Good Decision Making

Turn with me in your Bibles this morning.

Now, by the way, man, we got a lot of good things.

I I let me just say, I know I don't think about doing this enough, really.

But all the people that make even this happen, they're here early.

But Benji, uh, Benji does not, and he doesn't like what I'm about to do.

But Benji, I want you to know how thankful I am for you.

And Benji's like my other son.

He and Eric and Brady and Stephanie and Mary.

We all grew up together.

We really did for almost 14 years in Tuscaloosa.

They live right around the corner from us.

And uh we were every every week, two or three times, uh, David, his dad would be definitely uh going visiting with me all the time.

I'd call him, he'd go.

He was with me all the time.

And every weekend we ate together, we we did everything together.

We vacations together, and Christy helped raise our girls, and David did too, and and so he's really like my other son, he and Brady both.

And uh, but they all this technology, you know, when you pull up, I've had people tell me, especially some of the people I've been visiting in the last couple of weeks, they they don't know where the church is.

They're looking for a church with a steeple.

Maybe, maybe on, maybe on that metal building or a multi-purpose building, we'll put a steeple or something or big cross.

We'll put a big cross up there, make it really look good.

But but uh so when they pull in and they see the metal buildings, they're not sure what their, what is this, until they walk in, and when they walk in and see this unbelievable beautiful facility with the I meant latest technology, uh, it just blows your mind.

And uh, so with that said, they're always pushing me technology.

And so this past week, by the way, are you ready for this?

You remember about a year or two ago when we got our own app?

We were asking, we had to get a thousand, let's get a let's break a thousand apps, let's get a thousand people to download our app.

We have 2,400 people that have downloaded our app.

Amen.

And thank you for watching.

I know we got a lot of people watching right now.

All our people gone for vacation on Thanksgiving, they're watching.

I know they are, and a lot of other people.

I have friends all in Worth County, all my friend lists, they're watching, and so I love you and happy Thanksgiving.

But 2,400 apps.

And so if you have not downloaded the app, please do.

And you can go online.

Benji said, make sure you tell them this.

You can go online and pull up the outline right now.

And uh, I mean, follow us there with your phone or whatever.

So uh again, it's amazing.

And I did something, he's been after me, and uh after I did it, I said, that was so easy, I'm gonna start doing this more often.

Anyway, I downloaded the blog for a lot of y'all say, What blog?

You don't even uh maybe you're not on our mailing.

What do they have to do to get on the blog?

Just send in their uh email address, okay?

So if you'd like to be on the blog, give me your email, and I think you can put it on the on the uh worship guide, put it in there, put it in the offering plate, and you'll start getting the blog every week.

And also, though I'm starting to download it uh online, you're gonna see my ugly face.

I was sitting there with my coffee cup, and I said, Okay, uh I'm gonna try this, and I had a good time doing it.

In fact, I did another one right after that.

And so, what uh you can go on and Facebook uh CCW or become my friend.

Benji's gonna show me how to make sure all my friends start getting it, and uh I'm gonna start doing because, for example, the message I'm doing today is a quiet time message, it's not one of those regular series of messages like celebrate the seasons.

It's gonna start next Sunday with our Sunday school Bible study material.

It's gonna be an awesome six-week study.

It really is, about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and starting the new year right.

But every so often, God really lays on my heart when I'm going, I have a little booklet that I do for quiet time every morning, seven days a week, and it takes about 15, 20 minutes, and usually I'll memorize a I'll write out a thought to me.

In fact, I used to do thoughts for a day when I was at Tennessee Temple on the radio every day, thought for today.

And what God speaks that thought to me.

So, what I'm gonna start doing, I'm gonna start doing two or three of those a week along with the blog live.

It probably won't be over a minute, minute and a half, just a thought.

So that way you can uh when you see it pop up from Pastor Danny Thought for today, you can uh get a thought.

It'll be a verse and a thought out of that verse of what God's taught me that morning that I want to give to you.

And uh so I've been doing that for years.

So I'm gonna start sharing that with our family.

Uh just a thought that you can take with you all day long, a verse all day long, and just say, God, let that thought permeate my heart today and this week.

So, anyway, the thought for today is how to make wise decisions, how to teach our children to make wise decisions.

