Leaving a Legacy that Lasts Forever - Teach Them to Make Wise Choices, Part 1

Are you facing a big decision made a big decision about money maybe about work or career.

The more portly maybe a very big decision about a relationship, how do you wise choices that's today welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with teacher Frederick in the mission of these programs is to intentionally disciple first Bible teaching of tripping, thanks for joining us as we pick up where we left off in our series leaving a legacy that lasts forever. Just a manageable talk about the subject of choices. Which reminds me of the game of life, drive a car across the board, spouse, kids, houses and accolades. The goal is to reach millionaire estates with most money. Sadly, many approach real life choice.

St. Carol's will motivated attitude in this program she will highlight what should drive our decision-making and how we honor God with our choices is a lot more to share on this topic so stick around after the teaching to hear his application. Let's listen now to his message. Teach them to make wise choices. We make our choices and then our choices make us some of our good choices have resulted in a happy marriage a great job and deep personal satisfaction. Some of our poor choices have resulted in destroying a marriage losing a job and suffering. Shame and reproach. Few things will determine the quality and the fulfillment of your life more than the choices you make for better or for worse. I've heard someone say that when it you boil it all down. You will probably make 1/2 a dozen very major important choices about God, about future about relationships and about how to deal with some difficult things in your life that will determine all of your life. You just basically play out the rest affect money to give you some time with yourself.

I like you to think as fast as you can about the two best choices you've ever made to choices that you say some of the richest deepest blessing when I look at my life from where I am now backwards I think about.

I made a couple choices. These were good choices and some of you think back to a window of time and you chose to make a decision. It was kinda counterculture and you ended up in a world and in the job that you are made for new look back I can't believe I got to do that right so just I just want you to mentally think about what or maybe the top two or three choices you've made but and some of you just need to remember you have made some good choices can now I want to go to the other side just what's one choice that you made that if you could take this one back to back one choice you made in the past that you just thought oh my mean that was dumb back that was worse than done. That was biblically unwise. In fact, that that choice cost me a lot and could be a choice to cost you a lot of money. It could be a choice to cost your relationship could be a choice that in a just a quick moment of time, and it was like it's you know it promised a lot of pleasure, but it really delivered a lot of pain. Can you think of any. Now here's here's what I want you to get your emotions around that instead of just your head and your heart in like manner, there are few gifts that you will give to those that are coming behind you. Okay this whole series is about passing on the things that matter most and when you think about that person you're wanting to help grow spiritually or that child of yours or that grandchild or someone in church or someone is looking to you and you want to pass on what matters most.

Few things could be a greater gift than you giving them the skill and the ability to make wise choices. In fact, I got on the limb and say to give people wealth without wisdom is to sense and sentenced them to a life of folly and failure in the future. And yet I'm in the research is in almost all followers of Christ have spent much more time thinking very carefully about how to transfer their wealth to their kids and grandkids than they have their wisdom and so you know it's not too late, but I mean if it is if you take time to make an estate plan and to make a will to think about how important is to give them your stuff what you want to do is translate your soul. What are your values teach them how to make great great decisions great decisions about God. Great decisions about relationships great decisions about money great decisions about how to respond to adversity great decisions about how to resolve conflict make wise wise decisions about opportunities.

It seemed too good to be true because they are wise wise decisions about how to discover who God made them to be wise decisions about if their parents how to parent well wise decisions about how to take care of their body unit. One of the greatest gifts you could ever impart to those you care about the most is the skill and the knowledge and the ability to make excellent wise decisions and so our transferable concept is teach them to make wise choices and what I like to do now is say I believe there's a place to start. And if I was going to just open the Bible in the middle here and open the Proverbs like it did let me read one verse sort of as a launching point. It's not in your notes. Here's the wisest man in the world, past, present, future, and he says verse seven, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.

The fear of the Lord in the fear of the Lord is reverential awe for sure the fear of the Lord is a emotional he is awesome and powerful and all-knowing and pure. You are actually afraid you're afraid not to do. Life is why the fear of the Lord both positively and negatively part out of admiration, in part, out of just actual fear is to say to God, I want to do life your way because you have designed it in a way for my good and by the way, your God, whether it's for my good or not you are God and you created me and you say these things and I am afraid to do anything other than what the one who created me and deserves to have rightfully anything he wants.

