​​“YOUR FUTURE IS DETERMINED TODAY”
or
​“THE AWESOME POWER OF CHOICE”

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TEXT:  Josh.24:15  

THESIS:  To show that decisions made today will determine what happens in your life tomorrow.
 
INTRO: 
      A.  Oh, “THE AWESOME POWER OF CHOICE!”    God did not make us pre-programmed robots without the power to choose.  We have the ability to make vital choices and exercise our intellect and will based on alternative possibilities.  The choices we make will affect us in both small and large ways, both relating to time and to eternity.  The decisions we make today will determine what will happen in our lives tomorrow and may quite possibly determine our eternal destiny.  “YOUR FUTURE IS DETERMINED TODAY!”

      B.  🔴Decide to smoke, drink or do drugs today and it will affect your future health, lifestyle and possibly even your sanity.  🔴What you decide today will quite possibly determine where you will live later on: in a nice home, a hospital, a mental institution, a nursing home or a cemetery.  🔴What you eat today may determine your health tomorrow. 🔴 What you decide to do with this message today may determine your eternal destiny in heaven or hell!  “THE AWESOME POWER OF CHOICE!” Yes, “YOUR FUTURE IS DETERMINED TODAY!”
 
I.   YOU MAKE CHOICES TODAY:  v.15
 
      A.  Choices Are Personal:  “…choose you…”
 
         1.  You and you alone are responsible for any choices you make.
         2.  There may be extenuating circumstances, peer pressure, etc., but choices personal…thus the consequences are likewise personal.
 
ILLUS:  The 3 Hebrew slaves in Babylon made some choices.  Those choices were made based on Biblical principles.  Therefore they knew they were right and that they would turn out right, ultimately.  They were prepared for any eventuality, but they knew their God and that He would not only hold them accountable for their choices, but that He was faithful to His children.  So they declared:
 
Dan.3:17-18 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
 
         3.  When you stand before the Lord, you will not be able to “cop out” and blame someone else for your choices;  you will be held accountable.
 
      B.  Choices Are Immediate:  “…this day…”
 
         1.  You may defer making choices, but in fact that deferment is a choice.
         2.  People think they put off their decision to receive Christ, but in reality they are making a decision to reject Christ.
         3.  Whenever there is a choice to be made, a choice is always made!
 
ILLUS:  Felix was confronted by Paul with a choice to receive Christ.  His reply was, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee…”   Acts 24:25    But a decision was made that day and he rejected Christ.  That’s why the Scripture says:  “…now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation…”
 
      C.  Choices Are Life-Altering:  “…whom ye will serve…”
 
ILLUS:  Adam and Eve were placed in Eden and given a choice to eat or refuse to eat of one tree.  You say “why would God put a tree there they could not have?”  Because if they had no power to choose wrong they would have no power to choose right, either.  If there are no options, then I am forced to only do what is available.  They would have done right by coercion.  God wanted them (and us) to love Him, serve Him and obey Him because we choose to, not because we have to.  They made the wrong choice and it was life altering!   For them and us!  (Our decisions often affect others.  Parental decisions affect children.  Teachers decisions affect students.  Employers decisions affect employees.  Believers decisions affect the church.)
                
             I would not want someone to marry me who had no other choice.  I would always wonder if she loved me or not.  But the beauty of marriage is that one man and one woman choose to spend their lives together out of all the other options available.  They choose each other.  (They had better make the right choice!  You decision is life-altering, not just for you, but for your future family.)
 
         1.  Israel must make a declaration of service (whom will they serve?). 
         2.  Israel must make a declaration of exclusivity (the true God or others?).
         3.  Israel must make a declaration of purity (He will not accept tainted service – He is a jealous God!).
 
