September 7, 2013 "The Choice Is Yours" Pastor Howard-John Wesley

don't misses God walks blessings choice is yours God wants to give you good luck choice is yours God wants you to walk in the fulfillment of his promises man if you don't get there you ain't got nobody blame but yourself because the choice is yours indeed Oh God you've done enough for us to declare that you are marvelous pray that a marvelous God would have mercy upon faulty flesh no God that you would speak to us that we might continue to grow and be groomed by the power of your Holy Spirit and the teaching of your word come now Holy Spirit and speak for your servants are listening the name of Jesus our Christ we do pray amen if you have a Bible or a smartphone with an Bible app on it if you would locate in either one of those the book of Deuteronomy it is the fifth book of the Bible in the Old Testament Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers Deuteronomy we want to navigate ourselves into the 30th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy for a lesson of life that I believe God wants to deposit on us in this place on this Saturday night once you've found the 30th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy if you are physically able we asked you to join us as we stand together to reverence the reading of God's Holy Word Deuteronomy chapter 30 encourage you to read chapters 27 through 30 for the full context of preaching tonight for the practice and the purpose of preaching want to begin our journey and verse number 15 of the New King James Version of the Bible Deuteronomy chapter 30 beginning in verse number 15 see I have set before you today life and good death and evil in that I command you today to love the Lord your God to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments his statutes and his judgments that you may live and multiply and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess but if your heart turns away so that you do not hear and are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them I announce to you today that you shall surely perish you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you I have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live you may love the Lord your God that you may obey his voice that you may cling to him for he is your life in the length of your days and that you may dwell and the land which the Lord swore to give your father's to Abraham Isaac and Jacob look at verse number 19 I called heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death blessing and cursing therefore choose life do me a favor you would look at your neighbor and tell them neighbor the choice is yours you may be seated in the presence of the Lord the choice is yours we begin with a little advance Bible study tonight and share with you surprisingly to some that the first five books of the Bible tributed to the pen of Moses commonly known as the Pentateuch that the names we call them Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers Deuteronomy are not the true names of the Scrolls according to the Hebrew Bible the English names that you give these first five books of the Bible or rather derived from a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible called the Septuagint and you will find that after these Hebrew Scrolls had been written Greek biblical scholars came back and translated them into Greek and you'll find that they renamed the books and if one would compare the names of the Greek Septuagint version of the first five books of the Bible with their original Hebrew names you will find two dramatic differences number one is that the Greek translators what they sought to do Deacon care and was to cap to the essence of what that book was about and named it based upon the focus or the emphasis and what was being stressed in that book they would try to capitulate and summarize what it was in one word but in the Hebrew Bible the original writings of the Old Testament these books were not named by their influence or the emphasis but rather they are named by the first words that come out of the first chapter in the first verse go on teach pastors so we call the first book Genesis which is a English translation of the Greek term beginning but the real title of the first scroll the first book of the Bible is bear our sheep which literally means origins are at the start are at the beginning we call the book of Exodus Exodus because the Greek translators understood that that book was all about this movement or this way out of Egypt but if you look at the original Hebrew the second book of the Bible is not named Exodus it is named shamu which literally is a reference to the phrase these are the names which you will find in the very first chapter and the first verse we call the third book Leviticus because the Greek translators understood that this was a book to the Levites about being holy but in Hebrew that that term that defines his third book is by ikura and it literally means and he called because when you read chapter 1 and verse 1 you'll see these words and God called we call the fourth book of the book fourth book the Bible numbers because the Greek translators were obsessed with the census that was taken of the people but if you look at the original Hebrew that fourth book of the Bible is called by MIT bar which means in the desert of because in chapter 1 verse 1 it opens like this and in the desert of the cyanide that's where God called we call the fifth book