He can have. He made me and so the fear of the Lord and what I would like to suggest is over will learn to make wise decisions. We need to walk through a theology of holiness and I you know summarize that input all the verses. They're both going to summarize the theology of holiness.

Now when you hear this word, please do not go to black robes lit candles prune face people chanting in the dark, or people who don't wear makeup ever or don't play cards okay yeah I'm not talk about external holiness, right next to the senior notes.

A theology of holiness put it – and write the word wholeness W HO LE and ESS. The root word of holiness comes from wholeness. It comes from health.

The prerequisite for the universe that up perfect holy God has made is for it to be whole and to be healthy. It must be holy and the fall is like cancer and is like eating away at the environment at the world at the structure that God created and so his holiness is his standard that provides health when we live a holy life we follow God's holiness in not only is what he expects because of who he is but it's also his way of helping us get health in our relationships with him and with others and what makes us whole and complete and you know they didn't know all the scientific stuff that we know and when he gave multiple commands and it looked like just ceremonial holiness, and they did know about bacteria in the washing their hands all the time they'd know that the platelets clot. What is the when you circumcise a child perdue did a study that you note the platelets clot.

The most on that very day. But all these standards in all these laws that God gave his people to be this holy nation were for their health and for their good and so they would reflect him. So what does it mean what his holiness was walk through it.

First, God is high and holy, and the idea of holy means he's totally other. He's not a a bigger better category.

He's completely different.

We are creation and he is create tour when we look at this. Our little Milky Way with a couple billion stars and then try to imagine behind it. Maybe 200 billion other galaxies we are speaking of one who spoke a word and it came to existence. He is a God that when people ever get even near his presence.

They fall on their face.

He's a God whose unapproachable light.

He is absolute purity absolute holiness. He's the source of all life, and so his other, he's not. You know the old man with the beard who you know nods it his children and is not a divine Santa Claus or is not a cosmic vending machine. He is holy God is absolute truth John 14 six Jesus came he said I'm the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except by me. God's truth of God's word defines absolute truth might jot John 1717 the last prayer of Jesus sanctify them by your truth.

Your word is truth and sanctify that's our same root word for hole is set them apart is the idea something special.

Not something regular theology of holiness includes God's law or morals is for our protection. When God lays out these commands.

These guardrails this this is not from a prudish God that is against sex or someone that has all these rules to frustrate us in anything that we like to do here he comes up with the commands I don't do that. Therefore, protection.

Therefore, boundaries. I imagine if you will K this is little word picture for me. Sometimes these things are abstract, I have this picture in the struggle with all of this a lot and I got in Grubbs, a Christian, I never, the Bible, grown up in and all I knew was when even as a young Christian. If I like to do it I could find a command that said not supposed to, and I thought I spent probably the first five years my Christian life with. I'm on the siding God's on the side and there's this big fence and an all the time he was telling Ingram to the candidate that can do that. I thought it was against me and I had a worldview of God. And when I came to understand is actually he's on the same side with me in this, Spencer. This barrier of some laws that he gives me are that he's all wise and all-knowing and loving. He cares about me and you begin to see those as guardrails and so here's the word picture that I came up to that really help me want to obey is imagine if you will.

This little chalet at the top of the mountain and there's this wine, the wind, the wind, the road to get up to. But when you get up to it.

I mean the refrigerator is stock.

There's a workout room. The view, the view is absolutely glorious all your closest friends are there and I can stay forever and ever and ever. I mean it is life at its very best and that's the trail.

This quote abundant life that God has for us, but you need to go on this trail and it's wind the and it's dangerous and so all along the trail.

You know you get near the edge and is like a thousand foot drop off so he put these guardrails and the guardrails are his laws and his decrees so that we bump into him you realize 00 don't do that or you could go over the edge.

But if you stay inside as guardrails of his moral decrees and laws he want you to get to that chalet he wants to enjoy you he wants you to have the very best he cares about you.

You, the object is of affection.

So there. Therefore, you and so I mean, especially those college years and those postcollege years. I mean, I didn't grow up as a Christian and I learned for 18 years. How to relate to girls and I become a Christian.

