40:41 "Show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are." 40:44 Some of you heard that saying, 40:46 "Show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are." 40:49 Now that reflects a very real solid Bible teaching. 40:53 It's probably a Christian that came up with that. 40:55 1 Corinthians 15:33, 40:59 the Apostle Paul was inspired to write this, 41:01 he says, "Do not be deceived. 41:02 Evil company corrupts good habits." 41:05 And so the friends that we rub shoulders with 41:09 makes a real difference 41:10 in concern to our spiritual success, 41:13 our moral success. 41:15 It can be in regards to our work success, careers, 41:19 all kinds of different areas. 41:21 And so it's not by coincidence that the Bible tells us 41:24 to choose our friends very carefully. 41:27 And so again, we have a volunteer 41:28 that's going to read for us Proverbs 12:26. 41:33 Proverbs 12:26, 41:35 "The righteous should choose his friends carefully, 41:39 for the way of the wicked leads them astray." 41:43 All right, so the second half, 41:45 of course, reflects 41:46 what we just read from Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. 41:48 And then in response to that very real law of life, 41:52 it tells us that we should choose our friends carefully. 41:57 And so again, just because somebody is friendly, 42:01 doesn't mean that they're destined 42:03 or it's wise to be their friend. 42:06 And sometimes we can find ourselves 42:08 slipping into friendships 42:09 that we begin to realize are not good. 42:11 And I can tell you by personal experience, 42:13 it's hard to get out of those friendships later on, 42:16 it's much harder. 42:17 And I made that mistake. Denise and I made that mistake. 42:20 We are going through some of our college years, 42:21 and we kind of got connected up with a friendly group 42:24 that we connected with in a very real way. 42:26 They had a good sense of humor in the same way we did, 42:28 and we enjoyed each other's company. 42:30 We had a lot of good times. 42:32 But it didn't take long 42:33 as we continued down that road with them 42:35 that we realized 42:36 that even though they were professed Christians, 42:39 they weren't all that committed to following Christ. 42:42 And some of the attitudes that they started to reveal 42:45 weren't really in line with the principles of Christ. 42:49 And some of those attitudes were a little bit scornful 42:52 or mockful even of being committed 42:55 to leading a biblical life. 42:58 And so this was already 43:02 couple of years down the road. 43:04 And so Denise and I, 43:06 in one of the most difficult things 43:07 we ever did in our lives, 43:09 was that one day, we woke up 43:10 and the Lord had convicted us so hard. 43:11 We said, "We need to get out of this circle. 43:14 We have to get out of the circle." 43:16 And so we did. 43:18 And it was difficult, we had to go for long walks, 43:21 just to debrief and kind of keep confirming 43:22 that the decision we're making is right. 43:25 And I know in my heart of hearts 43:27 that I made the right decision 43:29 that I made that right decision. 43:32 And the fruits later in a couple of... 43:34 At least, a couple of those people's lives 43:36 started to reveal themselves 43:37 and they're not in the church anymore. 43:40 They're not following Christ according to the Bible anymore. 43:43 And so I'm thankful that we made that decision, 43:46 even though it was little late. 43:47 You know, there's another saying. 43:48 "It's best to stop the train 43:49 before it gets out of the station." 43:52 And it's a lot harder once that train starts to gain 43:54 its momentum to be able to turn things around. 43:57 So let's follow the Bible, 43:59 that's why I'm glad I can share with you 44:01 here from the Bible 44:02 and also that you might not be able to make that same mistake 44:05 and have to go through that difficult experience. 44:09 Now all this being said, 44:10 we also must not look for perfection in our friends. 44:13 If you're looking for a perfect friend, 44:14 you're going to be looking for a long time. 44:17 Okay, there's a saying that I like. 44:19 I saw it on a little, I don't know, a bumper sticker 44:21 or somebody had on their mirror in their bathroom 44:23 I visited or something, and it says a friend is someone 44:26 who knows all about you but likes you anyway. 44:32 Is that the truth? Okay. 44:35 Anybody here have a perfect friend? 44:38 Anybody here perfect? 44:41 Okay, let's go to the lesson study, 44:43 Wednesday. 44:46 No, sorry, Tuesday, Tuesday, page 17. 44:50 I want to share with you a really powerful quote. 44:52 Now this is golden. 44:53 So please listen carefully. 