Choices sermon notes audio. No matter if we realize it or not, you are who you are today because of the choices you made in the past. What you will be in the future is determined by the choices you are making today. Choices are extremely important. The quality of your life will be determined by the quality of your choices. If we make the right choices, we will live the life of victory and abundance God has in store for us and Jesus came to give us.
ABUNDANT LIFE – Living in the Kingdom
By Pastor Delbert Young
Choices sermon notes audio
Audio
Choices sermon notes audio
We recently completed the study of the Sermon on the Mount. I want to follow the study up with a series called ‘The Abundant Life’ which I hope will help make the things we’ve learned very practical.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus came so we could have a full and abundant life. Here is how the Amplified Bible writes this verse.
John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have {and} enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
Isn’t this great?! Life is supposed to be victorious and full for the Christ follower. The Bible teaches the Believer to enjoy an overcoming and overflowing life, but we all know this isn’t the way so many Christ followers exist because there are things out there that will steal life, kill life, and destroy life. Call it the devil. Or, call it religion. Or, call it the carnal mind. It doesn’t matter what you call it. The truth is it will take life from us.
What I want to do in our study is to reveal some things that take life and then see what Jesus did to give us life back. Today I want to talk about making choices.
LIFE IS A SERIES OF CHOICES.
Studies tell us we make more than 2500 choices every day. You already made several choices today. For example, you chose what you wanted to wear today. Another choice you made is you chose to come to church. You chose to be friendly or unfriendly, and you chose to praise and give.
Many of the 2500 choices we make every day are trivial and have no lasting impact on our lives, but we would be amazed if we knew how many choices we make every single day that does affect our lives and future.
Choices sermon notes audio
For example, we choose to work or not work. Young people choose to do well in school or just get by. They choose to go to college or not. We choose our thoughts every day. Thoughts influence our lives. We choose with whom we will associate. Relationships make a huge difference in experiencing an abundant life. We choose what we will watch and to what we will listen or read. All those things give direction to our lives and future.
No matter if we realize it or not, we make hundreds of extremely important choices every single day. You can be your best friend, or you can be your worst enemy by the choices you make.
No matter if we realize it or not, you are what you are today because of the choices you made in the past. What you will be in the future is determined by the choices you are making today. Choices are extremely important. The quality of your life will be determined by the quality of your choices. If we make the right choices, we will live the life of victory and abundance God has in store for us and Jesus came to give us.
GREAT PLAN
The first thing we need to understand is God has a great plan and purpose for our lives. It’s a plan for abundance and victory.
The Bible says in Jeremiah God saw you before you were ever formed in your mother’s womb. By then there was already a plan for your life.
Choices sermon notes audio
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
We are also told God has made plans for us and this plan includes being prosperous with a hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God has predestined us. God has planned ahead of time for us.
Ephesians 1:11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will
God wants to do more for us than we can ask or think. Father wants to do beyond our hopes, dreams, and imaginations.
Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
The power of God works in us trying to bring us to our dreams and even beyond.
Choices sermon notes audio
I can tell you with great confidence today God has a great life planned for you. It doesn’t matter what you have gone through in the past or what you are going through right now. God wants this time of your life to be your best time ever. God believes in you so much he has a great plan for your life.
CHOICES OVERRIDE GOD’S PLAN
“If, God has this great plan for me then why do I have so many problems?” “Why am I so in debt?” “Why is my life a big mess?” Friends, it has a lot to do with your choices. God wants us to live in victory, but this doesn’t mean it will automatically happen. We must make wise choices that align with God’s word if we are going to experience his best because our choices can override God’s plan.
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.
Though this verse clearly tells us God’s will is none die lost, we know people die lost every day. Why? The reason is because they are not making the correct choices. Our choices can override God’s plan for our lives.
Living an abundant life and being blessed is a choice.
Deuteronomy 30:19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
God has given us the power to choose. By our choices, we choose daily a blessed life or a life that is not blessed.
