Video Transcript: Choices

Video Transcript: Choices

Tonight, I want you to turn with me to the old testament to Joshua, the 24th chapter. Joshua, as you know, was a great military leader. And he took the place of Moses when Moses went to be with the Lord. And the 15th verse, Now he had called all the leaders of Israel together at a place called Shechem, and he's getting ready to die. And this is his farewell address. And during this address, he warns the people about their idolatry, he warns them that the judgments of God will fall upon them, unless they live for the Lord. And here's what he says. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve. If you want to serve the devil serve him, but make a choice for the gods, which your father serve that role on the other side of the flood, are the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But then he says, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua said, If every one of you serves of idols and other gods, makes no difference. As for me and my house, we've already made a decision, we are going to serve the lord. And that's a decision that every single person here tonight has to make. 

You either have to decide that you're going to serve the gods of materialism all around us, or the true in the living God. I'm told that this county has the highest per capita income of any county, in the United States, that probably almost means the world, the fluent county that you live in, and the area that you live in, presents many temptations. Because the fluency Jesus warned against the deceitfulness of riches, and he indicated that riches could become a stumbling block to the kingdom of God. And we have a tremendous responsibility to share our wealth with those that are less fortunate in other parts of the world. And Joshua was warning the people to choose God to follow Him, instead of these other gods. Julius Caesar ordered by Pompei to disband his legions in Gaul had to make a decision. Would he take his legions to Rome, and become Caesar? Or would he stay on the other side of the river, he plunged his horse into the river, the die was cast, and he moved on into history. And so we have to make a choice. Moses had warned Israel much earlier generation earlier, when he was dying, he said, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I've said before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live. 

Moses had said the same thing that Joshua was saying, separated by many years, and every generation has to hear it over and over and over again. And that's why the gospel never grows old and applies to every generation alike. We have to make a choice. Alexander the Great was asked how he conquered the world, he said by not wavering. And James says in the first chapter, He that waver it is like a wave of the seed driven with the wind and toss. He said, a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Are you unstable about your relationship to Christ? Do you waver in your relationship to Christ? Are you totally committed to Christ as Savior and Lord? Are you waver about it? Many of you waver but the way you live. And Jesus warn the hypocrites, people who pretend one thing and live another. This was his great battle with the hypocrites in the church. We have old proverbs that are familiar to us all. He who hesitates is lost. Procrastination is the thief of time. A stitch in time saves nine. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Don't waver. Make a decision do it now. That's what Joshua was saying. And Joshua were the great military heroes that had led them from victory to victory reminded them of all the victories that God had given. And he said serve God and live serve these other gods and you'll die and come under the judgment of God and the message has not changed. Now, the war were over. 

But Joshua found that the people were going toward idolatry. And many times the problems of peace are greater than the problems of war. And they had called all these leaders to Shechem. Now Shechem was a place the most historical place in all of Israel at that time, and still is today. It was where Abraham had first settled when he left Ur of the Chaldees. It was read, Jacob had purchased his parcel of land. That was where the bones of Joseph had been buried when they were brought up from Egypt. And so he has their two mountains there, I've stood there. And on one mountain, he put six of the tribes and on the other mountain, he put the other six, and Joshua spoke with a mighty voice, even though he was an old man. And he reviews the history of Israel and how God had blessed them. And how they had won their victory is not by their own power and their own strategies and their own ingenuity, and their own strength, but by the power of God. And the people should have been grateful to God, but instead, they were now going to other gods. And we in America should be grateful to God for the blessings He's given us.

But what do we find? We find that we're worshipping other gods, the gods of pleasure, the gods of lust and greed and hate, the gods of materialism, even the gods of war. And Joshua tells them that such a condition cannot continue. They must decide whether they want to serve the idols or to serve the living God. And he will not allow any neutrality. Neither does Jesus Christ. And Joshua said, you have to decide immediately now. Choose you this day, not tomorrow, this day, whom you're going to serve, and many of you are going to have to decide tonight. What is the number one priority in your life is the priority, Christ? Or is the priority, something else? Christ demands first place. There is no room on the throne of your heart for two gods, it's either Christ, or it's the other god. There's a man here tonight, who's translating for us just tonight in Japanese as we translate every night into Japanese and Spanish and many other languages. And his name is Pastor Oda. And he came over from Japan to attend the conference here. And he translated for Cliff last year when Cliff would get up to make the announcements and all of our crusades across Japan.

