Decisions with Eternal Impact: Aligning Actions with Faith

In today's message, we explored the profound impact of our daily decisions and the importance of aligning them with an eternal perspective. We began by acknowledging the difference between deciding and doing, using the analogy of frogs on a log to illustrate how decisions without action are meaningless. This led us to reflect on how often we, as Christians, know what we should do—like sharing our faith or reading the Bible more—but fail to act on these decisions. The core of our discussion centered around the idea that every decision we make should be viewed through the lens of eternity, impacting not only our lives but also the lives of those around us.

We delved into the challenges of making decisions based on emotions and the importance of grounding our choices in God's Word. Jesus serves as our ultimate example, consistently aligning His actions with Scripture, even when tempted by Satan. We were reminded that God's Word provides clarity in decision-making, and ignoring it often leads to confusion and poor choices. Furthermore, we discussed the necessity of fulfilling the law of love in our decisions, emphasizing agape love—unconditional love that mirrors Christ's love for us.

The message also highlighted the significance of understanding and living out God's call on our lives. Every believer is called to fulfill the Great Commission, and our decisions should reflect this divine purpose. Jesus' unwavering commitment to His mission, even in the face of mockery and suffering, serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of staying aligned with God's will.

Finally, we were encouraged to trust in Jesus fully, recognizing that our decisions should be rooted in faith and an eternal perspective. By asking ourselves three key questions—Does it square with God's Word? Does it fulfill the law of love? Does it align with God's call on my life?—we can make wiser, more impactful decisions that honor God and advance His kingdom.

**Key Takeaways:**

- **Decisions vs. Actions:** It's crucial to understand that deciding to do something and actually doing it are not the same. We often make decisions with good intentions but fail to follow through. This is especially true in our spiritual lives, where we know what we should do but often don't act on it. Aligning our actions with our decisions is essential for living a life that reflects our faith. [25:23]

- **Eternal Perspective:** Every decision we make should be viewed through the lens of eternity. Our choices have the potential to impact not only our lives but also the lives of those around us. By keeping an eternal perspective, we ensure that our decisions align with God's purpose and contribute to His kingdom. [26:35]

- **Grounding in Scripture:** Jesus consistently aligned His actions with God's Word, even when tempted by Satan. This serves as a reminder that God's Word provides clarity and guidance in our decision-making. Ignoring it often leads to confusion and poor choices. We must strive to heed God's Word in all our decisions. [34:35]

- **Fulfilling the Law of Love:** Our decisions should be rooted in agape love—unconditional love that mirrors Christ's love for us. This means loving others regardless of their background or circumstances. By fulfilling the law of love, we reflect Christ's character and make decisions that honor Him. [37:36]

- **Trusting in God's Call:** Every believer is called to fulfill the Great Commission, and our decisions should reflect this divine purpose. Jesus' unwavering commitment to His mission, even in the face of mockery and suffering, serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of staying aligned with God's will. Trusting in God's call enables us to make decisions that advance His kingdom. [45:20]

**Youtube Chapters:**

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [23:11] - Introduction to Series
- [24:14] - The Importance of Decisions
- [25:23] - Deciding vs. Doing
- [26:35] - Eternal Perspective in Decisions
- [27:25] - The Devil's Distractions
- [28:17] - Emotional Decision-Making
- [29:04] - Choices and Consequences
- [30:42] - Major Life Decisions
- [32:19] - Jesus as Our Example
- [33:13] - Aligning with God's Word
- [34:35] - Jesus' Temptation and Response
- [35:52] - Influence of Our Decisions
- [37:36] - The Law of Love
- [45:20] - Trusting in God's Call

**Bible Study Discussion Guide**

**Bible Reading:**
1. Matthew 4:1-4
2. Colossians 3:12
3. John 10:10

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**Observation Questions:**

1. In Matthew 4:1-4, how does Jesus respond to Satan's temptation, and what does this reveal about the importance of Scripture in decision-making?
2. According to Colossians 3:12, what characteristics are believers called to embody, and how might these influence our daily decisions?
3. What does John 10:10 say about the intentions of the thief versus the intentions of Jesus, and how does this relate to the concept of an abundant life?
4. The sermon mentioned the difference between deciding and doing, using the analogy of frogs on a log. What was the point of this analogy? [25:23]

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**Interpretation Questions:**

1. How does Jesus' use of Scripture during His temptation in the wilderness serve as a model for us when facing difficult decisions? [34:35]
2. The sermon emphasized the importance of viewing decisions through an eternal perspective. How might this perspective change the way we approach everyday choices? [26:35]
3. What does it mean to fulfill the law of love in our decisions, and how can this be practically applied in our interactions with others? [37:36]
4. How does understanding God's call on our lives influence the decisions we make, especially when faced with challenges or opposition? [45:20]