Right before I leave for college and there's four girls for every guy I meet ugly guys were getting good girls were. I went to school I mean you have to try your girlfriend and you know this is the early 70s. I mean everybody sleeping with everybody and remember you coed dorm thing was starting to come in and I walked out of the bathroom to girls when will you not only does this is wild and and now I get this new Bible and God telling me know you need to be sexually pure and unthinking boy you must be very powerfully thing that can happen and I made a commitment to be but it was always like you know God on this amount got on this and out and then I've done a lot of research in this area and I've learned you know the most sexually fulfilled people in all the planet are highly religious monogamous leak married people that have no other partners that believe in God and he created marriage and they have 31% how they measure this. Don't ask me, but they have 31% better sectional rest. People I dare not ask how that happens in those people who live together prior to marriage have a 50% higher divorce rate. They have about a 75% more likelihood of adultery. Sexually transmitted diseases can lie dormant for over 10 years before they pop up to let you know that what you did on a fling back then can come back and visit you. Or you can pass it on to your partner other people now.

God knows all that, and so when God says the marriage bed is holy when he says don't have sex outside of marriage, I mean I even get to the spiritual implications. I didn't get to any of the issues. Emotionally, I did get to the baggage in the back of your mind when you're making love with your wife and the pictures of the past can come up or vice versa is all I'm saying is when God says things like, don't have sex before marriage. This is in a prudish God that doesn't understand we have hormones.

This is an all wise, all loving God going you want that second rate stuff with all the baggage emotionally, physically, right. I got chalet sex for you. Okay I want you to be completely committed without guilt free of shame. You'll still have your struggles but you know what when he has a command about money yada give here save here do with this.

What same reasoning we has a command about telling the truth and speaking the truth in love, rather than gossiping. It's as if every one of his moral commands because he's holy is for your health and when you can ever get your arms around his commands are for my good. That's why read Psalm 119. David, despite his struggles and his failures.

His commands are my delight I rise in the middle the night. I like someone you know, waiting for the Don. I love his word.

Why is he got it they were prohibitions. They were the passive lady with the guardrails to get the highest and the best that's what holiness is about.

It's about wholeness and it's about health and reflects God's character God's ultimate aim is to make us holy and we quote Romans 828 quickly when life's bad right we know that God works all things together for the good. You know the car reckon you know the down economy, in the struggle with one of our kids and the tension in our marriage and circumstances. He works at all for the good we quote 28 verse 29 is the purpose behind how he takes every situation, every person, every circumstance, every difficulty you'll ever face and what verse 29 says that in order that he might conform us to the image of his son. The game plan is to make you like Jesus. That's what holiness really is Christ likeness in Ephesians chapter 4 we get the picture of what the church is all about. And in verse 11 through 13 were told why God gives leaders in the church. He gave some of the possible sums profit, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, why, for the equipping the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ and then why is the body of Christ supposed to be built up until we all attain to the unity of the faith of faith of the standard of the measure of the fullness of Christ.

Maturity Paul said my goal in life is to present every man perfect it's it's the same were telling us work, mature deal with that is that's called being holy that's called being Christlike. That's his aim for you now. A byproduct is as you walk that way you have great joy.

But happiness has to do with circumstance. Joy is the byproduct of relationships and you know what your happiness can go up with the stock market and can go down the stock market up with your in love down with your heart broken God's aim is to make us holy and reflective son. It's a winsome, pure, not weird religious out there.

You people are where you come in from holiness. It is a holiness that is loving and winsome and pure and approachable and Christlike when you're holy like Jesus and that's God's agenda.

The Old Testament roots are.

We get Exodus chapter 3 verses five and six Moses sees the Bush God says don't come any closer. Take off your sandals for the place we are standing as member holy ground when he said I am the God of your father the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. At this Moses hit his face because he was afraid to look at God. We've lost a generation of people that are afraid to look at God were casual with God. We think God's going to wink at stuff got a lot of friends and churches all around the country and as we kind of compare notes. I will tell you the average single person in the average evangelical church and I'm going to throw a statistics out is probably higher than this, but the average single person in evangelical churches is sleeping around about 80%, and people just look you in the eye and say well you know I don't think I will expect setting running like 8/10 commandment is pretty good, like a nut like an 80 on a test and when we it's we we have really lost the sense of the awesome holiness and purity of God. Here we have a situation Moses, God says take off your why nothing artificial man wherever I am.

It is holy, you find John meets Jesus right. Revelation chapter 1 families on his face. Joshua meets the angel of the Lord and we we've lost the sense of God's transcendence.