Choices sermon notes audio
God has a plan for us. The only person who can stop you from experiencing God’s best is you. Don’t allow bad choices to override God’s plan for you.
THE PROBLEM
is there is a battle happening inside of every one of us every single day. It’s a battle between the flesh – natural/carnal mind – and the spirit. The battle is over choices. Will the carnal mind make the choice or will the spirit make the choice? Because of this war, the carnal mind and God are enemies.
Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
(NLT) Romans 8:7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.
In other words, if we listen to the voice of our natural/carnal minds, we will make some horrible choices because it is hostile to God. It never wants to do what God’s word says to do.
Your natural mind wants its own way. It wants to own you. Also, it knows how to get its way. Moreover, it knows what buttons to push.
The natural mind wants to gossip. It wants to be negative and critical and judgmental. Certainly, and it wants to be greedy. Too, it wants to be angry. Furthermore, it wants to not forgive. Moreover, it wants to lie. Also, it wants to buy things you can’t afford. Additionally, it wants to do things you know you shouldn’t do. It is a loud voice and it knows what to say to get its way.
Choices sermon notes audio
The carnal mind is lazy.
You wake up on a Sunday morning. The carnal mind will tell you to roll over and go back to sleep. You have been working all week. Just rest today. You don’t need to go to church today. Just watch church on TV. What can a preacher tell you anyway?
There was a woman who told her son to get out of bed and get ready to go to church. He rolled over and went back to sleep. A few minutes later she came back and said, “Son, get up and get ready to go to church.” He rolled over and went back to sleep. A few minutes later she came busting into the room, yanked the covers off of him, and said, “Get up and get ready to go to church.” He said, “Mom, give me three good reasons I should get out of bed and go to church.” She said, “# 1, it’s Sunday; #2, you are 37 years old; and #3, you are the pastor.”
Throughout life, there will always be the loud voice of the carnal mind screaming.
ANOTHER VOICE
If you will listen closely, you will hear another voice. It’s the Spirit of God telling you the right thing to do.
The Holy Spirit is called the counselor. One of his main duties is to lead us and guide us and help us make the right choices. He is there to warn us when we are about to make a bad choice.
People say God never speaks to them. God is always speaking to every one of his children. The problem is many times we don’t recognize it is God talking to us. We want to make everything spooky-spiritual. We want the clouds to open and a voice to boom down out of heaven. That’s not how God operates.
Choices sermon notes audio
When a person becomes a believer, something called the conscience is cleansed (KJV – purged). We are then able to hear God clearly.
Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
The blood of Jesus cleans our consciences so we may serve God. We can hear God and do what he says. Every Believer can hear God through his or her conscience.
(Amplified) 1 Timothy 1:18 This charge {and} admonition I commit in trust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with prophetic intimations which I formerly received concerning you, so that inspired {and} aided by them you may wage the good warfare,
1 Timothy 1:19 Holding fast to faith and having a good (clear) conscience. By rejecting {and} thrusting from them [their conscience], some individuals have made shipwreck of their faith.
Our waging good warfare against the carnal mind is directly related to our having a good and clear conscience. Lives have shipwrecked simply because people reject what their consciences were telling them.
(TNLT) 1 Timothy 1:19 Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
So, when we say God speaks to us through our spirits or through our hearts, we can accurately say God speaks to us through our consciences. This is being led by the Spirit.
Choices sermon notes audio
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
(TLB) Galatians 5:16 I advise you to obey only the Holy Spirit’s instructions. He will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won’t always be doing the wrong things your evil nature wants you to.
The secret to making wise choices is to yield to the conscience. Through our consciences, the Holy Spirit directs our choices.
Let me give you an example. Your child wants to do something or go somewhere with someone. You want your child to have fun and enjoy life, but down in your belly – conscience – you have this restlessness and you know something isn’t right. This is the Holy Spirit helping you through your conscience. The warfare begins. You want your child happy, but you know something is wrong. You can thrust from you what the Holy Spirit is saying and deliberately violate your conscience. Or you can go to war and battle with and for your child. Your mind doesn’t want to fuss with your child, but by listening, you may save your child from a shipwreck – drugs, sex, who knows what. Remember. Your choices can determine your child’s destiny.