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**Application Questions:**

1. Reflect on a recent decision you made. Did it align with God's Word, fulfill the law of love, and align with God's call on your life? If not, how might you approach it differently now? [57:25]
2. The sermon discussed the importance of not letting emotions dictate our decisions. Can you identify a time when an emotional decision led to a negative outcome? How can you ensure your future decisions are more grounded in Scripture? [28:17]
3. Consider the people you influence in your life. How can you ensure that your decisions positively impact their spiritual journey? [35:52]
4. The sermon mentioned the Great Commission as a calling for all believers. What is one practical step you can take this week to share your faith or disciple someone in your community? [44:20]
5. Think about a decision you are currently facing. How can you apply the three key questions from the sermon to ensure it aligns with an eternal perspective? [49:22]
6. The sermon highlighted the importance of trusting Jesus fully. Is there an area of your life where you struggle to trust Him? What steps can you take to deepen your trust in that area? [56:30]
7. How can you incorporate the practice of asking, "Does it square with God's Word?" into your daily decision-making process? What changes might this bring to your life? [33:13]

Day 1: Aligning Actions with Decisions
In our spiritual journey, it's easy to make decisions with good intentions but challenging to follow through with action. The analogy of frogs on a log illustrates this point: deciding to jump is not the same as actually jumping. As Christians, we often know what we should do, such as sharing our faith or reading the Bible more, but we fail to act on these decisions. Aligning our actions with our decisions is essential for living a life that truly reflects our faith. By bridging the gap between deciding and doing, we can live more authentically and effectively as followers of Christ. [25:23]

James 1:22-24 (ESV): "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like."

Reflection: Think of a decision you have made recently regarding your spiritual life. What specific steps can you take today to act on that decision and align your actions with your intentions?


Day 2: Viewing Decisions Through an Eternal Lens
Every decision we make has the potential to impact not only our lives but also the lives of those around us. By keeping an eternal perspective, we ensure that our choices align with God's purpose and contribute to His kingdom. This eternal perspective helps us prioritize what truly matters and guides us in making decisions that have lasting significance. When we view our choices through the lens of eternity, we are more likely to make decisions that honor God and reflect His love to others. [26:35]

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (ESV): "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Reflection: Consider a decision you are currently facing. How might viewing this decision through an eternal perspective change your approach or priorities?


Day 3: Grounding Decisions in Scripture
Jesus consistently aligned His actions with God's Word, even when tempted by Satan. This serves as a reminder that God's Word provides clarity and guidance in our decision-making. Ignoring it often leads to confusion and poor choices. By grounding our decisions in Scripture, we can navigate life's challenges with wisdom and discernment. God's Word is a reliable foundation that helps us make choices that are in line with His will and purpose for our lives. [34:35]

Psalm 119:105 (ESV): "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Reflection: Identify a decision you need to make this week. What specific Scripture can you meditate on to guide you in making this decision?


Day 4: Fulfilling the Law of Love
Our decisions should be rooted in agape love—unconditional love that mirrors Christ's love for us. This means loving others regardless of their background or circumstances. By fulfilling the law of love, we reflect Christ's character and make decisions that honor Him. Love should be the driving force behind our actions, influencing how we interact with others and the choices we make. When we prioritize love, we align ourselves with God's heart and purpose. [37:36]

1 John 4:7-8 (ESV): "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

Reflection: Think of someone in your life who is difficult to love. How can you show them unconditional love this week, reflecting Christ's love for you?


Day 5: Trusting in God's Call
Every believer is called to fulfill the Great Commission, and our decisions should reflect this divine purpose. Jesus' unwavering commitment to His mission, even in the face of mockery and suffering, serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of staying aligned with God's will. Trusting in God's call enables us to make decisions that advance His kingdom. By focusing on God's call, we can live purposefully and intentionally, making choices that contribute to His greater plan. [45:20]

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV): "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Reflection: Reflect on your understanding of God's call on your life. What is one specific way you can align your decisions with this call today?

We'll be right back.

Good morning, everyone. It's great to see everyone this morning. We want to welcome everyone who's online. Smyrna Campus, good to see you, even though I really can't see you. But I'm sure that you guys realize I'm not Randy. Randy is actually in Arizona. He officiated the wedding of his granddaughter out there. So he got to spend a few days out there with the family. So please keep them in your prayers as they travel and head back this way.

We are in the second week of the new series, "A Life Well Lived." And today's topic is a little interesting because of the timing. I think Randy did this to me on purpose. Because the title of the sermon today is "Decisions, Decisions." And what happens on Tuesday? A big decision for this country is going to be making a decision on the next president of the United States. That's not what we're going to be talking about.

The decisions we're talking about are decisions that we make on a daily basis. And are these decisions that we're making on a daily basis? Do they have any kind of eternal perspective? And it seems that even we in the church have a problem with making decisions keeping that eternal perspective in mind.

