The
carriage was being driven along the road. The mother sat on the front seat and
the maid, caring for the spoiled baby, on the back seat. The child began
screaming for something. The mother impatiently said, "Why don't you let
him have what he wants?" The nurse let him have it. What he was crying
for was a wasp on the window. Then he screamed vociferously when he felt the
terrible sting of the wasp. The mother then called out to ask, "What is
the matter with him now?" The maid quietly replied, "He got what he
wanted." How often have we seen this! It is better to seek the will of
God first.
--William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustration
Each and every day we face decisions that may seem of
minimal importance, but are they? Decisions,
Decisions what will we do? How do
you know what to do? How can we
know where to go? How can we
decide where to go, what to say, and what to be? Today’s popular show “Who wants to be a millionaire”
shows the importance of the decisions that we make.
One decision could be the difference of thousands of dollars on the
show, but in the real world one decision could be the difference between
thousands of years in heaven or hell. The
decisions that we make daily affect us and all those around.
So, then let’s consider the importance of the decisions that we make.
How can we say for certain that this is our final answer? Today we
stand at the crossroads. Are
you ready? Will you make the
right decision? How can you?
Scripture Text:
Gen. 13:1 (KJS) And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and
all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. 2 And Abram [was] very
rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journeys from
the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the
beginning, between Bethel and Hai; 4 Unto the place of the altar, which he
had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell
together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell
together. 7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and
the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled
then in the land. 8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray
thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we
[be] brethren. 9 [Is] not the
whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if [thou
wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if [thou depart]
to the right hand, then I will go to the left. 10 And Lot lifted up his
eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it [was] well watered every
where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [even] as the garden of
the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 11 Then Lot
chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they
separated themselves the one from the other. 12 Abram dwelled in the land of
Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched [his] tent
toward Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom [were] wicked and sinners before the
LORD exceedingly.
1.
Lot’s choice
a.
He chose the easy way. (Is it always the best to take?)
b.
He chose his way not God’s way.
(He may have began with good intentions, but…)
c.
He chose the way toward the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
(One bad decision led to another.)
d.
He didn’t consider how it affected others.
e.
He forgot where he was going to be?
When you get where you’re going will you like it?
A farmer near London wrote to the Scripture Gift Mission
enclosing a five-shilling ($1.25) offering. In his letter he requested prayer
that no bombs should drop on his small farm. His harvest had not been good,
and his farm was very dry, with no water, and he had to buy water. The
secretary of the Mission wrote back and said he could not ask that, but
instead would pray that God's will might be done.
Soon afterwards Hitler's biggest bomb came down on this man's farm. It
broke all his windows, but no one was hurt. It was so big that it went down
very deep and unearthed a spring. The spring not only watered his farm well,
but it enabled him to let others have water too. Last year, therefore, he had
a very good harvest, and he sent a fifty-pound check as a thanksgiving
offering. The Lord had done "exceeding abundantly above all" he
asked or thought. How good and how wise is our God in all His ways!
---William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations.
2.
Our Decision:
a.
Do you want to go God’s way?
One
day we will give our final answer. Lot’s
decision nearly destroyed his whole family.
He lost all that he had except his two daughters.
No one is an island. The
decisions we make as we stand at the cross roads will effect you and yours
through out eternity. Today you
can decide to go in a new direction. Go
with the Lord and you will never go wrong.
A cold day in south Alabama found a group of older men sitting around a
pot-bellied stove in a country store. One
of the men, having experienced a great deal of physical difficulty in recent
months, said: "I don't really know why the good Lord leaves me here.
I'm almost deaf and I can't half see.
And my mind and my body seem to be decaying as well."
One of his friends answered, "Well, Sam, I guess the Lord has
something else for you to do in this world."
Sam thought about it few moments and then replied, "Well, I'm not
going to do it!" --- Bible
Book Study for Adults, 5 May, 1996, p. 39
b.
How can you know which is
the best answer or should we say the final answer?
1.
Search the word of God. God’s will never contradicts his will.
2.
Pray and listen to God’s voice.
We often pray, but seldom listen.
3.
Pay attention to the advice of others who have been there.
4.
Let God direct you through the circumstances.
God finally got Lot’s attention when He destroyed the wicked cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
3.
Is that your final answer? What
decision will you make today? Decide
to go with the Lord and you will never go wrong.
Come to decide with the Lord who gave his life for you.