Decisions
1 Kings 2:12-46 – King’s Solomon’s Decision Making – MP3 / YouTube
Making good firm and decisive decisions is an important part of Christian living. By examining the decision making of King Solomon early in his reign, we discover that we need to be decisive when a decision is right and appropriate based on the word of God. When our decisions are based on the promises of God, based on the predictions of God or based on the principles in the word of God, then that is when we know that we have the mind and will of God in our decisions. The course, direction and nature of our lives will be determined by the decisions that we make. If we have a decision to make, let us ask God for grace to do it His way and decide for Him. Other passages mentioned include: 1 Kings 1:1-2:11; 1 Samuel 2:31-36; Exodus 21:14; Numbers 35:33; 2 Samuel 16:5-13; 2 Samuel 19:16-23; Proverbs 25:5.
1 Kings 22:1-30 – Getting God to Agree with Us (September 24, 2000) – MP3 / YouTube
Have we ever made a decision first and then looked for support for that decision from the Bible or gone to a spiritual counselor hoping to hear confirmation of that decision? We see from the last major story of the life of Ahab, that this is a dangerous procedure to follow. When we make up our minds to do something without being open to the word of God, we are setting ourselves up for deception and disaster. All of us, at all times and about all decisions must be open to the word of God and to correction from the word of God. Other passages: Job 1-2.
2 Kings 9:1-13 – Who Made Your Match? (March 30, 2003) – MP3 / YouTube
Over and over in the northern kingdom of Israel, men have seized the kingship, but now God is going to match the kingship with the man that God has chosen. God wants to match each believer in Jesus Christ with the kind of work that He wants that believer to do. Does God lead us by our feelings? Never once, does the Bible tell us that God leads us by our feelings. The Bible teaches us that God guides us through His word. We do not get to choose our spiritual gift or our ministry for God. Instead, God matches us to our ministry through the wisdom that we can glean from His word. Who made your match? Did you match yourself with whatever you are trying to do for God or did you let God through His word match you to the kind of work that He has for you to do? Other passages mentioned: Ephesians 2:10; 2 Timothy 3:16.
1 Corinthians 10:25-29; 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – Decision Making and Guidance from God (1972-1975) – MP3 / YouTube
Is there any support in the Bible for the concept that we will receive some sort of divine mystical guidance from God before we make a significant spiritual decision? Is a vague feeling of inner peace, the same as divine guidance? Do the Scriptures encourage us to take a combination of circumstances which may be ambiguous in themselves and translate it into guidance for our lives? Where should we find guidance for our lives today? Do we recognize that the Word of God within the guidelines laid down to us, give us tremendous areas of freedom within which the decision-making process is our own? If there is something you need to learn, the Bible can teach you, because it is profitable for doctrine. If there is something in which you need to be rebuked, the Bible can rebuke you, because it is profitable for reproof. If there is something in which you need to be straightened out, the Bible can straighten you out, because it is profitable for correction. If there is training that you need, the Bible can train you, because it is profitable for instruction in righteousness, that you might be the complete man of God that God wants you to be. The Bible is enough for you and your conscience. Other passages: 1 Corinthians 10:25-29; Colossians 3:15; Acts 8:26-29; Acts 10:1-6; Acts 16:6-9; Judges 6:14, 36-40; Luke 15:13; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; 7:39; 2 Timothy 4:13.