And so we have to ask ourselves, what is it that's causing us to make these decisions? What is in the thinking when we make decisions? I'm talking about every decision you make. And we'll get into a little bit more specifics here in just a moment. But what I'd like to do is start this morning is I want to start this message with a math problem.

Now, I don't know about you, but I hate math. I always did. I got so lucky about hating math that when I got to college, they did not even require it as a topic when I was in college. That's how lucky I got. I was like, yep, this is the college for me. And so I got through all four years of having to do one thing of math.

But we're going to start with a math problem because it makes sense. And, you know, math is a necessary evil. So there were five frogs sitting on a log. Four of the frogs decided to jump into the water. So how many frogs were left? Well, that would be the easy answer, wouldn't it? But that's not how this works. Five minus four does equal one. But the answer is actually five.

And the reason why is because the frogs were deciding what to do. And deciding is different than actually doing. In fact, decisions and taking action or deciding and doing, they are not one and the same. They are, in fact, very different.

Have you ever told yourself that you were going on a diet? Or that you were going to pray more? Or you finally decided to take that dream trip? Or maybe to quit that job and get your dream job? Or whatever. Have you ever been there? Well, you know you need to do it. You've made the decision to do it. But you never did it.

For some reason, we have decided to not take action. We do the same thing in our faith. We know what we should do. We know that we should share our faith with our neighbor. We know that we should read our Bibles more. We know that we should pray a whole lot. And we know that we can do a better job fulfilling the Great Commission, which is to go and make disciples.

We decide to do those things. But we don't. Could it be that we are wasting our decisions on things that do not matter? Are we even truly putting the things we decide on with an eternal perspective? We can do a much better job. Everything that we decide should have an eternal perspective. Just what I'm about to do. Have an impact on not just my eternity, but on the eternity of those who I am around.

Now think about that. It can seem pretty heavy. It sometimes seems that Christians forget who they are and whose they are. Colossians 3 tells us that we are God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved. You would think that we would be, because of that, some of the happiest people in the world. Wouldn't you?

But if you stay around some Christians any length of time, you realize that they're sometimes some of the most angry, bitter, stressed, envious Christ followers that there are. And there's a reason for that. Because I believe, in perspective, there is no eternity. There is no eternal perspective.

I'll even go further and say that I believe with all my heart that the devil is the author of these things. Because what is the devil going to do? Whatever he can to try to trip us up. John 10:10 says, "Who's the thief?" Exactly. So we know that thief is Satan. He is out to steal, kill, and destroy us. He wants to steal our hearts. He wants to steal our spirit. And he wants to steal our souls. He's out to destroy you. He wants to take away your hope, take away your faith, and indefinitely take away your trust.

But there is a catch. He can't do those things unless you allow him. So let me ask you a question this morning. How do you go about making your major decisions in your life? Life is going to be full of many choices. How do you go about making those decisions? What is the process?

Now, if you're like me, you make sometimes decisions on emotion, right? You didn't think about it. It just happened. And that's one of the things we have to control, I believe, as Christians. We can't let our emotions get in the way, even though it does. And that's, you know, people... People try to use the love emotion as the reason why they do things. Well, you know, it's because I love them. And that's not always true. There's more to the process than that.

And I hope that in the future, by the time we're done here this morning, that we realize that the decisions that we make are not simple decisions, because they do have impact. Now, I'm not the biggest country music fan. I know we probably have some in here. Some of you I know are not. But for some reason, country music has some of the best country titles in the world. They have some of the best titles.

Let me give you some examples. "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose." Look it up. It's a real thing. Here's another one: "Thank God and Greyhound, She's Gone." "I Got the Hungries for Your Love, and I'm Waiting in the Welfare Line." "If Love Was Oil, I'd Be a Court Low." "And She Done Tore My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat." These are all real titles. I mean, you may not like the songs, but the titles are awesome.

Now, George Jones was an icon in country music. Just before his death in 1999, he wrote a song called "Choices." And in that song, he talked about how your choices bring life and death. And even though it was just a country song, man, does that not have an impact on reality?

Now, what are... Here are some of the decisions that we make in life that are the most important decisions. Now, as a youth pastor, I'd always tell my students, the most important decision you'll ever make, obviously, is your acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. That will always be the most important decision. But then I always say, who you're going to marry, what you're going to do for a living, and where you live. All these things have a major impact.

Now, Lois McGee, who was my house parent at the children's home, she said, "I'm going to marry you." She's in the audience today. She told me when I was in, I think it was 9th or 10th grade, she says, "Michael," she said, because obviously I was dating girls that I shouldn't be, of course, in her eyes anyway. But you know how parents are. But she says, "From now on, when you go out with somebody, you're going to look at them as a possible future mate."

