Sept. 10, 2023 - Making Choices Under God
Notes
Transcript
Make a U-Turn in a no U-Turn zone - with a cop behind you....
And you will get - a Ticket
Close a sale for your company - on a $4 Million project...
And you will get - a raise
Order 40 nuggets from McDonald’s - and decide to eat all of them...
And you will get - a high five from me
Ask me if I want some coffee -
And you will get - a black eye :)
What do we know?
- We know Choices have consequences
SLIDE:
Some choices lead to - good consequences
Some choices lead to - bad consequences
NOW - understand that sometimes - GOOD choices lead to bad consequences...
And you could even say the reverse...
It really depends on how we define “Good” and “Bad”
But what we KNOW is that - Consequences are EMBEDDED into our lives...
WHY?
Because CHOICES are embedded into every moment of our lives.
Each of you chose to come here today
Each of you chose to sit in the seat you’re sitting in!
Each of you (at this point) - have chosen to stay awake for the sermon
TODAY - we’re going to HEAR - David’s final words to Solomon his son...
David is OLD at this point - and knows his time is short.
He calls for Solomon - AND....
1 When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying,
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,
3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
4 that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
When Rachel and I found out that we were having a boy…
Lots of things went through my head...
ONE of those things was - I wonder if he’ll like baseball.
I wonder what IN ME - will transfer to him...
And so - I have some pics that show the reality of what I just said...
SLIDE: Trey Pics
When we first have kids - and we OURSELVES are young - I think our hopes for our kids can be ONE thing...
But then when we get OLDER - and we’ve been around the block a time or two - our HOPES for our kids change!
If we circle back up to v2 - we see what David is hoping for his son...
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,
He says - “Be strong and show yourself a man”...
PROVE to BE - a man
DAVID - at the end of his life - KNOWING all the struggles HE HIMSELF faced - -
He wants his son = LIKE most dads I assume - to BE A MAN!
BE STRONG!!
have a BACKBONE…and FLEX IT once in a while...
BUT - what does “BEING a MAN” - look like - to David?
What does it mean - to FLEX IT
v3 tells us! (half verse)
3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
So what we see right of the bat is this...
SLIDE: Making Choices Under God: Walk in the Ways of God
Making Choices Under God
Making Choices Under God
David says - BE A MAN!! Be STRONG!!
“And LET ME TELL you what that looks like....”
WALK in the ways of GOD! Keep His statutes…Keep His commands...
NOW - this has always been a part of God’s PLAN.... that we would WALK in His ways...
9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
That’s OT...
But what did Jesus say when He called His disciples…?
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
FOLLOW Me....
WALK with me!
“SHARE LIFE with Me”...
*What happens when we go on a walk with someone?
We get close
There’s communication...
We talk to each other...
We laugh...
We listen
We share what’s on our hearts...
I’m sure we all have someone in our lives (spouse/friend) for whom we JUST ENJOY walking through life together...
Wanting to tell that person EVERYTHING...
The highs of life...
The lows of life...
But EVEN the mundane…the random stuff of life.
Sometimes - two souls just - CLICK…and it just.makes.sense.
Walking with God is the same way...
EXCEPT - walking with God - REQUIRES something....
What is it?
FAITH
22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
it’s by FAITH that we can walk with God...
Walk in His ways...
How does it work?
When we put our faith in Christ…He becomes our hearts GREATEST desire...
And so - KNOWING Him...
Hearing His voice...
PLEASING Him - becomes the deepest desire in our hearts!
He becomes EVERYTHING - to us.
And since that’s the case - we realize OVER TIME - that if someone was to try to KEEP us from WALKING with God in our lives...
OR - try to get us to ONLY WALK with Him - on Sunday mornings…?
We would realize - that - NO - that doesn’t work for me!
I can’t HANDLE - ONLY SUNDAYS...
I need MORE…my heart wants MORE!
A. W. Tozer said that the goal of every Christian should be to...
SLIDE:
"live in a state of unbroken worship."
Pursue this!
And maybe that’s why we hear these words from Christ...
17 pray without ceasing,
Why pray without ceasing?
Unbroken WORSHIP…!
In this Spiritual relationship we now have with Christ…we WANT MORE...
I want to get CLOSER than I am now...
I want to know MORE of Him…than I do now...
And so THAT desire - leads to…back to our 1st point...