 And he was reminding me of that great crusade that we held in a stadium like this in Fukuoka, and there was a typhoon and the rain was coming and the wind was blowing, and the rain was coming in sheets. And it was a beautiful baseball stadium. It seeded I think more than this stadium or as many as this stadium. There are only 1000 people that profess Christianity in that whole great city of Fukuoka. A city of over a million people. And yet 18 and 19,000 people came night after night in that typhoon and set in that whoring rain and that wind and that cold and heard the gospel. And when the invitation was given, they would come by the hundreds. And I made it a point to say that when you come to Christ, you have to give up all of the gods. And you know, pastor was telling us a few minutes ago about churches that have doubled and tripled in size as a result of the Crusades. Because I believe that emphasis must, we must lay it out straight that you cannot serve God and mammon, you must make a choice. And I found that the harder the challenges, the greater the response. Young people today want to challenge. They want something tough and hard. All right. give your life to Christ. He'll challenge you. Because he says you must deny yourself and take up a cross. He says I'm going to a place of execution come and go with me. 

Deny your own selfish ambitions and lust and turn to me and go to the cross with me. idolatry takes many subtle ways in our lives, even our pets can become idols. I read about a pet the other day that a dog that inherited over a million dollars that's a fact you read that all the time people leave their biggest states to dogs and cats. But you know, you know I love dogs. I've got three of them by they've got me.

I love them. I've always loved cats. I was raised on a little dairy farm and we had to have cats to keep the rats down. You want to get rid of rats get some cats. And you know, we had a cat that lived for about 18 to 20 years is Franklin remembers in our house. And we never saw any rats when that cat died. The rats and the and the mice are just about taking over and I told my wife, she's in the hospital. I said, darling, we've got to get us a cat. I said the mice are everywhere. We live back up in the mountains, about a mile from our nearest neighbors. And I guess they come in from I don't know where they come from, but from the woods. And they even get in the trunk of a car, we can't even find where they nest. We've had that we've taken it into the garage and the garage people can't find. But there they are. You open the trunk lid, and they're the rats. Come and see us sometime. Bring your helicopters.

And we'll spray them. Now Paul taught that a Christian is someone who has turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God. There's a film showing throughout the world this year called the idol makeup, but a Christian is an idol breaker. And regardless of their decision, Joshua says for me and my house, we are going to serve the Lord. You know, Adam and Eve had to make a choice and the Garden of Eden. God said if you want to build a wonderful world, we'll build it together. But I'm going to test you because I've given to you the ability to choose. I haven't made you a robot in which I could punch a button and you would obey me. I've made you in my image, you have the right to choose. So when Adam and Eve face that choice, they chose wrongly, they broke the law of God and God said in the day that you do, you will suffer and die. And man has been suffering ever since. And it's all because of that first sin in the Garden of Eden. And man has been inheriting that tendency to sin ever since the seed of sin is in us when we're born. David said in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Think of it now at conception, sin was already planted. And then comes the age of accountability, moral accountability, maybe eight or nine or 10 years of age, when you are held accountable by God for your actions and you choose to sin, and then the rest of your life you practice sin, you know born toward sin. You choose to sin at a certain point. And then you practice sin. And the Bible says we have all sin, and we're all idolatrous. Now Adam had to make a choice and he made the wrong choice. You have to make a choice.

And then many choices like the rich young ruler. Remember he came to Jesus, and he was filled with questions and he wanted eternal life. And he said, Sir, what must I do to find eternal life? And Jesus said, looked at him and loved him and said, go sell all that you have. Give it to the poor. take up the cross, follow me. The young man was grieved. He wept. He wanted Christ, but he wanted his money more. Now if he had said all right, I'll do it. Lord, I'm sure the Lord would have said no, it's not your money I want I want you to heart. It's our attitude toward these idols and told the these things, the television itself can become an idol. When we walk into the room, all conversation stops and we sort of sit there and reverence watching that box to see if JR is going to be shot again. I read the other day that Mary Martin, who is his mother in real life, said that people now ask her to sign not her name Mary Martin but there's JR's mother. Now the Bible says we must choose two ways of life. Jeremiah had written thus saith the LORD behold, I've said before you the way of life and the way of death, there's a way of life. There's a way of death. Which way are you on?