Now, I'm in 9th or 10th grade. I'm thinking, right. But did she not curse me? She did. She cursed me with those words. Because every, from then on, it didn't matter what it was, every girl that I met, I had a checklist. And if they didn't meet that checklist, like a bad country song, they were gone. And it's not that I'm all that, but I had high standards. And I obviously married way out of my coverage on that one.

Which, by the way, my wife, Amy, she should be here second service. Today's her birthday, so be sure to wish her a happy birthday. But, so what kind of work will I do? Who am I going to marry? Where will I live? All these decisions are huge. But there is one that is obvious and should be considered. And here it is. How will I make my decisions?

How, in all those important decisions, how will you make those decisions? How we make decisions will determine the course and direction of our lives. And how you make decisions will determine whether or not you're living inside or outside God's will.

To help us with our decision making and to help keep these decisions within an eternal perspective, we're going to go straight to the only source that I believe will help us. And that is through the example of Jesus Christ. What question or questions would Jesus have asked himself? Now, we'll never really know the answer to that. But we can kind of guess.

So when all this is said and done, we will have looked at three different examples from Jesus. And from these examples, see three different questions. Three different questions that we can ask ourselves to help us be not just wiser in our decision making, but just have that eternal perspective. To help us make a difference in our people, because that's important. We need to make, whatever your decisions are, they need to make a difference not only in your life, but in other people's lives, in the life of the people in the church, and in your community. That is the eternal perspective.

So here is the first question we need to ask ourselves before we make any decision. First one: Does it square with the Word of God? Now, have you ever thought about that? When you're making a decision? When we go shopping, that is not the thing on my mind when I go shopping with my wife. Will this be in line? Well, you know, it kind of is. And here's how we do it. When we go shopping, the one thing I always tell my wife, is it a want or a need?

Think about that. Is it a want or a need? There's a lot of wants in this life that we want stuff. But do you really need it? And so when we go shopping, we try to ask ourselves. Now, every once in a while, we give in to the want. But there are some needs out there too. But does it square with the Word of God?

There are 20 instances in the Gospels where Jesus says, "It is written." Let's look at one of those examples now. Turn over to Matthew chapter 4. We'll start with verse 1. It says, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell those stones to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Jesus was facing one of the most difficult times in his life to this point. When Satan tried to get him to stray off the path from what he was called to do. What he intended to do while on this earth. But what did Jesus do? He heeded God's Word.

Jesus did not make decisions based on human logic or human reason. Jesus was hungry. So if he was hungry, what was the harm in turning those stones into bread? Jesus firmly stood on, "It is written." God's Word will clear up the fog involved in many of the decisions that we make in this life. Most of the confusion comes when we go to God's Word for the answer. We don't like the answer.

We don't like the answer that we get from Scripture. In Mark chapter 10, verse 17, it says, "When the rich young ruler approached Jesus and asked him what he needed to do in order to have eternal life." Jesus made it really simple for him. "Sell all your possessions and give to the poor." Now because the man was rich and had a lot of wealth, he thought the cost was too high. And he walked away.

That cannot be us. That cannot be us. God is clear on so many things when we look at Scripture. But we have a tendency to just seek God's Word, get the answer, and just not do what it says. That's not heeding God's Word. And the reason why we do that is because we believe that the cost is too high.

What's the alternative? It's the eternal perspective. Sometimes your decision not to heed God's Word is not just going to affect your eternity; it could affect somebody else's. The reason why I say that is because when you make certain decisions in life, it's not just about you. Because we have an influence, a certain influence of people that are around. They say that if you're an introvert, if you're an introverted person, that you still have over in your lifetime you'll still have over 10,000 people that you influence. Think about that. An introvert. But an extrovert can triple that number.

So we do need to be careful when we make our decisions and we don't heed God's Word. Most of those bad decisions that we make in this life can be avoided by just simply heeding God's Word. Does that seem like too simple? It does. Well, that's a really simple answer, Mike. It is. It's a very simple process. Listen to God. Listen to what He says and then what? Then do it, exactly.

This leads us to the next question. Now we should ask the first one, does it square with the Word of God? And the second one would be this: Does it fulfill the law of love? Does the decision I'm about to make fulfill the law of love?

Now I'm not talking about eros love. Eros love is the kind of love that you have for your wife or your spouse like I have for my wife. I'm not talking about philia kind of love, which is the kind of love you have for a friend. I'm talking about agape love. And what kind of love is that? Unconditional. It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter where you're from. I'm going to love you just because of the love of God. It doesn't matter.

Agape love is the kind of love you need to have because this is the kind of love that Christ displayed when He was on this earth. So when you are making a decision, is what you're going to do going to affect your representation of Christ? Well, because you know we sometimes worry about our own and it doesn't affect my family name or the people I'm around.