the Pentateuch Deuteronomy because the Greek translators were up sets with this second giving of the law as a misinterpretation of chapter 17 when Moses gives the law again but the original title of the fifth book of the Bible in the Hebrew Bible is this word aeverine which literally means words and that's a real appropriate title because that's all Deuteronomy is the words of Moses you need to understand the context of Deuteronomy to understand what is spoken here here the children of Israel are in the plains of Moab make sure you brake noted that there'll be a pop quiz later they are in the plains of Moab on the outskirts of the Promised Land and why good Bible readers who recall that based upon what happens in numbers chapter 20 Moses is forbidden to cross over into the Promised Land no that will not be his assignment that will befall Joshua and so what the Book of Numbers Deborah even words are it literally is Moses standing before the children of Israel in the last moments of his life to address them for the final time before he dies and they go into the Promised Land they are in the plains of Moab on the brink of a new season and Moses who has led them all the way from Egypt now stands to Deborah Dean to give them his last words as they get ready to move into the place God has promised when you read through the book of Deuteronomy and I pray that you will to check the factuality of this preacher you will find that Moses does three things in chapters 1 through 4 Deacon Wallace he recalls their history with God he opens by reminding them of their journey from Egypt to the wilderness to now where they stand in the plains of from chapters four to chapter 26 he then begins to remind them of the laws of God after recalling their journey with God he reminds them of the laws of God and then when we turned the corner to chapter 27 through 30 Moses now begins to recite the new conditions of a covenant with God don't miss this chapters 1 through 4 he recalls the history with God chapter 4 through 26 he recites the laws of God in chapter 27 through 30 he now reminds them of what the new covenant with God will demand of them and when you read chapter 27 through 30 you will find that Moses is trying to prepare them for what God really wants to do when you get to that 29th chapter if I had Deacon Johnson and this is what Moses says brother Moses listen y'all the Lord wants to multiply you the Lord wants to do great things in your sight the Lord wants to prosper you the Lord wants you to grow the Lord once his favorite is trying upon you God wants to do great things as you move into the promised land but that's not the only option of what lies in your future here this in the plains of when they're on the brink of the Promised Land brother Moses steps up this what he says in the Howard John Wesley translation y'all this could go down one of two ways blessing or curse life or death good or evil the don't just take for granted that because God has brought you this far that God is just going automatically pour down blessings on you there are two roads in front of you miss where he said in verse number 19 and the choice is yours don't misses god whoops blessings but the choice is yours God wants to give you a good life but the choice is yours God wants you to walk in the fulfillment of his promises but man if you don't get there you ain't got nobody blame but yourself because the choice is yours bruh sisters I come by to tell you tonight that every day you wake up you wake up in the plains of Moab you wake up with the possibilities of a God in front of you who wants to do exceedingly and abundantly above what you prayed and asked him to do last night every morning you wake up you wake up to new possibilities of God's grace and God's glory being manifesting your life every morning God puts breath in your body it opens up the crust in your eye God has given you the opportunity to walk in a newness of life and embrace the goodness of His grace and His glory but tomorrow can go down another way doesn't have to be blessings it could be stress doesn't have to be joy it could be misery doesn't have to be peace it can be worry and every morning before you get up out the side of your bed Moses speaks to us and says the choice is yours God has set some blessings for you God wants to answer your prayer God wants to move in your life God wants to handle your issues but if you would walk in the fullness of what God has designed and desired for you baby you got to make some choices I don't know who I came by to preach to tonight but I come back saying every morning you wake up you read what Moses says these children of Israel Judy you got at least three critical choices you have to make before your feet step the ground you got three choices you got to make before ivory hits your body you got three choices to make befo crest finds its way into your mouth you've got three critical choices you got to make before you journey off into this day that will determine whether this is a day of blessing or curse good or evil life or death well what choices you got to make here his brother motels Church and visually passes on to you enemies is number one you've got to make a choice to be committed to the commandments of God every morning you wake up you've got to make up in your mind that I am going to be committed to what God has commanded if you read from chapter 27 to 30 here's what you're going to find out that'll blow your mind add more than 20 times in three