I want to encourage you. Don’t push down your conscience. You will never make a bad choice if you will listen to your conscience.
The conscience is very important in developing new relationships. Perhaps you are a single woman and there is a nice-looking man whom everyone likes, but something down in your belly isn’t comfortable with him. Don’t ignore this warning. Your mind can’t see anything wrong. In fact, your mind sees everything as perfect. The warfare begins. How many horror stories could be avoided if we would listen to our consciences?
Choices sermon notes audio
There will be many times when we do not understand why our conscience is uncomfortable.
It won’t make sense, but we must learn God’s ways are not always logical at the time. If we want God best and if we want to avoid bad choices this mess up our destinies, we must learn to be led by the Spirit.
When we think back on bad decisions we made and we are honest, we will remember the Holy Spirit trying to warn us. We have all said, “Something told me not to do this, but I did it anyway.”
I have some horror stories I could share, but I won’t. I will say the worst situation of my life could have been avoided had I not deliberately violated my conscience. It was screaming at me not to do something and I did it anyway.
I will tell you one story. Once I wanted to buy a new car. I found a new Dodge Charger. It was beautiful. I wanted it. I had promised Judy I would not buy anything until we talked, but the guy made me (supposedly) a great deal. In the natural, there was no reason not to buy it, but something told me to wait.
Instead, I violated my conscience. I came driving up in the new Dodge Charger to get Judy. She looked at me with this discussed look. Well, to make a long story short, that was the worse car I have ever owned. It was a lemon. It was pretty and it was fast when it was running, but man did it give me grief. The starter was always going out. The turn signals went out. The valves began ticking. It was one bad thing after another.
Choices sermon notes audio
We have got to learn to not override our consciences if we want an abundant life.
Begin to recognize the restlessness down inside is God trying to help you have the best life possible.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SOMETHING BIG
It doesn’t need to be something big we push down. Something like overeating is a choice. When we are convicted and say, “I know I don’t need this, but it’s so good I am going to eat it anyway,” we have pushed down the Holy Spirit trying to help us keep our weight and health in line. We will avoid physical problems later.
It can be something like getting to work on time. Someone may be watching you and considering you for a big promotion, but if you can’t get to work on time . . . Listen to your conscience.
MOST PEOPLE CHOOSE POORLY
I want to give us one more thought about the choices we make. Most people we talk with and run with will make wrong choices. This includes the people of God. If I need help making a choice, I only listen to people who are known for making wise choices.
Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan. These were God’s people. Ten of those spies came back with choices that were not what God was saying. They were choosing from their carnal minds and not from a clean conscience. There were walled cities and giants and they were like grasshoppers beside them. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, did make the correct choice. They said God was well able to defeat those giants and they would be bread for them. To which group did the masses listen? Most people will usually listen to the wrong choice.
Choices sermon notes audio
Be careful with whom you allow to help you make choices. Those ten spies were well-meaning. They were concerned about doing what they thought was correct, but the choices they made kept them all out of God’s plan for an abundant life.
Perhaps you look back and see your life has been a series of poor choices over the years and now your life is not near where you hoped it would be. I want to encourage you today. Never give up and never get discouraged. If you will begin to start right where you are and make a series of wise choices by allowing your conscience to lead you, your life will change. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen. Before long, you will look around and your life will be abundant.
You can direct your destiny.
Don’t go against your conscience. Remember. Your choices are determining your destiny. The quality of your life will be directly related to the quality of your choices. God has predestined you for greatness. There is a power working in you if you are a Christ follower. God will bless you beyond belief. He has a plan to give you a hope and a future. He will take you places you have never dreamed possible. You will live the abundant life this is rightfully yours.
Some have never made the most important choice they could ever make. You have never made the choice to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You need to do that right now.
Choices sermon notes audio
Choices sermon notes audio
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