Now I will tell you this as a youth minister, I sometimes didn't make good decisions when it came to the students. This is one thing I'll confess to you. I would tell some of the parents this afterwards. We would go on trips, whether we go skiing or youth trips, and I'd always tell them if you get in trouble, you be sure to tell them you're from Unica Baptist.

So I just made it up. I was kidding, but at the same time, I wasn't really kidding. No, we had good kids; just every once in a while, they made bad decisions. But we need to make better decisions, and when it comes to does it fulfill the law of love, we need to keep the kind of love that it is. You don't have to love everybody the same kind of love except for this kind of love, and that's unconditional.

Chapter 3, turn over there. Starting with verse 1, it says, "Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, 'Stand up in front of everyone.' Then Jesus asked them, 'Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil? To save a life or to kill?' But they remained silent. He looked around them in anger and deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored."

Now do you know what legalism is? There are a lot of churches that have replaced God's word with their bylaws and traditions. When I was growing up in my home church, if you didn't wear a tie, you weren't allowed to serve communion. Now is that scriptural? No, but you had to live with it because that was their rule.

So if somebody showed up without a tie, too bad, you can't serve communion in this church. There were rules like that in all churches around America, and what we've done is we've forgotten that God's law supersedes any kind of law that we come up with. And that's what Jesus was trying to teach these guys.

Listen, I know you're used to your traditions. Working on the Sabbath was supposed to be a no-no, and so was Jesus working on the Sabbath? No, Jesus was healing on the Sabbath. And what is worse? Following your legalistic ways or listening to Jesus and healing a man who was needing to be restored?

So we have to be careful that when we talk to people that we don't put them in a situation where we judge them based on who they are, based on where they're from, based on their status, economic status, or whatever their past experiences. That's not our job. Our job is to love people unconditionally.

And if the decision you're about to make is going to hurt somebody because you can't love them, then what does that mean? It means we're not making the right decision. So we need to test ourselves, keep ourselves pure in that way. These men in the temple had an opportunity to do good, but by their silence showed us more important to follow tradition.

What I also see is that Jesus coming to this world gives us a chance to live our lives to the fullest. Earlier in John 10:10, we talked about how the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The rest of that verse Jesus says, "But I come to give life and to give it to the full." In some translations, it says to give it more abundantly.

So, and I believe when we ask ourselves before we're making that decision, does it fulfill the law of love? We are also asking, does my decision result in an abundant life in Christ, or am I just trying to satisfy my life? There's a difference between living abundantly and living satisfyingly.

We don't need to live lives that are just satisfying. We need to live our lives more abundantly. The word Jesus uses for abundantly literally means beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation, going past the expected limit, so that in this life, Jesus offers us. He offers the super abundant life, the life that is filled with more than. Not just enough, not just enough. Not just to get by, but more than. That's what Jesus provides for us in this life.

So, if we say we can't love somebody because of their political view, or we can't love somebody because of where they're from, which state, or which part of the town they're from, then we're not fulfilling the law of love. We're fulfilling our own satisfying selves, because that's not Jesus.

What Jesus does is he gave us the opportunity, and he gave us a life more abundantly, not for ourselves, but to share. And I believe we can do that. We can make better decisions. So, that's the kind of love that Jesus showed. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to do more than all that we ask or think, but you cannot expect to be fulfilled in this life if you are living outside of God's law.

And one of the most important ingredients of God's law is love, unconditional love. So, there you have it. When you are making decisions, you need to ask, first of all, does it square with God's word? Does what I'm about to do match up with God's word? And then also, does it fulfill the law of love?

And then the third question that we need to ask ourselves that will help us be wiser: does it line up with God's call on my life? Now, I will say this. Everybody that you talk to, or a lot of people that I talk to, they say, "I don't feel like God's calling me to do anything." And I question that, honestly, because if you read God's word, there's not a single person in this room that hasn't been called to do at least one thing, and that is to fulfill the Great Commission, to make disciples.

We've all been called to do that. So, I don't care if you didn't, I didn't hear a voice out of the wilderness. I didn't see Jesus' face in a Cinnabon out in the restaurant. All those things don't need to happen for you to think you've got a calling in Jesus' life, or in the life for Jesus, in your life. What you need to do is understand that God's word has already told us what to do.

Now, if you decide to take on ministry as a continuance of God's calling, then amen. That's what we need to do. Matthew 27:39 says, "Those who pass by him," this is Jesus hanging on the cross, "Those who pass by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself. Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God.'"

Now, Jesus is hanging on the cross, and all those who doubted him, all those who doubted his claim to be the Son of God, think that this is a great opportunity to test him, or just outright mock him, because it seems that all of Jesus' words now will return void. But Jesus would not be moved, not figuratively, not physically, from that cross. Why? Because Jesus knew his purpose, and he knew it was within God's plan to endure the cross.