You must choose tonight I read where Alvin Toffler indicated recently that for too many, there simply is no way out for our modern world, no exit from the human dilemma. As John Paul Sartre once wrote, the side it says, invent your way out, the philosopher says, think your way out. The sensually says play your lap. But none of them works. A month ago, a 26 year old playboy killed himself because life had nothing else offering. And some are looking to the past for their way. So Barbra Streisand sings the way we were. George Harrison, and the Beatles used to sing something in the way. But there's another song out that says, show me the way. Jesus said, I am the way. I am the way. I'm the only way. And the only way to permanent peace and the only way to permanent joy and the only way to eternal life, and the only way to forgiveness of sin. And the only way to the Father. You have to come by me. And that eliminates a lot of people. When Jesus began to talk about dying on the cross. A lot of his followers left Him. They said, Lord, we thought you were going to sit on a big throne, and we're going to drive in Cadillac's. And we're going to have beautiful swimming pools and lovely ladies and all the rest of it, we didn't really know that you were going to die and wanted us to go with you. We thought this was going to be a kingdom and we were going to overthrow Rome, and we were going to rule the world.

And that is going to happen someday. But not now the cross before the crown. Some of us want the crown before the cross. The Bible says there is a way that seemeth right. Unto a man, but the end there are other ways of death. What are some of the ways? Well, some people say I'm going to follow my conscience, but you don't follow your conscience. Many of us have dead consciences, your conscience is no longer a safe guide. You've hardened it, you dent it. And then other people say, well, I try to be sincere in everything I do. We're here on a football stadium right here. And many years ago, I saw a man pick up a football. And he ran 65 yards the wrong way. Now he was one of the most sincere fellows you ever saw, lost the game. And then there are many people that say, well, you know, I do a lot of good works. And I give money to charitable causes. And now add to all that I'm sure God will understand. The Bible says for by Grace you say through faith, not not that not of yourselves, but the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. See, if you can work your way to heaven and pay your way to heaven. You'd get up and say, look what I did. I got myself here by my own good words. The only way you're ever going to make it is to come to that cross, where Christ took our sins and our judgment and our hell and identify ourselves with him. And then there are some people that say, well, I'll reform I'll do better. 

I know people that are always saying I'm going to do better, but they never do better. They don't have any power within them to do better until they come to Christ. And when you come to Christ, an explosion takes place of power, that He gives you to live a new life. I can't live the Christian life. I have no power within me to live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit has to live in me. And Christ has to live through me. I cannot live the Christian life I'm a total flop and failure. Jesus said enter in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there be which go in there at. Because straight is the gate and narrows is the way that leadeth unto life and few there be the finding.

Few's said only a few are going to find that narrow gate in that narrow way as I said last evening, are you among that view? You not only choose between two ways of life but you choose between two masters. Jesus said no man can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and materialism, He says. In Matthew, the sixth chapter in the Sermon on the Mount, you have to make a choice. All the way through the Bible choices, choices, choices, choices, choices, not only between two ways of life and two masters, but you're going to have to choose between two fathers, two spiritual followers. He said in John eight, a very shocking statement, the 44th verse, he said, You are of your father, the devil, and the lust of your father, you will do not he says, for many of you, the devil is your spiritual father. Now you're not aware of it. You wouldn't admit it. But that's the way God looks at it. 

There is a God your spiritual father true in the living God, Christ are, there is the devil. I didn't say that Jesus said he read the whole eighth chapter of John, you'll find out. Many you say that they don't believe in the devil. I'm going to talk about that one evening. But the last few years, that's all changed. We've had the Exorcist, The Omen. And many other films along that line. And a few weeks ago, there was a murder trial in the defense lawyers were arguing that the devil made their client kill. And 70 some percent of the American people according to a poll taken a few months ago, now say they believe in the devil. Well, now if you don't have the devil, there's something stirring the world up to some sort of madness. Give him another name. If you want to call him something else, call him that.

Call him the deceiver, the force, the Apollonian, whatever you want to call it, something's wrong. Something is causing lust and greed and hate, and prejudice and war, and murderers and rapists and muggings, is causing all that it's worldwide. It's the devil. According to the Bible, if you don't want to accept what the Bible says, Give it another name. Go to Star Wars and see the force of evil. It's there. And then you have to choose not only between two ways of life and two masters and two fathers, but you have to choose between two destinies, heaven or hell. Solomon wrote about the way to hell in Proverbs 7:27, C.S. Lewis, the great Cambridge and Oxford Professor taught in both universities, you should emphasize, he said, no one ever had so much to say about the way to hell as the Jesus Christ. And the youth of our day seems sometimes to be obsessed with the fact of hell. You know, I used to take a little book, maybe I'll still take it up song hits, and I would read the lyrics. That's back when Franklin my son and my other children were going through that stage. And my wife and I tried to keep up with the loud noises coming from their room, and what they were listening to. And constantly you hear a song today, called Highway to Hell. 