44:54 If you been distracted here and wandering off in your mind, 44:58 this is from Ellen White 45:00 and it's from a powerful book 45:02 entitled Pastoral Ministry, page 95. 45:05 It says this, 45:06 "Even the best of us have these unlovely traits. 45:10 And in selecting friends, we should choose those 45:12 who will not be driven away from us 45:14 when they learned that we are not perfect. 45:18 Mutual forbearance is called for." 45:20 What is mutual forbearance mean? 45:23 Mutual forbearance, mutual means both ways, okay. 45:28 Forbearance means long-suffering, 45:30 you know, able to forebear different unlovely 45:34 or not likable trades, okay, 45:36 faults in your character. 45:38 Okay. 45:39 "Mutual forbearance is called for. 45:42 We should love and respect one another 45:44 not with standing the faults 45:46 and imperfections that we cannot help seen. 45:51 For this is the Spirit of Christ, 45:53 humility and self destruct should be cultivated 45:56 and a patient tenderness with the faults of others. 46:00 This will kill out all narrowing selfishness 46:04 and make us large-hearted and generous." 46:07 I don't know about you, 46:08 but I want to be large-hearted and generous, 46:09 don't you? 46:11 So this is golden counsel. 46:13 I'm going to put this on my wall somewhere 46:15 maybe, in my office. 46:17 You know, this summarizes, 46:18 you know, a friend is somebody who knows all about you, 46:21 but likes you anyway. 46:22 And so the Bible points us to a text, 46:24 and I don't have it printed out here. 46:27 Let's go to it quickly. It's Proverbs 17:17. 46:30 Proverbs 17:17 summarizes 46:33 what we just read from Ellen White 46:35 and that old saying as well. 46:38 Proverbs 17:17. 46:51 Okay, verse 17, it says, 46:53 "A friend loves at all times 46:56 and a brother is born for adversity." 46:58 And so basically what that saying is, 47:00 "A true friend is not a fair-weather friend. 47:03 Okay. 47:04 Fair-weather friend means 47:05 that they're only friends with you 47:06 when the weather is fair. 47:08 But as soon as the storms of life come along, 47:09 "Well, you know, I've got an appointment, 47:11 I'm busy, 47:12 I'm not going to be able to be around," okay? 47:14 And so God calls us 47:16 not to choose fair-weather friends, 47:18 and He also calls us not to be fair-weather friends. 47:20 And that kind of also reflects 47:22 what we just read in the council 47:23 of pastoral ministry as well. 47:29 Well, let's talk a little bit before we close here, 47:31 last few minutes that we have. 47:32 I want to look at Wednesday's lesson. 47:33 And this, of course, is an extension in large way 47:36 of what we read 47:37 and learned on how to make choices 47:39 as well as how to choose friends. 47:42 And so when we go to Wednesday, 47:43 I just want to read the first sentence 47:45 to start off. 47:47 Wednesday's lesson study, 47:48 it says, "If we're supposed to choose friends carefully, 47:51 you must even be more careful 47:53 when it comes to choosing your future spouse." 47:56 Do you believe that? 47:57 I hope you do. 47:58 And if you don't, I hope that you do by the end of this study 48:01 because this is really, really important. 48:05 Yeah, one of the most important questions 48:06 that a couple can ask themselves 48:08 when they're considering marriage is this. 48:09 And I'm starting to integrate this 48:11 for the first time 48:12 in my pre marriage counseling sessions. 48:15 Do you count your boyfriend your best friend? 48:19 Do you count your girlfriend your best friend? 48:22 And as you're considering 48:23 marriage with your girlfriend or your boyfriend, 48:25 are you seeing yourselves 48:27 of having the potential and the commitment 48:29 to be best friends 48:31 for the rest of your life? 48:34 Because that's really what it means to be together, 48:36 to be one for life until death do you part. 48:40 God has called your husband, 48:43 ladies, to be your best friend. 48:46 Now some of you are going, "He's not a perfect friend. 48:49 I can tell you that." 48:52 Okay. 48:53 And husbands, 48:54 God has called you to call your wife 48:56 and see your wife as your best friend. 48:58 God has called, you know, the most beautiful, 49:00 most successful marriages 49:01 is when a man and a woman looks at each other 49:03 as lifetime companions, 49:07 companions. 49:11 "She's got her close friends, 49:13 she's got her social life, and I've got mine." 49:17 Now we don't want any of this in our marriages, do we? 49:20 Okay, we don't want to have this kind of... 49:21 And too many couples have made this mistake. 49:23 "I've got my close friends and my social life. 49:25 He's got his close friends, he's got his football buddies. 49:28 I've got my coffee club buddies. 