Got Decisions? :-)
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Heard this very early this morning and I thought about blogging about it. When I blog and embed a video from his ministry at InTouch.org?, it has had a very strong impact on me that day – and I keep it here to so I could listen to it over and over again when I need to, because if it has helped me – I’m sure it will help others as well. (By the way, their Ministry also has a You Tube Channel at
This man has helped me (and a lot of other people) with his teachings as well. He has helped me, through his videos, either me accidentally seeing it on t.v. as I flip through channels, or with me just trying to search for some clarity when I needed/need it.
Below are my notes: (because when I listen, I listen with purpose – “what can I learn from this?” – so I am just typing it up as I am listening … )
Consequences Always Follow Decisions
How do we go about making decisions?
“Toss a coin? Read the horoscope? Look at choices and then choose and then pray that God will help me and somehow just barrel on through? None of those are biblical ways to go about making decisions. Some decision are so critical, irreversible, cannot be changed, so we need to learn how to make WISE decisions that affect us and others.”
Here’s a pattern that Dr. Charles Stanley advises, it is simple but not easy, but he says “it absolutely works, every single time!”
Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
Psalm 25:12
Who is the man (or woman) who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the ways he should choose. Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him and God will give him direction in his life. God will not trip you up!
What does it mean to “fear the Lord”? There are two theories of fear, fear as “being afraid”. The other theory is fear as “having reverence, to stand in awe before Him, as the Sovereign of the universe, Creator of all things, Lord God, omniscient, omnipresent, He is the Master, merciful and holy, our Father. When we talk about “fearing God” we are acknowledging His Authority, and his right to dictate to us and show us what we should do in every single situation. All of us should have a fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom.
Decisions: Steps to Finding Clear Direction
1. Clear The Pathway
Clear your heart of any known sin. Disobedience, attitude or action, get rid of it. Will God give you “His Mind” and put it into a “Sinful Mind” if you live in sin and continue on to live in sin? And you are asking God to give you direction? He is not going to do it! If you made a decision and you didn’t ask God, then eventually the consequence will catch up on you. The very idea of living in sin and asking God for guidance IS a contradiction.
“Sin is to the mind, what fog does to the highway in front of you.”
– Dr. Charles Stanley
That is why some people can’t make their own decisions, critical decisions or make the wrong decisions, why? Because they are living in sin, they have an attitude that is totally unscriptural, but they have been saved, and then wonder why God doesn’t answer their prayers? Why? Because God is under no obligation to answer the prayer of one who choose to continue to still live in sin. If He did, then by His action be condoning your sinfulness and He is not going to do that.
When we say “Clear The Pathway” we say look at your life, and ask yourself the question:
What is it in my life that doesn’t fit who I am, and my relationship to God, that will hinder God for giving me clear directions? Direction Without Doubt. He will make it crystal clear. But you have to start with a clean heart. Clean Heart – Clear Mind. Because it all fits together. So deal with sin.
Bring Your Desires To A Point of Neutrality
“This is what I want, but God, if this is not what you want? Then I’m okay with it.” It’s about submission to His will, whatever that is. You may have a strong desire for something, and you can lift it up in prayer, if it is in His will, then thy will be done. You will have CLARITY of mind on what to do. Above everything else if we can say “I want what God wants” – God responds to that.
2. Exercise Patience.
We can’t expect God to answer our prayers as soon as we get through asking. When you have this sudden urge to make a decision? Back off. Ask yourself the question, does this look like God? Does this sound like God? Does this fit who God is, as far as the principles of scripture is concerned? Because WE all get into decisions like that – to be patient is to be willing to trust God to give it to us in HIS time, not ours.
A person who waits upon the Lord will never be ashamed.
Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.
Psalm 25:3
God promises that because someday we will see it – He orchestrates things to happen first so that in His time, we will understand it.
3. Be Alert to Pressure.
We have all come into points in our lives when we have to make major decisions and we make the mistake of asking our friends “what do you think?”. And usually they will say, “If I were you, this is what I am going to do”. Number one, they are not you, number two, they do not know what the will of God is for you, you should be watchful for pressure.