And when you know what you are doing is a calling from God, it makes the decisions you make in this life a whole lot easier. There's no question. Jesus said in John 8:28, "When you lift the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me."

So, when you make decisions in this life, your result is based on not just your emotion, not just what you think that people want you to do, but because what you're about to do was taught to you directly by God. When we say we don't know what to do, that's a lie. I don't care what the subject is. Whatever the subject is, if we say we don't know what to do, it's a lie.

We're being spiritually lazy, but we're being spiritually lazy. By not finding out what God's word says, and most of the time, we know what God's word says, but what we do is we want to change the Bible to fit my lifestyle. That doesn't work, my friends. Jesus is the same. He's not going to change, and we are the ones that need to change.

In case you're wondering, we have all been called by God. As followers of Christ, we've been called to fulfill the Great Commission. Make disciples through teachings of Christ. If you have that additional call in ministry, which I hope you do, either way, we are accountable to God with a calling. Everybody is.

There are only a few verses that show us that Jesus knew what he was on this earth for. All of his decisions were based on his life choices, based on what he knew his calling was on this earth. Now, we talk about it. He knew at Christmas time that he was born to die, which is a 100% fact. Then at Easter time, we talk about he died and then he rose again. Another fact. But do you believe those things?

You see, when I think about what Jesus did on that cross, it affects me. It affects my decision making. Some of us have family that need the Lord. We have family that need the Lord. We have family that need the Lord. We have family that need the Lord. We have friends that need to hear about Jesus, but we hesitate to tell them.

I've got family that literally hates us because of the way I vote. To me, that is the saddest thing you can tell somebody. Because my life, let me tell you this, my life is not centered around politics. Because whoever sits in the White House, guess what? God is still on the throne.

And so my decisions aren't going to be based on who's sitting in the White House. My decisions are going to be based on who's sitting on the throne. And so should yours. And so when we look at the life of Jesus and the decisions that he made in this life, it was based around that calling. He knew what he came to this earth to do. And he knew what he had to do. And he knew that nobody was going to keep him from doing that.

Now, he had moments of weakness, if you want to call it that, where he pleaded to the Father, but it wasn't to take him from it. Remember, he was God in man form. He felt pain. But in these verses that we see where Jesus was making his decisions, there's a pretty good segment of society that wanted Jesus to be that overthrowing God. That overthrowing ruler of the government from Rome.

And then there was another part of the population that just wanted him to be a ruling king, make Jesus the king over everyone. But Jesus refused to let that happen. He refused. It had been easy for him to do it, but he refused because the choice would have interfered with what he knew he was called to do.

So what made this easy for Christ was that he was in sync with God. And when I think about how Jesus was in sync with God, it puts me in my place a little bit. Because I know that, man, if I was in sync with God the way Jesus was, man, what a difference we can make in this world. But here's the cool part. You can still be in sync with God.

We may not be perfect like Jesus, but we can still be in sync. John 5:19 says, "Therefore, Jesus answered." Again, Jesus is showing the example for us, that he doesn't do anything that doesn't reflect who the Father is. And that's exactly what we should do. None of our decisions, none of our actions based off our decisions should look like anything other than a reflection of who the Father is.

And that's something that we can do. What helps us staying synced is to do a better job of being that imitator of Christ. We, first of all, cannot take shortcuts when it comes to spiritual disciplines. What are spiritual disciplines? Well, I'll make this really easy for you. Whatever Christ did and how he did it, that's what you do. That's a spiritual discipline.

Now, again, you're going to tell me, well, he was perfect. Well, that's what we strive to be. Now, when I was a young boy, my favorite sport was baseball. I grew up in Atlanta, so my favorite athlete was Hank Aaron. Love Hank Aaron. I got to meet him, and I'm not going to say I had ... Yeah, I had a fan crush. I was majorly crushing on the guy, because he was the guy I imitated when I wanted to be swinging.

Anything I did in baseball, I wanted to be Hank Aaron. I actually got to see him play and dated who I was. I was a fan of Hank Aaron. I was a fan of Hank Aaron. I was a fan of Hank Aaron. I don't know how old I was. Thank you. But I got to see him play, and that was literally the joy of my life to watch him play.

But guess what? When I went and played baseball, did I hit like Hank Aaron? I thought I did. I thought I did, but the coaches didn't. But no, I didn't hit like him. I didn't field like him. I didn't do anything like Hank Aaron, except for maybe have his number. But that was it. But I did my best to imitate him, and by imitating him, I tried to up my game, so to speak.

And you know what? If you want to up your spiritual game, what do you need to do? You need to mimic and do what Jesus did. We need to do our best to imitate him and try to be more like him, but not just on Sunday. I have to put the work in every day, praying, reading God's Word, discipling, etc. We cannot expect to experience Christ's power.