I am convinced the greatest thing that you and I can give our children other than salvation, bringing them into a personal relationship with Christ.

The next greatest thing we can give them, and the Bible says in Proverbs 22, 6, train up a child in the way he shall go, and he will never depart from it.

And we see in that verse, train up a child, the earliness of the training.

In other words, train up a child.

While they're young, we are to be training them.

While they are young, we are to be teaching them.

And one of the greatest things we can do while they're young is teach them how to make wise decisions.

And then also in that verse, not only do we see the earliness of the training, but we see the effect of the training.

Train up a child in the way it should go.

Now watch.

And he will not depart from it.

So the key, why do you think we so powerfully and so vehemently, everything we do reaches out to the children, to young couples with their children, with their teenagers.

Why do you think everything we're doing, the soccer, the flag football, the softball, the upward basket, all the upward sports we're gonna be doing, all that is for one purpose, and that is to train those children early in the things of God.

Approved workmen are not ashamed.

That's it, 2 Timothy 2, 50.

Study to show us that approved unto God a workman than not be ashamed.

Rightly dividing the word of truth.

So everything we do.

We, when David and I sat down and and and Christy and Susan, we talked about this and we saw the demographics, all these young couples with all these kids coming into this area.

We had a vision, and that vision now you see is literally coming to be to be.

It's coming to be.

The soccer fields, the fields, the tracks, everything.

We're gonna have, I can still see the botanical gardens, Rosemary.

I can see a campground, I can see all kind of stuff that relates to family on this 90 acres.

Y'all just gotta go do it.

Just a thought.

Jerry?

Jerry, sound familiar?

Jerry and David just say I'd be casting a vision.

And they say, yeah, yeah.

Whoa, preacher, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Slow down just a little bit, a little bit.

I don't I don't have time to slow down.

I'm in my fourth quarter, and and we're gonna go for overtime, right, Harry?

Amen.

We're going for overtime.

I saw two football games in overtime yesterday.

By the way, Auburn killed my alma mater yesterday.

Woo! They just beat it.

Branch, y'all beat us up bad.

Yeah, that's right.

Thank you for helping support my alma mater, Auburn.

You know, you get a$500,000 check.

Oh, okay, beat me up some more.

Amen.

But really, what are you saying?

We've got to take these kids early and teach them how to make wise decisions.

So, how do we do that?

In Joshua 24, 15, God's word literally says, choose you this day.

Choose yourselves for yourselves this day.

Whom are you gonna serve?

Number one, on your outline, good decision making is the key to a happy life.

Good decision making is the key to a happy life.

But now listen, good decision making is not some skill some of us are naturally born with.

Hello.

Now, some of us, or some of you have been born with natural talents.

We know that.

And gifts.

Well, talents.

God gives you the gifts.

But you've been born, but let me say something.

Good decision making is not what you're naturally born with.

In fact, what you're naturally born with is a sin nature that's bent to making bad decisions, not good decisions.

Hello, amen.

Behold, I'm formed in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

So trust me, while poor decision making is not a handicap, others are born with.

And even aging in life is not also a given that you're gonna be able to make better decisions as you get older.

In fact, I've seen people that have gotten older make worse decisions.

So we've got to understand.

And by the way, courage and education and everything else, all these things that we obtain as we're growing older and maturing and living life does not guarantee that you can make good decisions.

So today, our purpose is to see how we can make right, good, wise decisions.

So, how do we do that?

Here we do.

Here we go.

Number one, here's a very important thing.

The consequences, and this is what we have to teach our children.

Number one, that the consequences you get are the results of the choices you make.

Amen.

The consequences you get are the result of the choices you make.

We need to let them know it's not their circumstances, but decisions they make about those circumstances, and that's so important, that ends up in their results.

But decisions they make about their circumstances that end up, watch now, that end up governing their life.

Well, that's important, folks.

Let me say that again.

The decisions they make in reference to their circumstances are, hey, the situations end up governing their life.

In other words, they end up living the results of that decision they made.

Been there, done that.

Amen.

And sometimes they can be horrible, sometimes they can be good.

But what if we could teach them to make good decisions?

In fact, we must let our children know that their circumstances, just because they may be bad circumstances, do not mean they still can't make good decisions.

And that's very important.

Very important.