Because often times, people want you to make a decision, if for example you are dating someone and after three or four months they ask you, “let’s get married, it’s now or never” – what do you say? “Never!” For the simple reason that you shouldn’t let anybody pressure you into doing something that you are not sure of that is in the will of God, especially if it is something as irrevocable as marriage. Some decisions cannot be undone.
There’s external pressure from other people, ones who encourage you to make the decisions quickly – be careful of those. Does that sound like God? How do you know what God sounds like? Read the word of God – the bible. Because when you read the word of God, you will be able to discern the difference. The outside pressure that people put on us. God will always give you clear directions.
There’s internal pressure. “I’m afraid that if I don’t do this now, I will miss it forever. I’m afraid I will be rejected. I’m afraid that I will be criticized.” We have internal pressures that we place upon ourselves! And it has no basis.
If you live a Godly life? You can almost expect it – you will be rejected, misunderstood, persecuted. “Making decisions because you think people will reject you because of those decisions” – it doesn’t matter what they think, he thinks, she thinks, What Does God Think about that decision? What’s the Will of God? (Not the will of my friends).
God may have you to make a decision that nobody else may understand, but because you know that you are doing what God has called you to do, to have made that decision, and valued what God thinks, He will bless you, provide for you, equip you, He is going to work in ways that you can never figure out.
Maybe you might have a friend that would be the “messenger” of God’s news – you have to be careful who you listen to and what you listen to. What could be the consequences if I make that decision?
Consequences always follow decisions. Good or Bad consequences.
4. Persist in Prayer.
Sometimes it takes time because God would have to “deal with us first” work in us, have us realize certain things. God has to work in our hearts. We can’t make or force God to do anything, we pray to seek answers. God may be in the process to shaping us up.
Prayer is a waste of time? No, we are growing as we spend time in prayer (some people call it meditation), but God works in us as we do that.
5. Rest in God’s Promise
That’s why it is important to read the bible, because that is where His promises are at. If we are making a decision, if you will open the Word Of God, read in the Psalms and Proverbs, just ask God to speak to your heart, so often He does. When we are confused, and need God’s help in making a decision, we can get clear guidance too, and sometimes we don’t even know how we can get through this, but the zeal of the Lord will accomplish this. We just have to trust Him.
His word is a “lamp to our feet and a light into our path”, God will show you in every single decision what to do. Through His word – in the bible. We are encouraged to read the bible daily so that we will know what to do, we can’t say we love God, if we don’t know God. How do we know God? If we spend time reading the bible, learning from Him and about Him
6. Wait For His Peace
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
What does it mean “let the peace of God rule?” If you are asking for a decision, “Lord what would you have me to do?” and with finality He gives this if you have struggled, and you think you know what it is, and then you pray about it, and then He gives you this perfect, unquestionable Peace? Peace is in the will of God. Peace in seeking the mind of God prepares you to face anybody, when you have the peace of God in your heart. That you have asked Him, that you have sought His direction, your heart is clean, you can say “I’ll do whatever God wants me to do.” Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. Because the peace of Christ is the mind of Christ.
If you have sin in your life, there’s confusion, frustrations, questions, doubts, but you can come to the most difficult decisions in your life, and you follow this pattern / 6 Steps outlines above, in making a decision? God does not intend for you to make a decision and “hoping and praying and saying I hope so – none of that”. God intends for you to KNOW SO. And you can face anything once you know that God has given you clear direction without a doubt – the final proof is the “peace that passes all understanding“. It passes your friends’ understanding. It passes your enemies’ understanding. It passes your own understanding. You just know that it is there.
There are things you do not have to ask the Mind Of God about.
“I’m thinking about being saved whenever the Lord leads me.”
The bible says: “Behold TODAY is the day of salvation.” You do not have to pray to ask God whether you have to be saved or not. The Scripture is clear – you should. If it is in His will for you to be baptized, it IS. The bible makes it clear.