He is not our buddy. He is approachable.

He's imminent he's loving he's kind unapproachable light in purity and holiness. Isaiah caught in Isaiah chapter 6 listen to the verse in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. What was he like high and exalted in the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were Sarah please special Angels, each with six wings two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, with two they were flying and they were calling out to one another, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of his glory is the only time you ever find God addressed is three different things. In Hebrew, they don't have. I can remember which column in English like we say very good, or best or better. They don't have that in Hebrew the what what you make it a stronger statement is holy Rego, holy, holy, or if you want to make it holy, holy, holy. It's a majestic exponential.

It's and that's what the Angels are doing then and courting the book of Revelation. That's what they're doing now and is today, where they can keep doing it organ to get in on it, but that's who God is and these are perfect angelic beings that are of the higher ups I don't understand all cherubs and serifs and who knows how all that works, but I'll tell you what they are in the very presence of God night and day. Later we find out they have eyes all over them, and there's all this wisdom and their innocent and there pure and yet in the presence of God. They hide their face and they cover their feet and they declare who he is.

I will tell you, you get a glimpse of who God really is. He changes everything and we everyone throws around that you know it's not about us is not about us. It's not about us is not about being in control is not about making your little life work out for my little life work out in our plans work out what other people think when you see God for who he is. It just all that stuff goes away, and then at the sound of their voices. The text goes on the doorpost in the thresholds that shook the temple was filled with smoke and this is what happens when you see God afresh. Woe is me. I cried. I'm ruined.

This is a prophet.

This is the statesman of the day this is Amanda heard from God. This is a guy that his righteousness.

I'm sure compared to most of ours is is here were here, but he sees God I'm ruined from a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty and then we get this powerful picture of the seraph who flies with the coal takes it from the altar, touches his lips, and you have this process that I think needs to happen the old word for it is repentance and renewal. But is this process where we get into the Scriptures, and in community and in worship, where we again get a glimpse of who God really is, which leads to an accurate view of ourselves which leads to realignment of our agenda with his and that process is over and over and over in Scripture, and that has happened with us, and it's painful sitting quietly before God. Worshiping God for who he is versus just asking and telling and whining and complaining we can do all that we need to come before God and worship him for who he is and remember who he is and then ask him to buy his searching light prayed the prayer the David. Search me of God in my heart. Test me, examined me see if there's anything in me and you know what then sit quietly unless you're living on a different planet than I am. He'll show you stuff and for some of you that are very mature and walked the Lord far longer than me. It probably won't be you know outward external stuff to me that little self-righteous attitude to be that little judge mental you know thing of how you think about so and so it'll be about issues like motive when everyone looks to you, and yet what you know is you plan to the crowd just little bit too much. Your like in the praise of men just a little too much. You become a little bit of a people pleaser little too much. You've allowed your faith and how you live to be sort of a little badge and you know it's your human and you just need to get the fiery flame of the holiness of God to purge you and me, purge me and allow him to do that and then we we recognize with a new level. How unworthy we are. And guess what that does the work of Jesus then becomes very precious because you realize without him.

Your big trouble. So the cross takes on new meaning. The biblical profiles are Moses and Stephen like the Hebrews passage versus Moses chose to be mistreated for a time, then live in a pagan culture and enjoy the pleasures of Egypt. There's a price tag to be holy and Stephen you have this you know when they chose Stephen member acts chapter 6 choose from you men who are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom in the very first name is Stephen. He's a holy man he's filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom in a chapter 7 what we have we have Stephen making this defense. Next they bring these trumped up charges and as he's looking up God gives him a vision of Jesus.

Next to the throne, and you have courage when you're holy and you have boldness when you're holy and you know the word of God because he goes through the entire history of Israel when you're holy and then he gets to the end and you have a forgiving heart father forgive them.

Please don't take this into account. That's what a holy life looks like, not people who dress funny or put praise the Lord on the back of their cars or have big black Bibles. Holiness is a quality of life that is winsome and loving and word centered and deeply caring and morally pure.

The New Testament commandos first Peter 15 and 16. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in your notes. Were you circle the word all in all you do for it is written, be holy because I'm holy in all you do and what you watch and what you put into your mind and what comes out of your mouth and what goes into your mouth and what you say and what you think be holy in all that you do.