In fact, I really believe when we look at the situations of these consequences and see what scripture tells about making the right decisions and how to do it, that we can even make good decisions in bad, hey, situations.

Or we can make good decisions with bad circumstances.

That's pretty good if we can do that.

Amen.

So look at the second thing.

The consequences you get are the result of the choices you make, absolutely.

And then secondly, you will always have options.

A lot of times kids feel powerless and hopeless when reacting to negative circumstances.

In fact, I was doing a lot of research on thinking when it comes to decision making, and I came up with a couple things.

First of all, children and us as adults tend to be either or thinkers.

Either or.

Either everything's good or either everything's bad.

There's no in-between.

We call them either or thinkers, concluding that things are either good or bad.

But what we need to teach them, instead of being either or thinkers, to be both and thinkers.

You say, now wait a minute.

Both and thinkers, what does that mean?

Because they can realize, because things can be bad, yet you can choose to make good decisions about the bad situations.

Either or thinkers frequently produce, watch this.

I was reading Dobson's book on making wise decisions.

He says, frequently, when you see either or thinkers, it produces kids.

Now listen, who becomes pessimistic, disempowered, defeated, easily manipulated, depressed adults.

Knowing they always have good options, though, prevent circumstances for dictating their lives.

In other words, when they know they can still make good decisions in bad circumstances, they have hope.

They have hope.

So how do we do that?

Let's look at a, and by the way, we always have options.

Choose you this day.

Remember with Elijah on Mount Carmel when he was dealing with the people?

You remember what he said to them in 1 Kings 18, 21?

He says, Hey, you got a hey, you got an option today.

You can choose to follow God or you can choose to follow Baal, but you hey, you need to make a choice.

Even though they did not make a choice.

They're waiting to see which way the wind blew.

I call it fair weather choice makers.

You know what a fair weather choice maker is?

They want to wait and see who's gonna win, then they make that choice.

Hello.

So you have options.

Now let me show you.

God gave me this.

Colossians 3.23.

Whoo, man, this is so good, folks.

You gotta see this.

I mean, it is awesome, awesome.

And Colossians 3 23.

Why don't you see this?

This is powerful.

Colossians 3.23.

Yeah, but I got a little caveat here I wanted to find.

And whatsoever you do, do it heartly as to the Lord.

Wow.

Whatsoever you do, do it as heartly as to the Lord and not unto men.

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.

But he that doeth wrong shall receive for wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons.

Now go back and look at verse 22.

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.

Now, this is this context is in you and I working and doing service for God.

Well, let me tell you, the same principles apply to you and I making the right choices and the right decisions in our life so that we can serve God.

Can I get an amen?

So it's the same principle or the application of this principle is the same.

So let me show you what I said.

First of all, if you and I are gonna learn to make those right decisions, knowing that we're gonna reap the consequences of those decisions, then we need to look at the character of the decision.

And it's right here.

I just saw this this week and I had a Pentecostal spell.

I want you to see this.

These principles are unbelievable.

In verse 22, first of all, the character of your decision has to be honest.

Look at what he said.

Servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh.

Not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.

In other words, honesty, not men pleasers.

In other words, our decision can't be a selfish decision.

Trying to get an amen.

Hello, wait a minute.

What'd you say?

Yeah, but I want the decision to be what's best for me.

Oh, that's called selfishness.

Do you realize every decision you make is not all about you?

Help me here, say oh me, amen.

You would like it to be all about you.

And I would too, but it's not.

Your decisions and the consequences of your decisions and us teaching our children will affect a lot of other people.

Especially the family or those that are closest to them.

Your decisions will affect them.

Amen?

So it needs to be an honest decision.

Look at the second character trait here.

Not only should it be honest, it should be a holy decision.

Look at verse 22 again.

Fearing God.

Honoring God.

It ought to be a decision that you and I make when we have a decision to make that honors God.

Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, you do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10, 31.

Amen?

And then notice the third character trait of this decision.

It's honest, it's holy, but it's heartly, verse 23.

Look at what he says in verse 23.

And whatsoever do it, do it heartly.

In other words, let me tell you when you know it's the best decision or a wise decision or a good decision.

When your heart's all in it.

Have you ever made decisions when you half-heartedly made them?

Three of us.

Ah, come on.

Have you ever made a half-heartedly decision?