chapters Moses commands encourages and warns the children of Israel to stay committed to the ways of God more than twenty times in three chapters Moses says obey God's commandments his statutes his judgment and his law repeatedly Moses says y'all whatever you do walk in the ways of God don't wander to the left nor to the right right the Word of God on your heart obey the voice of God that if you would walk in life and walk in blessings and walk in good that you've got to make a decision before your feet hit the ground that whatever comes my way today that I will be committed to the commandment of God and it's what Moses says y'all take note he says if you do you can't go wrong if you obey Him you will reap the blessings of joy and life if you do what the Lord tells you you'll experience the fullness of God's grace and God's glory let me tell you why that's so real because every morning I wake up I'm challenged with a choice of how I'm going to handle life when I project what my daily agenda is going to be I've got to make a decision in the morning of whether I'm going to handle this my way or be committed to how God says it ought to go down it's not an easy choice it's not an instinctive choice because sometimes I just want to handle it my way but I've got to wake up with a desire to say that whatever God says I've got to do today I am committed to the commandment of God can I just be passive Wesley for a minute that's why you ought to read your Bible so you know what God commands of you that's why you ought to read your Bible so you know what the Lord requires of you that's why our to read your Bible so your life can be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ that's why you ought to read your Bible that you might be transformed by the renewing of your mind that's why you ought to read your Bible so you can walk in the ways and the will of God for your life because here's the truth of the matter Marler God said doesn't matter how much you want to be right if you don't know his word you can't get right okay I say that again just so you tweeted right in case you need some side order scripture let me give you Romans chapter 10 I learned it a long time ago Romans chapter 10 says it my brother sisters my prayer and heart's desire to God visual is that they might be saved far better than record that they have a zeal of God but not according to knowledge are they being ignorant of the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God oh that was too fast can I just break it down for you passion can never make up for ignorant that no matter how much you want to walk in righteousness if you are ignorant of the ways of God and the Word of God your desire can never make up for your ignorance you got to stay in the Word of God and embedded in your heart and tattoo it in your mind and committed to your memory so that when challenges come you will remain committed to what God has called you to be go and preach pastor mosted listen your whatever you do be committed not now here's the tripped out part he promises them that it will work but he never promised that it be easy as a matter of fact matter of fact they're in the plains of Moab they bout to go into the Promised Land and if you keep reading out to Deuteronomy you gonna find yourself in Joshua and Joshua is a record of some battles that went down so here Moe is in the plains of Moab saying be committed even though some battles are in your future it won't be easy it won't be convenient it won't pop up overnight it won't always tickle and feel good but even when you got the perception of a struggle that you got to go through be committed to the commandment of God can tell you why you need that because sometimes the perception of a struggle causes you to question your commitment to his command Here I am living right doing right and I got to go through this Here I am being nice to folk I don't even like on general Christian principle and this is what I get here I am coming to church every Sunday trying to do right by God and this is what I get and Moses says listen I was at church last Saturday and I just came by to tell y'all remain righteous cuz in due season you shall reap if you faint not Klose sell some time and again be committed to God's command and you'll find the fullness what God has in store for you so that's not the only decision you gotta make not only must you make a decision and a choice to remain committed to the commandment of God but you got to make a decision and a choice of my brother my sister to embrace the gift of grace you got to embrace the gift of grace Moses shares with these children of Israel that you all are about to go into a place what's it Cedric and it's a place you didn't earn the only reason you're going in is cause the Lord promised it Tabor Ham said y'all watch what gossip I do you're about to live in houses you ain't bill you're about to reap fruit you didn't work for you're about to take over some riches that really ain't got your name on that everything that awaits you on the other side of the plains of Moab and got nothing to do with you it is strictly a gift of the grace of God can I pause and press shout right there cuz as somebody's ought to look at where you are today and just give a little wave of an a man to declare that you didn't earn it you didn't merit it you shouldn't have it but God's grace is so good God's grace is so magnificent that the Lord blessed you with what you could not earn I wish I had somebody didn't mind