Holiness is not an option.

The Scripture says without holiness no one will see the Lord. Holiness is not external religious activity holiness as a condition of the heart, a purity of the mind that expresses itself in a righteous lifestyle and then noticed the great promise.

Blessed are the pure in heart is what they get. I see God and at the end of the day that's that's God's heart's desire and you'll never get greater reward to see God knowing for who that I'm not aware that transformation occurs first. John will tell us we don't know exactly what this is what when we see him will be like.

Let me ask what's going through your mind and your heart right now. I mean, the fact of the matter is, is that a lot of us don't have the big old sins that maybe we dealt with in years past, you know, the alcoholism, the poor and the addiction you know, maybe we've come through a divorce and we been walking with God. But let me ask you about the issues of the heart as I was reading through the Psalms and Proverbs here just in the last few days to read three different times. This is God ways the hard God knows and sees every aspect of my motives of my tongue of the little comment that I make the passing on of misinformation that the small little sarcastic remark that reveals something down deep inside and I'm not trying to get you.

Did you know figure out how terrible you are, but here's what I want you to do when is the last time you even as a good genuine and sincere follower of Jesus Christ. When was the last time you felt deeply convicted by the Spirit of God for one of those sins that we would all characterize as is just a minor thing you know I just I criticize so-and-so.

I just thought the bad thought I was just coming in my heart that mean I didn't actually do anything wrong. Here's what you need to understand God wants you to be pure. It's the pure in heart that see God might experience as I've read of past Christians in my own life and as I counsel with people is over time. We let all these tiny little sins.

If you will begin to build calluses on our heart. The Scripture says, in fact, Jesus had the pure in heart see God, we begin to not experience the power of God, and we gradually become religious and focus on externals unless we allow it a point in time God search my heart search my motives why am I doing what I'm doing in my pleasing people were pleasing you in my really using my gifts the way you want me to how much of my posturing, how much my just image casting to appear like um-hum more like him. A good Christian. Take a moment today and say, oh God, search my heart, Lord, if there's anything impure there show me I want to be as close to you as possible.

I know you love me. I know you reveal it to me. I know you, not down on me, but I want to come clean to the very depths of my being, because you promise draw near to God.

Draw near to you as a father, I want to do that today and my prayer is that you'll take some time. Right now he is and if you can't right now you know. Think about when today could you get 10 or 15 minutes to get totally alone, totally quiet and just pray search me oh God, I know my heart test me and see if there be any wicked way in me, in order that you might receive forgiveness and fresh grace from God loves you if you prayed with Chip. I hope you'll take a minute and call us at AAA 83336003. We love to talk with you and put a free resource in your hands that will help you understand what you just did and where to go from here or if you'd rather go to the new believers tab@livingontheedge.org tap special offers on the app will find that same resource we want to help you get started on your new journey of faith in Jesus before we close today's program.

I just want you to know that there are literally hundreds of people who prayed to receive Christ.

Today they open their hearts they confess their sins they asked Christ to be their Savior and and I know that because you know we have done this for quite a few years and when ever we share the gospel very clearly because the powers in the gospel that the powers and the message, not the messenger and what we know is that there's about a million people listening this week and so literally hundreds of people have made an eternal decision that is taken them from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and in the wake God's economy works as were partners mean we create the resources and there's people you don't see that you know there's a call center and and there is the production of this program and then it goes up on satellites and then it goes out and is beamed around American places around the world and and then there's people receive the calls and then there's things that get sent out and then there's paying for the airtime and all I'm saying is it's an amazing complex step of teams that require energy and money and resources that we all do our part and when that eternal transaction occurs, there is both blessing and reward for all of us as I want to say thank you is not about just supporting a ministry in airtime and staff.

It's about creating a team that works together that has eternal consequences. When you give your part of that and I thank you. Thanks Chip thank you for your faithful financial support. Your gifts are making a difference, both here and around the world to send a gift to Living on the Edge. Visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org or give us a call a triple late.

333-6003. Thank you so much for your partnership with us before we go. Let me remind you of an easy way to listen to our extended teaching podcast your trip any time on Amazon's Alexa echo and echo.just say Alexa open Living on the Edge and you'll hear that these extended teaching anytime you want go for Chip and everyone here, this is Dave Drewry saying thanks for joining us for this Edition of Living on the Edge