So how can we be imitators of Christ if we don't actually imitate what Christ has done? We don't watch a great pianist and then simply are able to play the piano. We don't watch an athlete like a pole vaulter go as high as 18 feet over a big pole and think, well, I can do that too. We don't watch a painting artist create a masterpiece and then suddenly we think we can do a masterpiece as well. It's not that simple. It takes work.

If we want to live the life of Christ, we must live his overall way of life as our way of life daily. We learn from Christ how to live our lives, to invest all of our time, energy, heart, spirit, and mind as Jesus did. We must learn how to follow his preparations. What did Jesus do when he prepared himself for all these things? Did Jesus know there was going to be heartache? Do you know there's going to be heartache in your life? Is everything going to be sunshine and roses? No, but if you're prepared properly for it, the way Jesus was prepared for the hardships in his life, you're going to get through it okay.

Because you've got God on your side, number one, and you've got each other. The disciplines for life in God enable us to receive his Father's constant and effective support. When you're under God's will, you don't even know you're getting it, but you are.

Maybe what is causing our hesitation is trust. Maybe you're so used to doing it your way that you have forgotten that it's supposed to be doing it God's way. Do you truly trust Jesus in all your decisions?

Now, a good example was there were these people watching a tightrope walker walk on a rope. He was 50 feet high and up in the air. There was no net beneath him. If he fell, it'd be really, really nasty. The wind was blowing, yet he made it every time across that rope, every time, 50 feet up in the air. He walked by himself. He rode a unicycle across it. He walked across with an assistant on his shoulders. He even walked across with an assistant on his shoulders while riding the unicycle. Made it every time.

Finally, he came down to where the people were standing, and marveling at his amazing feats, they were awestruck. So he looked at the people, and he asked if there were any volunteers to go up with him. And he said, "Any of you guys want to get on my back and let me walk across, especially with no net?" Well, nobody said yes. Obviously.

So he asked them, "Did you see me walk all across that with my assistant?" They said, "Yeah." He said, "Did you see me go across with my assistant on the unicycle?" Sure. "Do you believe I can do it?" Yeah. They all in unison said, "Yeah, we believe you can do it."

So he asked them the critical question, "Do you trust I can walk across with you on my back?" And they all in unison said, "No." When you make any decision, there has to be an element of trust. We know we can depend on Jesus. He's proven it over and over again. He has proven it through his death on a cross, and now what I consider to be the biggest decision in life, it's time to decide to put that trust into practice by having the remainder of your decisions you make in this life covered with an eternal perspective.

When you have to make a decision, will you do your best to make sure that it is squared with the word of God? Well, we can all do a better job of that. How about, can we make sure that it fulfills the law of love? Simple enough. And obviously the last one, which is the hardest one, is we have to make sure the decision we're about to make, does it line up with the calling on my life from God?

It does seem like a hard task, but you can do it. And finally, you may be sitting here today struggling with the biggest decision that you will ever make, and that is the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. There's no need to wait. You can trust Jesus with your life.

I can remember when I gave my life to the Lord as a young man, not understanding the impact, really, of what I did until much later. I like to tell people sometimes that I really didn't start following the Lord until I got into Bible college. Which is a lot, because I confessed to be a follower of Christ many years before that.

And the reason why I say that is because I decided a long time ago to follow Jesus, but I didn't actually start to do it until I was in college. We can't be that way. When we decide to do something, we need to let our yes be yes and our no be no, and do what we say.

So, what is God calling you to do? Who is God calling you to be? What do you need to change to be that person? And will you make that decision which changes your life forever?

Father God, we thank you for the opportunity that we have this morning to just open our hearts to you. We know you're here. Father, I pray that we do a better job of making decisions, understanding the source of our decision-making. And I pray, God, that as we leave this place today, that from now on, we do a better job of keeping our decisions with an eternal perspective.

I know that some people may be struggling here with their faith, and that's okay. Your strength is more than enough to help sustain us in our weakness. It's your strength that makes us strong. And I just pray, God, if somebody here needs to make a decision, today will be that day. In Jesus' name, amen.

If you're here today and you want just somebody to pray with you, we're here for you. If you have some needs, again, we're here for you. If you are first time here and you don't have a church home, we've got plenty of room, plenty of room for you. There's a lot of things going on, and so we want you to be a part of it as God's family, not just the Lakeshore family, as part of God's family.

Let's stand and let's sing our closing song.

There's no reason to wait. Come today.

There's no reason to wait. Come today.

There's no reason to wait. Come today.

There's no reason to wait. Come today.

There's no reason to wait. Come today.

There's no reason to wait. Come today.

Yes, we're going to pray for Wendy. Father God, again, we just ask you to lift Wendy up. Father, just heal her body, and whatever happens, Lord, we just pray for complete healing. Be it with the doctors, be it with the decisions they make, and Lord, we just pray for Wendy and her recovery. We pray in Jesus' name for that healing. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Thank you, guys.