49:31 And we have our own social life." 49:32 Now I'm not saying you shouldn't have friends, 49:34 guys, you know, husbands can have guy friends, 49:36 you know, and hang out with them 49:38 more than, you know... 49:40 But that shouldn't be the rule, 49:41 that shouldn't be the main practice. 49:44 The main practice then the most time 49:46 that you should be spending with is your best friend, 49:50 which is your husband. 49:51 And if your husband is not your best friend, 49:52 then you have a choice to make. 49:55 You can choose to make your husband 49:56 your best friend from this day forward. 49:58 Do you believe that? 50:00 It's true. 50:01 And same with the husbands. 50:02 If your wife is not your best friend, 50:04 you can choose 50:05 to make your wife your best friend 50:06 from this day forward. 50:07 You can choose that, God gives you that power. 50:09 God is calling you to do that 50:11 if you're not doing it today. 50:13 God has not called you just to kind of have 50:15 romantic moments with my wife or my husband, 50:18 and then otherwise I have my social circle 50:19 over here separate. 50:20 No! 50:21 If you're going to go out, then let me talk to my wife 50:23 and I'll see if she's interested 50:25 if you invite me out. 50:26 Why? 50:27 Because we come as a unit, we come together, 50:30 we're a team, we're companions. 50:33 We're each other's best friend. 50:35 And so I think it's important for us to understand 50:37 that principle. 50:42 Well, that being said, 50:43 all the steps as I said earlier, 50:45 the counsel that we learned on how to make good choices, 50:48 how to find good friends 50:49 is definitely applied to choosing a spouse. 50:51 I want to share with you another quote, 50:52 and this comes from a book called Adventist Home 50:56 and it's page 71. 51:00 It says this, "If men and women 51:01 are in the habit of praying twice a day 51:03 before they contemplate marriage, 51:06 they should pray four times a day 51:08 when such a step as anticipated." 51:12 Now what's four divided by two? 51:15 It's two, isn't it? 51:16 In other words, she's saying, 51:17 "You should be praying twice as often 51:19 and twice as much 51:20 if you're anticipating marriage than before, 51:23 than the prayer life you have." 51:25 "Pray without ceasing. 51:26 If you're going to make a good decision 51:27 concerning your friends, 51:28 you need to pray without ceasing. 51:30 And so you need to pray four times a day. 51:32 Marriage is something," she goes on, 51:33 "Marriage is something 51:35 that will influence and affect your life 51:36 both in this world and in the world to come." 51:40 And this brings us to another mistake 51:42 that hurts the heart of myself 51:43 and so many pastors across this land. 51:46 And that is, there's too many Christians today 51:48 that are making and choosing spouses 51:50 that are not fully committed to Christ 51:52 as their Lord and Savior. 51:54 And I am here representing the Lord, friends, 51:57 and He is telling you that that is an absolute large, 52:00 one of the worst stupid mistakes 52:02 that you can make in your life. 52:04 Don't do it. 52:10 The biggest mistake you can make 52:12 is to choose somebody 52:13 that is not fully committed to Christ. 52:16 Period. 52:18 The spiritual fatality rate of believers 52:20 who make this mistake is super high. 52:26 It's way higher than the success rate 52:27 of those who remain faithful to Christ. 52:30 And so, friends, 52:31 one of the most dangerous things you can do 52:34 is to marry somebody 52:35 that's not fully committed to Christ. 52:37 Now, I'm not just making this up on my own. 52:39 Some of you know the scriptures, don't you? 52:41 1 Corinthians 6:14, what does it say? 52:46 1 Corinthians 6:14, 52:48 it says, "Do not be unequally yoked together 52:51 with unbelievers. 52:53 For what fellowship has righteousness 52:56 with lawlessness? 52:57 And what communion 52:59 has light with darkness?" 53:02 Do you believe that, friends? 53:04 I'm speaking the truth here this morning. 53:06 Friends, God is speaking to you. 53:08 If you haven't chosen the spouse yet, 53:10 or you're seriously considered choosing a spouse 53:13 that is not fully committed to Christ, 53:15 Jesus is telling you, "Don't do it. 53:18 Don't make that choice." 53:22 I fear that when we make this mistake, 53:24 in fact, I don't just fear, I'm convinced 53:26 that when we make this mistake, 53:28 we not only endanger our faith and our salvation, 53:31 but we reveal that we don't fully trust 53:33 that God has the right person for us in our future. 53:37 We're saying, "Lord, I have no choice." 53:38 Here we go back to it again. 53:40 "I have no choice. 