SLIDE: Making Choices Under God: Walk in the Ways of God
Making Choices Under God
Making Choices Under God
A changed heart - BY FAITH - will now PURSUE God by PURSUING to keep His commands.
BUT WHY are Christians CALLED to obey God?
Why - Obedience?
Let’s look at the ULTIMATE reason first…from the Bible
6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Well - we were CREATED - for God’s GLORY!
God created US - for HIS Glory!
That He would be glorified!
11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
If you serve, you are to serve in the strength that God supplies, so that He gets the glory....not you.
The Giver gets the glory!
NOW - we OBEY - why?
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Our OBEDIENCE is tied to the GLORY of God!!
See it?
NOW - as you know - we are HUMAN...
We mess up… ALL the time
Does that RUIN God’s Glory?
NO - Why?
And it’s fitting that David writes these words...
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
We’re called (Matt 5:16) to OBEY God…to LIVE OUT His commands...
Doing GOOD DEEDS that proclaim Jesus and give Him glory!!
But when we FALL - and our flesh DISTORTS that picture...
…Psalm 23:3 kicks in...
God RESTORES my soul and brings me back to the path - for HIS glory!!
So ULTIMATELY - we OBEY - for God’s GLORY...
So that He would be SEEN - in US - in this fallen world!
And so = we see this...
SLIDE: Walk in the Ways of God: For the Consequence of God’s Glory
Walk in the Ways of God
Walk in the Ways of God
This is what we’ve seen - is the ULTIMATE reason we - OBEY...
BUT there’s another reason…as well
…and David speaks to this…when talking to Solomon.
Back to our text...
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,
3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
Anything that comes after the phrase “THAT”....or “So that”....will be the basis - or the REASON for what comes BEFORE that word or phrase.
Another REASON that David charges Solomon to OBEY God - is SO THAT he will - PROSPER in all that he does and wherever he goes.
SLIDE: Walk in the Ways of God: For the Consequence of Blessing
Walk in the Ways of God
Walk in the Ways of God
REWARD is at stake here.
Consequences are at stake...
And it takes us right to the concept we find in Galatians...
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Choices - - Consequences
If we sow to the Spirit....we will reap FROM the Spirit....life
NOW - in a fallen world - our sinful nature will OFTEN DISTORT what “LIFE” looks like.
What PROSPERITY looks like
What do I mean?
In our text today - David said what?
2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man,
3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
The REASON David gives to Solomon for WALKING with the Lord - is what?
Prosperity
Now when I HEAR that word - I HEAR - - the Prosperity Gospel...
which is EVIL - and NOT the gospel.
But what we need to know is that IN THIS WORLD...
there are 2 VERSIONS of prosperity...
There’s a WORLDLY prosperity…
Which would include:
money
power
prestige
success
opulence
possessions
That’s WORLDLY prosperity....
But there’s also ANOTHER KIND of prosperity in this world...
Well = SORT of in this world.
There’s a Godly-Prosperity...
Now where does this idea come from? (both verses)
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
As you can see - in this passage we have 2 different - TREASURES...
One - an earthly treasure...
THE OTHER
a Heavenly treasure...
When David says to Solomon - WALK with the LORD so that you will PROSPER...
he’s not talking about Financial wealth...
Or POSSESSIONS...
Or power and prestige...
He’s talking about - Spiritual Treasures… IN HEAVEN…!
REWARDS - Crowns of glory handed out based on OBEDIENCE!
And as you know - OBEDIENCE - entails a DENIAL of self...
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Do THIS - and FOLLOW Me...
Deny yourself - and FOLLOW ME...
WALK WITH ME!
SLIDE:
A treasure-acquiring choice is a choice of self-denial, in the cause of love, for Jesus.
THIS HERE - on the screen - is what it looks like - to be A MAN.
This is what it looks like to be - STRONG.
This is David’s CALL - to his son - Solomon.
Walk with God… EVEN if that walk leads you to the edge of the cliff....
OR OFF of the cliff...
Walk with God....
Walk with God...
Fall - WITH God...
What do I mean - FALL?
The world would have looked at the apostle Paul’s life and THOUGHT - Wow - what a FALL from grace.
The guy had it all!
SMART…BRILLIANT...
had power - had INFLUENCE...
And then he traded ALL THAT IN - so he could follow - THE WAY!!???
He traded it all in - so he could GET BEAT?
Get thrown in prison??
Go HUNGRY??
Wow - WHAT A FALL FROM GRACE!!