All right, right now, James, come on forward.

Oh, thank you, Father. Amen. Amen.

Hopefully you'll come back. Again, we're going to be celebrating our 50th anniversary coming up on November 16th and 17th. You guys got to come on the 16th first. It's going to be a great night of worship and remembrance.

We're going to be doing songs. I don't know if Randy said this yet, but we're going to be doing songs from the 70s, worship songs from the 70s when the church first started all the way up to modern day. So it's going to be pretty cool. You get to hear some old songs leading up to some modern songs from worship. So that'll be fun.

And then on the 17th, we'll have a regular service, but we will also have a time of honoring some of our original members that are still here. And then also, if you're able to come and attend the Fall Festival on November 9th, it'll be just a time of games, fun, and cool stuff like that. Just come hang out.

This is a really cool one, the YFC Christmas tree out in our lobby. How this works is you grab an ornament, you purchase whatever is on the ornament, and then you put it on the tree. Then you bring that gift back to the church with your tag connected to it, and then that will go to that person that you got the ornament for. Did you understand? It's real easy.

So just grab an ornament. Last year, you guys did awesome. You totally obliterated that tree. It looked like a tornado went through, which is what we want. We want it to be totally empty. So everybody go out there and get an ornament. It really does benefit a lot of people who are in need.

And don't forget, as part of our worship, if you were able to give, we have different ways. We have different ways that you can do that. There's boxes in the back if you want to give the old-fashioned way with a check or whatever. You can do it online or however you want to do it.

We'll continue. But thank you for being here. Let's be standing.

And we will close with a word of prayer. And we will see you guys soon.

Father God, again, we thank you for the time we've spent today. We appreciate you being here amongst us. I pray, Father, for all those that we are keeping in prayer that are having a hard time. That are having physical needs. Father, we know there are people here with spiritual needs. We just continue to pray that we do a better job in our decision-making, but knowing that we can do it and that we can make a difference in this world for the kingdom. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

1. "The decisions we're talking about are decisions that we make on a daily basis. And are these decisions that we're making on a daily basis? Do they have any kind of eternal perspective? And it seems that even we in the church have a problem with making decisions keeping that eternal perspective in mind." [00:24:01] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "For some reason, we have decided to not take action. We do the same thing in our faith. We know what we should do. We know that we should share our faith with our neighbor. We know that we should read our Bibles more. We know that we should pray a whole lot. And we know that we can do a better job fulfilling the Great Commission. Which is to go and make disciples." [00:25:58] (19 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "Everything that we decide should have an eternal perspective. Just what I'm about to do. Have an impact on not just my eternity. But on the eternity of those who I am around. Now think about that. It can seem pretty heavy. It sometimes seems that Christians forget who they are and whose they are." [00:26:35] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "How we make decisions will determine the course and direction of our lives. And how you make decisions will determine whether or not you're living inside or outside God's will. To help us with our decision making and to help keep these decisions within an eternal perspective, we're going to go straight to the only source that I believe will help us. And that is through the example of Jesus Christ." [00:31:57] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "Most of those bad decisions that we make in this life can be avoided by just simply heeding God's Word. Does that seem like too simple? It does. Well that's a really simple answer, Mike. It is. It's a very simple process. Listen to God. Listen to what He says and then what? Then do it, exactly." [00:36:40] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "What Jesus does is he gave us the opportunity, and he gave us a life more abundantly, not for ourselves, but to share. And I believe we can do that. We can make better decisions. So, that's the kind of love that Jesus showed. Ephesians 3 .20 tells us that God is able to do more than all that we ask or think, but you cannot expect to be fulfilled in this life if you are living outside of God's law." [00:43:18] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "When you make decisions in this life, your result is based on not just your emotion, not just what you think that people want you to do, but because what you're about to do was taught to you directly by God. When we say we don't know what to do, that's a lie. I don't care what the subject is." [00:46:28] (19 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "In case you're wondering, we have all been called by God. As followers of Christ, we've been called to fulfill the great commission. Make disciples through teachings of Christ. If you have that additional call in ministry, which I hope you do, either way, we are accountable to God with a calling. Everybody is." [00:47:18] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "We learn from Christ how to live our lives, to invest all of our time, energy, heart, spirit, and mind as Jesus did. We must learn how to follow his preparations. What did Jesus do when he prepared himself for all these things? Did Jesus know there was going to be heartache? Do you know there's going to be heartache in your life?" [00:54:21] (16 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "Maybe you're so used to doing it your way that you have forgotten that it's supposed to be doing it God's way. Do you truly trust Jesus in all your decisions? Now, a good example was there were these people watching a tightrope walker walk on a rope. He was 50 feet high and up in the air." [00:55:11] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)