offending your neighbor and just tell them look at me baby that's great look at the clothes I got on that's grace look at these car keys that's great sir look at this strength I got its grace look at the job I got his grace look at my children its grace says everything you're about to have is grace I'm gonna get it twisted and think you earned it grace here's Moses says and if you want to have all of that you've got to learn to embrace the gift of grace came out I tell you to choose grace not someone sent Reb now that's that's awful easy yeah and then you get our PhD and nothing to know y'all choose grace you say why that's so important cuz I told y'all how Moses started this sermon well you weren't paying attention I told you told you chapter 1 through 4 he reminded them of their journey with God you're going to reach up 1 through 4 words the underbridge unedited unsanitized version Moses tells it all Hey look let me remind y'all y'all was some of the most rebellious folk I never want to meet in my life you look up the word disobedient your mommy your daddy picture was right there so y'all was some of the stiff did nectars folk I didn't ever want to deal with in my life every time God was good we you rebelled every time god bless you complain every time the Lord led you want to go back in a different direction Moses reminds them of how messed up they were how jacked up they were how many faults they had how many mistakes they made and yet here you are in the plains of Moab with grace right in front of you you've messed up royally you've dropped the ball every chance you could you know good and dad well y'all ain't got no business in the plains of Moab but by the grace of God here you are with all that God has in store for you the reason he tells them to choose it because whenever God presents the gift of grace there's an enemy who tries to remind you of guilt then whenever the Lord presents the gift of grace the devil always has somebody with a gift of memory to remind you of why you are not worthy and you ought to feel guilty I know it because most of the things I deal with are so incarcerated by guilt they can't wrap their arms around the grace they look at what the Lord has promised what the Lord is providing what the Lord says you ought to have and yet they remember every time they fail every mistake they made and they are incarcerated in guilt and the Lord says listen there is a battle in your life between guilt and grace and baby you got to make up in your mind which one is going to govern your day either the guilt of yesterday or the grace of today but you got to make a choice huh either I'm gonna walk in my guilt or I'm going to embrace the gift of the grace that God has given me for a new possibility and a new chance for today what I did not earn on yesterday you got to hold on to that in your spirit so the next time somebody tries to guilt you you just remind them that you're operating in grace and God's grace is giving you new chance and new possibility and new opportunities yes God knows of my guilt yes God knows I messed up yes the Lord knows I'm not what I should be but yet here still I wish I had some Bible readers let me give you Romans chapter 5 verse 20 for your information that the law came in that send me up found but we ever sin abounds grace abounds that much more that there's always more grace than sin caitlyn @m and and let me tell you how gracious God is cuz you're gonna read Deuteronomy when you get home and you won't get to the thirtieth chapter you're gonna find out the preacher just told you something you're gonna read in chapter 30 here's what chapter 30 says in the beginning God basically acknowledges lists I know y'all gonna mess up ain't no if ands or buts about it I know you won't always be committed to my Commandments I know you won't always do what I told you to do I know your life is gonna fall short and that's what he says but if you return to me if if you come back to a up being if you get your act together you ask for forgiveness the Lord says I will still bring you into the land I know you're guilty I know you ain't got no business I know you messed up but if you come back if you repent if you ask for forgiveness I will still take you into the land okay okay I know I know why why about five folks shout and restaurant got mad cuz it took me folk the judges in the church so let me go and help help you um one of the linchpins of our justice system is you getting what's called your Miranda rights you know the joints when you've been arrested you remember sis Joyce who's rested and and when when you been arrested obligated tell you how to write remain silent anything you say can and will be used against you in court law you had a right to an attorney you get out of Ford one one will be provided for you do you understand these rights some of y'all heard that that that's the Miranda that they give you when you're caught and arrested I came by to give you your spiritual Miranda rights that when you fall short and when your stuff goes public and when everybody knows what you've done you have the right to repeat you have the right to be forgiven you have the right to intercede with the blood of Jesus you have the right for a new day you have the right for another chance you've got the right get your life back right with God so the next time when I'm sanctified judges try to take you down memory lane look at my boat I won't tell them maybe I know my rights I got the right for God to turn my life