The world would say - Paul was NOT PROSPEROUS...
Paul would say what?
Well - let’s LOOK at what he said about it!!
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
Paul - IN LOSING EVERYTHING HE HAD - declared himself to be - PROSPEROUS!!
SO YES - David’s CALL - rings out!!
FALL - but fall WITH God!
Win - but win WITH God...
LOSE - but lose WITH God...
Trade the TREASURES of this world - for the TREASURES of Heaven...
Because when we do -
We - GLORIFY God!!
SLIDE:
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him
(Desiring God Ministries)
Walk in the ways of God - Show HIM to be more VALUABLE to us than the world - and PROSPER!
Listen to these verses now - but hear them maybe in a different way...
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
David calls Solomon - to the CONSEQUENCE of Spiritual prosperity...
Is David qualified to make this call?
Of course - David knew what it was like to make choices that RESULTED in the opposite...
What we see in the passage today from chapter 2 of 1 Kings - is also the OTHER SIDE of the coin.
We also see - how BAD choices under God - can lead to Bad Consequences...
5 “Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet.
6 Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
7 But deal loyally with the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for with such loyalty they met me when I fled from Absalom your brother.
8 And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’
9 Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”
Seems interesting - I THINK - that we hear David here - telling Solomon to - in a sense - enact revenge on some of the people around him.
In these sort of cases - we have to really fall back to what type of literature we’re dealing with...
This book is historical… It’s a Narrative...
What we read is what happened - GOOD OR BAD!
What we can’t do - is read this - and think - WELP - I guess the Bible teaches us to enact revenge on people that have slighted us!!
BUT WHAT WE CAN pull from this - is that when it comes to living in a fallen world...
We will - REAP what we SOW!
Our choices will LEAD to consequences - and sometimes bad consequences!
The choices of the men listed here in this passage...
Joab
and Shimei
Those choices end up leading to their deaths.
NOW - does this mean that had they not made those specific choices that they would not have died...
NO - but we can’t try to OUT-THINK God...
Or try to Philosophize our way into trying to place God in a box
Here’s what we know is true -
We will reap what we sow.
Choices lead to consequences.
We see this in every area of life...
If I choose....
From this day forward - to eat Mr. Hero for every meal...
Bad consequences
To go to bed every night at 3 am...
Bad consequences
To eat healthy and exercise regularly....
Good consequences...
Doesn’t mean I won’t have a stroke next week - but there will be good consequences from making those choices.
Even MORALLY neutral decisions will lead to consequences...
Work for THIS employer - or THAT employer...
Consequences to each choice.
If I make choices that go against God’s character...
There will be consequences to that.
Most of us - all of us - have experienced this!
**Knocking on neighbors door - and running away
Consequence - Apologizing face-to-face.
And the Bible speaks to the consequences of sin...
2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
DEATH came by way of bad choices...
And this verse makes sense - because...
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Consequence of sin - is death!
And yet - this is HARD - BECAUSE - why?
As the meme says...
SLIDE:
Sin has a lot of consequences hidden behind the pleasure.
And we see Analogies of this - all over creation...
The foods that are the WORST for you....
Taste the best!
Why is that?
It teaches us about 2 things!...
Choices - and - Consequences
Pleasure - and - Pain
There are a LOT of consequences HIDDEN behind the AMAZING TASTE of OUR FAVORITE FOODS....right?
And so we have CHOICES to make!
In this fallen world - the PLEASURES of LIFE - are often WRAPPED in SIN...
And so we need to know...
SLIDE:
When we pursue walking with God in a fallen world, the battle is “desire vs. desire”
JOY - is fighting against - JOY
My inner man - REDEEMED by Christ - JOYFUL in Christ - is at WAR with my outer flesh!
Desire vs. Desire
Joy vs. Joy
And so we - FIGHT for joy - IN God…in Christ!
Which is why David said this...
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
BAD Consequences WAIT on the other side of - Disobedience!
Blessing awaits on the other side of - Obedience!
David experienced BOTH....like we all have!
And so - the call rings out!
David’s call to SOLOMON - pushes through time - to US TODAY...
SUMMARY
Making Choices Under God
Walk in the Ways of God
For the Consequence of God’s Glory
For the Consequence of Blessing
Yes, make good choices and BLESSING will come...
but sometimes the BLESSING is - BEING ABLE to walk through a valley - and by God’s strength - not be PHASED by it.
Let’s pray!