“Forgiving someone who has wronged you”.
You should forgive. (You need to know the distinction between forgiving and reconciling – forgiving someone from your heart doesn’t mean you have to reconcile with them – for what if they are evil people? We can just continue on praying for them because they might corrupt our character if we do not stay away – and I am making this note here from my own personal experience and biblical research on how to deal with abusive people. We do not have to. We can plant good seeds in their hearts, and just pray it grows – because salvation is a personal decision. Jesus is such a gentleman, He waits to be invited into our hearts).
Crystal Clear Instructions
There are clear instructions in the bible that we don’t even have to pray about, we just have to decide to follow it and OBEY it.
Some decisions are difficult: what it demands of us, requires of us, what other people think and all those matters, you can know for sure the mind of God, if you are willing to approach it in the right way.
What If You Don’t Believe in God?
If you don’t believe in God, and you wonder what is His will for people like me? Well, His Will is for you to confess your sins to Him, repent of them, turn away from them, tell the Lord Jesus Christ that you believe He died on the cross for your sins, and you are accepting His death as payment for YOUR sins, and surrendering your life to Him. You don’t have to say “Lord save me if you can”, because He can. “Lord save me if you will”, because He will. You only have to ask Him to forgive you of your sins and accept by faith that what He said is true, that if we confess our sins, He is faithfiul and just to forgive us of our sins. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you WILL be saved. If you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ IS Lord, believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It’s not that complicated, and yes, there is something COOL about being a Christian. Me personally? I think that we all should believe in something STRONGLY, because if we don’t, it’s easy to fall for a lot of other things, it’s easy to get lost and feel lost.
There are some things you do not have to question. So if you have never trusted Him as your Saviour, it’s all in the Bible, read it, and follow Him. The Holy Spirit will come into your life and begin to give you directions for your life. That’t the Will of God for EVERYONE.
So How Will You Make Decisions From Now On?
Are you going to base it on the Will of God, through the bible, through prayer? Listening to him or listening to some other Godly person, who has your best interest at heart?
Pride can hurt you – if you are the type of person who can just say “I can make my own decision without God”. Anybody can. But would you much rather just make the right decision anyway? Let Christ be your Decision-Maker — guidance will help us decide in critical decisions.
Direction Without Doubt
by Dr. Charles Stanley @ www.InTouch.org
Source:
P.S. There are some friends, Christian friends who questioned my decision to join the Empower Network, because of the negative impression they have of it. I REST IN MY DECISION TO BE A MEMBER, because you know why? I prayed REAL hard about it, for several days, before I joined it – I made my own research on it. And then I thought, I’ll check what is in on the other side of the Log-In, like what I wrote about in earlier blog posts.
Everyone is welcome here at Empower Network – what is encouraging is there are a lot of Christians who are also Leaders at Empower Network. Can you imagine how much more powerful Christians could be at doing their part in spreading God’s words if we wrote or blog about God, about our struggles – about being truthful about our Christian struggles? About documenting what God has done for us? To help others? Christ did not just come for the saved, He came for the Lost. And as Christians, it is not enough to go to church and go to bible meetings, it is more important to share God’s word with others who have never even had a copy of the bible, nor heard nor known any Christian, face to face. Or have heard of why a Christian became a Christian, or have never heard nor seen God’s miracles happening in an actual person.
What is the distance between humans and God? It’s just the distance between your knees to the floor. We always say, “Oh My God” or we only “pray” when we need something.. but if we have a relationship with God (like we read the bible, we apply what we learn, we tell others about it, too, we help others when we can) making decisions is not a hard thing. I’m glad I bumped into this “archived video” it helped me and I am sure that it will help somebody else. They also have this same video on youtube, but I want to give it the respect that it is due, and not have some other type of video come out after it, which is beyond anybody’s control when we embed a youtube video.
I hope this blesses you today as it has blessed me!
Cris