II.  YOU MUST LIVE WITH YOUR CHOICES TOMORROW:  v.19-27
 
      A.  Good Choices Are Paid For In Advance:
 
ILLUS:  Those who make it to the Olympic Games paid their dues before they arrived for the games!  They worked, sweat, practiced, trained and sacrificed to become eligible.  Not all won medals, but everyone who made the teams and were sent to Sydney had paid in advance for the privilege to compete.
         1.  You can make choices, but you can’t decide the outcome, that is fixed!
         2.  You cannot sow to the flesh and reap blessing.
         3.  You cannot alter the law of sowing and harvest; you decide today, but you will reap tomorrow.
         4.  You can’t decide to reject Christ today and reap heaven tomorrow.
         5.  You can’t decide to not serve the Lord today and end up reaping rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
         6.  You can’t decide to sin today and not pay tomorrow.
 
ILLUS:  Daniel was carried captive to Babylon.  But 💥he had made some choices based on Bible principles, before he arrived.  💥He had determined in his heart to do right and so when the pressure to conform came, he refused.  God honored his decision and elevated him to Vice President of the land.  💥He was just reaping what he had sowed.  💥He was being given back  what he had paid for in advance. 
                 ✅Eat right now, to reap good health later.  ✅Live right now, to enjoy the benefits later.  ✅Serve the Lord now, to have rewards later.  A student who intends to pass the exam tomorrow, must study today.  The body builder who wants bulging biceps tomorrow, must work out today.  No pain today, no gain tomorrow.  If we want things to turn out right tomorrow, we must decide to do right today.
                 In a TV program analyzing both presidential candidates, someone stated that George W. Bush makes decisions on principles rather than what is popular or politically correct.  When pressured to grant a stay of execution to Karla Faye Tucker from Christian leaders from around the world, he refused because she admitted she had committed murder and the law had to be enforced.  He had decided the death penalty was right so the law needed to be enforced.

         7.  It takes character to make the right choices when the wrong choices are more convenient, popular, prosperous, or enjoyable, because right choices must always be paid for in advance before you enjoy the results of your decision.   – Evang. Dennis Corle
 
      B.  Wrong Choices Are Paid For Afterwards:
 
         1.  The consequences of wrong choices are fixed.
         2.  You may be in the sowing stage, but the harvest will come.
         3.  You may be in the billing stage, but the bill will come due.
 
ILLUS:  You get your first credit card.  People have warned you about them.  But you see something you’ve always wanted, so you hand the clerk the little piece of plastic, and she swipes it and you sign the receipt.  You see other things you want and do the same thing.  (You are in the sowing stage.)  You think “Those people who warned me about these things were wrong.  It was painless.  I’m enjoying this.” (You are in the growing stage.)  Then one day you receive a fat envelope in the mail and when you open it you are shocked.  It says you owe thousands of dollars!  You know you charged a few things, but surely not that much.  But upon checking you realize they are right.  (You are in the harvest stage!)   Pay-up day has arrived!!! 
 
         4.  This is a universal principle:  "YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS!”
 
            a.  Perhaps you are dating, young person;  beware wrong choices.
 
ILLUS:  The purpose of dating is mating.  Don’t date a person you wouldn’t want to marry!  15 minutes of pleasure in the back seat of a car now, can reap heartache, disease, shame, pregnancy and premature responsibility later!
 
            b.  Perhaps you are engaged;  beware wrong choices.
            c.  Perhaps you are young now;  beware wrong choices (the sins of youth lay the foundation for sorrows later).
            d.  Perhaps you are healthy now;  beware wrong choices (not just eating but hanging with the wrong crowd, choosing to smoke, drink, do drugs, etc.).                              e.  Perhaps you are unsaved; beware wrong choices.
            f.   Perhaps you are saved, but not faithful; beware wrong choices.
 
         5.  You can’t expect blessing unless you choose obedience.
 
CONCL:  Oh, “THE AWESOME POWER OF CHOICE!”  “Choose you this day…!”  
💥“YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS!” – right now! 

✨You must be obedient NOW to expect blessings later. 
✨You must receive Christ NOW to expect heaven later. 
✨You must live right NOW to expect good health later. 
✨You must save NOW to have something laid up for later. 
✨You must serve NOW to expect rewards later.