Rev. David Holwick ZQ New Years
First Baptist Church 8:30 a.m. only
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 30, 2007
Ezekiel 21:21
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I. Forks in the road.
A. The king of Babylon needs some direction. Ezek 21:21
1) His invading army has reached Palestine.
a) Should he turn left toward Jordan?
b) Should he go to the right toward Israel?
2) He pulls out his decision equipment.
a) Arrows would have city names written on them, and the
one that fell out of the quiver first, or ended up
on top, became the answer.
b) Household idols were another possibility.
c) Reading animal livers was always highly rated. We have
found tons of cuneiform tablets with liver-reading
advice.
3) By magic and divination, he gets his answer.
a) What he didn't realize is that the God of Heaven has
been directing him all along.
b) He is a tool of God's plan.
c) What plan does God have for us?
B. Yogi Berra's advice.
"If you come to a fork in the road, take it."
1) Of course, that's the rub.
2) We come to many forks in life, but which do we take?
a) Our decisions make us who we are.
b) How can we decide better?
c) Can we change past forks?
II. New Years focuses our minds on changing direction.
A. In reality, we make choices every day.
1) Marrying this person or that one.
2) Taking this career or that one.
a) Josiah is concerned about college right now.
1> Which one will he qualify for?
2> Which one can he get Dad to pay for?
3) Daily moral decisions - choosing evil or good.
a) They can be the most important forks.
B. Our forks have eternal consequences.
1) Which way will you choose?
2) How will you make your choice?
III. The forks of life decisions.
A. These are the decisions we worry about the most.
1) What will be my school, my career, my spouse?
a) Certain times in life are more momentous.
1> These decisions are difficult to alter.
A> It's possible, but lawyers are very expensive!
2> These decisions have lasting consequences for us.
b) Celeste's father, James Triehy, visiting for Christmas.
During World War II he was stationed in Australia.
Apparently he had a lot of time to date women.
One of them invited him out to her sheep ranch.
It was really beautiful country.
I told him he should have married her.
His wife responded, "Then you wouldn't have HER."
Referring to MY wife, of course.
2) What about "the road not taken"?
a) Robert Frost's famous poem:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Frost has two choices, but can take only one road.
In the end, he takes the road less traveled.
He says it made all the difference - but is that good
or not?
He sounds a little wistful in one stanza when he says:
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
#19254
b) When we make decisions, we need to see them through.
1> There can be changes later, and sometimes you get
to try the other road.
2> But don't despair over "what could have been."
3> The road you are on, God can bless.
A> Don't keep dreaming about the greener grass.
B> None of our forks turn out perfectly, and
God can use us right where we are.
1: A lousy job or a difficult marriage may
be God's means of sharpening us.
c) God may have his reasons for keeping us from some paths.
Mike Rayson is a Christian musician who was traveling to a rural
house out in the country.
It was late, and dark, and he was really in the boonies.
But he had a GPS unit, like some of you got for Christmas.
In Mike's words:
"I was driving on a dirt road.
It wasn't a bad dirt road (I've certainly been on far worse).
The GPS told me to turn right (which I did).
On the screen, I was to drive a short distance, make a right
angle turn, and drive about 3/4 of a mile to a main road.
As soon as I turned right, the road turned into slush, and I
began sliding down the hill out of control.
"I was looking at the screen hoping and praying I would make
it to the bottom of the hill I was on and correct my slide.
The mud was so deep, that the Suburban came to a complete stop
in the mud, and would go no farther.
It had sunk in up to almost the door level.
"I got out in total darkness, and started walking down through
mud at points almost to my knees. . .
Less than 70 feet down the hill, I came upon a scene that
shocked me.
The bridge was completely out."
Sermon #26128
B. Important decisions should be carefully considered.
1) Don't rush into big decisions.
a) Getting married five days after you meet someone
is romantic, but not very prudent.
2) Weigh your abilities, needs, and limitations.
3) Seek advice from people you respect.
4) Pray about it and ask God's help. Ezek 21:21
a) Just don't be like the King of Babylon and dig around
some goat livers - or go to a palm reader.
b) We need guidance, not magic.
5) Make your decision and stick to it.
C. Jesus relates these to "What shall I eat, drink, wear?"
1) They are not superficial concerns.
a) God himself knows that we need them.
2) But they are not our highest priority.
a) Seeking God's Kingdom should always come first.
b) He will see to it that the other things fall in line too.
IV. The forks of moral decisions.
A. They have different sizes.
1) There is a difference between small moral choices and big
ones.
2) However, even the little ones have a way of accumulating
into big ones.
B. They have different weights.
1) Some of our moral decisions are morally neutral.
a) For example, do I give $100 to the homeless or $100 to
a conservation group?
b) Either one may do good work, and be worthy of your
support.
2) Other moral decisions involve absolutes.
a) If one option violates one of God's laws, it is not an
option for you.
b) Selling cocaine may be more lucrative than your current
job, but it is wrong and you can't do it.
1> God will never require you to compromise your morals
or your faith.
2> Others will tell you that you have no choice, that
everyone does it, but that just means that
THEY do it and they want your company.
C. Moral forks come at us daily.
1) The decisions you make in these areas become ingrained.
a) It becomes more and more difficult to change direction.
2) Your foundation must be God's Word.
Ron Hutchcraft writes:
Maybe you feel like getting even, or going for the money,
or compromising to get ahead, or giving in sexually.
But you know what your Lord has said.
You can interpret the Bible through your feelings and try
to make it fit what you want -
or you can interpret your feelings through the Bible and
make a decision with no scars, no guilt, and no regrets.
#22426
V. The fork of your spiritual decision.
A. As in every area of life, there are options here.
1) We have spiritual choices as never before.
2) Religion doesn't seem as clear-cut anymore.
3) But in God's eyes, it still is.
B. Jesus and the narrow way. Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it."
1) The broad way is easier and more popular.
2) The narrow way is found by only a few.
a) But don't most think they are going to heaven?
b) Jesus suggests they reconsider.
C. One way is the right way.
Dr. Seamands tells of a Muslim who became a Christian in
Africa.
"Some of his friends asked him, 'Why have you become a
Christian?'
He answered, 'Well, it's like this.
Suppose you were going down the road.
And suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn't
know which way to go.
And there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and
one alive -- which one would you ask which way to go?'"
#34921
VI. How can we know if we are on the road of salvation?
A. The road of salvation produces the fruit of the spirit.
B. The road of salvation produces joy for Jesus.
C. Are you on the right road today?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#19254 "The Road Not Taken," poem by Robert Frost, http://www.cs.rice.edu/~
ssiyer/minstrels/index.html.
#22426 "When the Wrong Thing Feels Right," by Ron Hutchcraft, A Word With
You #4120, October 25, 2002. Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft
Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602.
Used by permission. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues."
#26128 (Kerux Sermons) Sermon: "At the Fork in the Road," by unknown
preacher, Pleasant View Methodist Church; Pleasant View,
Tennessee; www.gbgm-umc.org/pleasantview/sermons
#34921 "Two Men At The Fork In The Road," by Warren Webster, HIS Magazine,
April 1980, p. 13.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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