around I've got the right to follow my knees and confess my sins to the Lord and be forgiven somebody say I know my rights you ought to be committed to the commandments of God you ought to embrace the gift of grace he says thirdly Ron says I'm exerting whatever choice you make then you surrender to the sovereignty of God commit to His commandments embrace the gift of grace and surrender to the sovereignty of God when you read through Deuteronomy and I know you will when you get home to check the factuality of this preacher you gonna find out that that there's one commandment mark that keeps popping up time after time chapter after chapter page after page one commandment above all keeps showing up and go lose something like this don't you worship no other God whatever y'all do don't worship idol gods repeatedly the Lord says don't worship idol gods now here's the funny thing one thing they did more than anything else was worship Idol gods question I asked why was God so adamant about not worshipping idols why is God so bent out of shape about them worshipping idol gods the answer is because when you bow to an idol you are surrendering control of your life over to something today ain't got no power you're bowing to something that's a fake knockoff of Who I am you're surrendering your destiny to a perpetrator and a fraud I'm the God that heard your cries in Egypt I'm the God that parties your Red Sea I'm the God that led you through the wilderness I'm the God that fed you with manna from on high I'm the God that brought water out of a rock I'm the God that took care the enemies that try to destroy you I'm the God that led you all of this way and how dare you now reach a place where you surrender control of your life to something they never done done for you something they never heard your prayers something that's never made a way out of no way for you something that's never stood by your side he want you to understand there's a difference between that which looks like it has control and the true and living God which is always in control and whatever you do when you wake up make a decision that God is in control can tell you why that's so important because every morning you wake up life presents you with uncertainties life presents you with issues you don't know how they're going to resolve themselves every morning you wake up I promise you the list of those that don't like you just added one more every day life presents you threats that are viable against your health and well-being every day life gives you a reason to be afraid of what may be waiting for you outside of your doors and the Lord says before you leave the plains of Moab and you walk into your day that I've gifted you by grace you got to make a decision that no matter what goes down I will not recognize the authority of anything or anyone over my life other than the truth and the Living God who answered my prayers who woke me up who blessed my life who saved my soul he's the only one I know who I can appreciate a but I came by you better learn about some false gods your sickness is false God your financial troubles so false God the folk that hates you false gods sequestration false God upside-down mortgage false God cancer false God you better wake up in the morning with this decree on your mouth that the Lord God is the only control over my destiny and my life and I recognize no authority but God god I declare you are song I declare you're limited I declare you rain I declare you're in control I declare you're on the throne of my life lift up your head o ye gates and be he lifted up ye everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in who is the king of glory not my sickness not my enemies not my trouble what the Lord strong and mighty the Lord mighty in battle here I declare that no one sits on the throne in my life but God will tell you that when you know that God is in control and you only recognize the authority of the sovereign one it'll put some courage in your spirit you don't have to be afraid of what foot will do do not be afraid of how things look right now cuz I know there's a god who's watching over me a god who's answering my prayers a God who makes ways out of no way be not dismayed whatever be tired that's old-school God will take care of you beneath his wings I love abide God will I wish I had a witness in him somebody knows God will yes he will yes he will yes he will yes he will somebody say God is in control you gotta make some choices every morning you wake up make a choice to be committed to the commandments of God make a choice to embrace the gift of God's grace and make a decision in your mind that you declare that the Lord is the only sovereign God over your life don't render the authority of your life to anything or anyone other than God Lord we stand in the plains of Moab with new possibilities and promises right before us blessings life and good but there's also death and evil and curse and the choice is ours we choose today O God to be committed to your commandment choose to embrace your grace we choose o God to recognize that you alone are in control me someone today choose to give their life to Jesus Christ me someone choose to come and connect themselves with our church family as we extend this invitation in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: Alfred Street Baptist Church

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Length: 39min 19sec (2359 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 10 2013