53:41 If I don't choose this one, 53:42 I'm going to be left alone for the rest of my life." 53:45 Friends, that is not true. 53:48 God's Word has just told you that 53:49 that person is not the one for you. 53:52 And if that person is not the one for you, 53:54 you need to trust Him. 53:56 You need to understand that as hard as it might be 53:59 to separate your heart from somebody 54:00 that you become affectionate with 54:02 that God has somebody that is right for you 54:05 that loves the Lord as much as you do, 54:07 that will pray with you every morning, 54:09 that will pray with you every night, 54:11 that will involve themselves 54:13 and want to be involved in your family worship, 54:17 that will lead your family out the door 54:19 every Sabbath morning to go to church 54:22 rather than stay home 54:23 and watch the football game and say, 54:25 "Honey, why are you going to church again?" 54:28 God has called us to equally yoke ourselves 54:31 with believers only. 54:34 Well, I'm out of time, 54:36 and I started preaching there a little bit, didn't I? 54:38 I forgot it was Sabbath School. 54:40 You don't have to forgive me. 54:43 Well, our closing note, of course, 54:44 and the quarterly points this out very wisely. 54:48 It says, "Not only do we have to make sure 54:49 we choose the right person for marriage, 54:51 but we be the right person for marriage as well." 54:54 Jesus says, "Why are you trying 54:56 to take that spec out of your brother's eye 54:57 while you have this big plank sticking out of your own eye." 55:00 Make sure that you have the plank 55:01 taken of your own eye 55:03 before you get too choosy in choosing the right spice. 55:05 Well, we're out of time here today. 55:06 I'm thankful that you have endured my preaching, 55:10 and I pray that God has spoken to you 55:12 in any way that you may need here this morning, 55:15 and we look forward to having you join us 55:16 again next week as we continue to study 55:18 into this very important subject of family. 55:21 God bless you, and we will see you next week. 55:26 Don't forget to request today's life changing free resource. 55:30 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, 55:32 you can download a digital copy straight to your computer 55:34 or mobile device. 55:36 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, 55:38 simply text the keyword on your screen 55:40 to 40544, 55:42 or visit the web address shown on your screen. 55:45 And be sure to select the digital download option 55:48 on the request page. 55:49 It's more easier than ever for you to study God's Word 55:52 with Amazing Facts, 55:53 wherever and whenever you want. 55:55 And most important, to share it with others. 56:10 Hi, friends, 56:11 you know, the modern flags that we see 56:13 flying from the top of capitol buildings 56:15 right in front of patriotic homes 56:17 really stemmed back from the times of battles 56:19 being fought between warring nations. 56:22 These beautifully designed and intricately-colored banners 56:25 were flown high above the battlefield. 56:27 So the warring forces were able to identify 56:29 amid the chaos and the smoke and the fog of war, 56:32 where their forces were rallied, 56:34 and where they were fighting the battle. 56:36 And if you could capture your enemy's flag, 56:38 it was considered the highest honor. 56:40 Wonder if that's where we got the game, 56:42 capture the flag. 56:44 With the changes in war, 56:46 now these flags also represent a little more of a demarcation 56:49 and identification of different nationalities. 56:52 Today, the flags that represent 56:53 the different nations of the world 56:55 are very colorful and diverse. 56:56 And all of the colors and the shapes 56:58 have a specific meaning. 57:00 They're easy to distinguish and recognize from one another. 57:03 But perhaps one of the most interesting flags in the world 57:06 is the flag of the Philippines. 57:08 This is unique 57:09 because it is flown differently in times of peace 57:12 than it is in times of war. 57:14 During times of peace, the Filipino flag 57:16 that's composed of red, white, blue, and yellow 57:18 is flown with the blue side up. 57:20 But in times of war, they flip it around, 57:23 and the red side is up 57:24 because there they're willing to make sacrifices 57:27 of their blood 57:28 to defend the freedom of the country. 57:31 In the same way that an embassy 57:32 that is situated in a foreign country 57:35 flies their flag 57:36 while still surrounded by another nation, 57:38 Christians are supposed to have the flag of God's love 57:41 flying in this fallen world. 57:43 You can read in the book Song of Solomon 2:4, 57:47 "His banner over me is love." 57:49 Love is the flag that identifies Christians 57:51 as a unique kingdom, even here in the world. 57:55 So, friend, the big question is, 57:56 how are you flying your flag? |
Revised 2019-04-10