The meatloaf sing Bat Out of Hell, and the AC DC sing hells bells. And there's a group in England that has singing at the top of the chart right now called the damned. So you see, young people talk about it, they think about it, on the other hand, no one ever spoke of heaven with more clarity and authority as Jesus Christ. And one of the most played pop songs is the Led Zeppelin stairway to heaven. Jesus Christ is the stairway to heaven. He is the way to heaven. Come to him. He said in my Father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you. Yes, Jesus is in heaven preparing your estate right now. Waiting for you. There is a future life and eternal life does not begin when you die and go to heaven. It begins here and now when you make this choice for Christ, because eternity eternal life comes to dwell in your heart tonight. Jesus Christ is the gateway to heaven. Now this choice also you must make yourself. Joshua said is for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Your father can't make it for you, your mother can't make it for you. Your children can't make it for you. This is where you must choose yourselves. 

He knew, that He could not choose for the tribes of Israel. They must choose for themselves. Men is a social being. 

However, there's an inner sanctuary within ourselves where we retire from all other fellowships, comrade ships and influences, and there's a lonely arena where the greatest battles of life must be fought alone. And this is a decision that you have to make alone. you're asked to cast a vote. And you go in and you pull the string and the curtain poles around you, and you vote for Christ, off of the other gods, which has your priority. That's the great question. Moses said, I call heaven and earth to record this day that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life. The bow and thy seed may live forever. Notice it says, thy seed. This has something to do with your children and your grandchildren, and your children's children. My son and I were talking tonight about how it passes on from generation to generation. This faith that we have in Christ. The writer to Hebrews recounts how Moses esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, choosing rather to suffer the affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, he made a choice. 

Moses could have probably been the Pharaoh of Egypt. He was the son of Pharaoh's daughter at all the riches and power of Egypt. And he made a choice to suffer persecution, and the reproach with the people of God, he didn't know that his name would be in history, he didn't know that someday he would lead all of Israel, he didn't know that someday he would be considered one of the greatest men that ever lived. When he made that choice, he made it on the basis of simple faith in God. Some think that Guy Lafleur is the world's greatest hockey player. And he said a month ago that each of us has only one past, but there are many futures. You see you can't change your past. But you can determine your destiny by deciding for Christ. And when you do that, Christ changes your past, he wipes out all the sins of the past. Because you see the blood of Jesus Christ, His son cleansed from all sin. without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. When he died on that cross. He forgave all the past. You tonight, our reminded of the many sins in your life. The Holy Spirit's bring them to your mind right now. And you know, they stand against you at the judgment where every secret thing will be brought out. But Jesus tonight offers forgiveness. 

But he offers more than forgiveness he offers justification, just as though you had never committed a sin. What a wonderful thing to go to bed tonight and know that the past is gone. Forgiven, cleansed, and God no longer remembers your sin. Yes, and this choice is very urgent, to delay makes the right decision harder. Indecision is itself a choice not to decide is to decide not to, choose now. Nowhere in the Bible does it promise a tomorrow, come while you can. Time itself makes the decision for you. If you don't, you say but what do I have to do? Three things, you must be willing to repent of your sin that means to change your way of thinking about your sins and realize how bad they are in the sight of God. Change your way, you're thinking about God and say I love him and I'm going to love him with all my heart, mind. And so I'm going to make him the priority of my life. I'm going to put him first from now on is going to be not only my Savior, but my Lord. You may be a member of the church, you may not be a member of any church. You may be a officer in the church, but you're not sure about your relationship with Christ and you want to be sure. And you must be willing to repent and secondly, by faith receive Christ into your heart. 

That means you put your whole weight on him and trust him and him alone. And thirdly, you follow and serve him as his disciple and follow him and obey Him. That means a big change for many of you. If you make this choice, I'm going to ask you to make it now. And I'm going to ask you to do it publicly. As we've seen 1000s of people this week already come to Christ, I'm going to ask you to get up from your seat. If you start from that top stand up, it'll take you two minutes. So start now, and come and stand in front of this platform. And as you all stand here in front of the platform, I'm going to say a word to you, and have a prayer with you, and give you some literature. And you can go back and join your friends. You're making that choice by coming in standing here. 

And the reason I do it publicly is because every person that Jesus called he called publicly, Joshua called upon the people publicly, Moses called upon the people publicly, to inscribe their commitment that will be seen publicly for generations to come. I'm asking you tonight to publicly and openly come and say tonight, Christ is going to be priority in my life. I want to know that I have eternal life. You may be in the choir, you may be sitting over here on the grass over here on the grass, or in the stands. Wherever You Are you come we're going to wait on, quickly, right now. As the choir sing softly I'm going to rise to no one leave the stadium please. It disturbs so many people that are on their way. Men, women, young people. God has spoken to you tonight, you come.