Sure.

And what happened to it?

I can tell you exactly what happened to it.

Hello?

It didn't turn out worth a flip.

Why?

Your heart wasn't in it.

You gotta have your heart in the decision.

And if God's in it, you'll have peace about it.

Now look at the other characteristic, the character trait of this.

Not only is it honest, holy, it's heartly, but are you ready?

Well, this is good.

Very honorable.

That's right.

No.

Now, when you and by the way, look when you look at I want you to see something else.

Look at verse 24.

When you make a heartly decision, a holy decision, and an honest decision.

Look at the compensation.

Look at the compensation.

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ.

Wow.

In other words, let me tell you what that inheritance word in the Greek means.

It means payday.

In other words, when you make a hey, a right-heartedly, honest, holy decision, a decision that honors God, you can bank on it.

There's a payday coming.

And the results will be unbelievable.

Honest, holy, heartly.

And then you have the inheritance.

Payday is coming down the road.

But now look, there's something else.

We see the character, we saw the compensation, payday, but now look at the caution in verse 25.

But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons.

Now watch this.

When you and I make wrong decisions, when we make bad decisions, we will reap the consequences.

And we're going to get there in this next point.

But here's what I wrote to myself on this verse.

Retribution, now listen, from God will come as well as reward from God comes.

And it all depends on the decisions we make.

Somebody say that's good.

Come on, Ivan.

That's good.

So good decision making is the key to a happy life.

Second thing.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Galatians chapter 6.

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

Galatians chapter 6.

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

Man, this is so good.

And we'll stop with we'll start with verse 5.

Second point: a man reaps what he sows.

Notice verse 5.

For every man shall bear his own burden.

The New Living Testament reads this way: For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

For each of us are responsible for our own decisions.

Hello.

Uh-uh.

Don't blame it on me.

Well, the preacher calls me to do that.

You're not getting off that easy, Johnny.

I mean, I get blamed a lot.

I tell you who I blame.

I like to blame Susan.

I'm not going anywhere.

I'm not digging a hole.

It's my anniversary, I promise.

But I like, I, you know, I like to blame somebody else other than me.

Because see, if it's me, then I have to take the responsibility that I made a bad decision.

And I'm a prideful person, and I don't want to, hey, I don't want to, I don't want to take that responsibility.

So it's a lot easier for me to blame you.

Can I get some amen in here?

Yeah, owe me is what we need.

I mean, it it wasn't my how many times when your kids are being raised and you get something and you catch them in something, the first thing they say, it's not my fault?

Or we, or what, or or or yeah, you ask them, did y'all do that?

And they go, or they give you that blank look.

Did you get in the cookie jar?

Not me.

Wasn't my fault.

Mom laid the cookie jar on the table.

I told her this morning.

I found a bag of somehow the the the uh trick-or-treat candy was in the back of my car, and we had some gifts over it, and I found it, and I said, Man, what she said, what do you do with that candy?

I said, Well, it's not open, it's not mine.

I forgot to give it to the trick-or-treaters, I guess.

I mean, you know, when we did our trick-or-treat.

And then I brought it in and put it on there, and I thought to myself, well, I'll take it.

Next thing I know, she opens it.

And she's got her hand in those Milky Ways eating them.

Don't you tell her what I got the other day at your house.

And so I said, and guess what?

I went over there and started eating them.

And guess what I said, Susan?

Why did you open that candy?

I opened it to eat it.

I said, Yeah, but you're not supposed to be eating it.

And now why I'm still eating it.

Yeah, I did.

I had some coffee too.

But now why?

But see, we don't want to take responsibility.

But now, again, for every man shall bear his own decision.

You can write that in right there.

Now, somebody said, listen to what Dobson said.

Dobson said, yard by yard, life is hard.

Inch by inch, life's a tenth inch.

Yeah.

For their life to go right, our children must learn to think right.

Can I get an amen?

They have to.

So, in order to teach them how to think right, are you ready?

Get ready.

This is good.

How do we teach our children to think right?

Number one, here you go.

What are my options in this situation?

What are my options in this decision that I've got to make?

What are my options?

Psalms 32, 8 says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you shall go.

I will guide you with my eye, the word says.

So it's pretty good that we teach them to think, hey, what God's word says.

Brainstorm with them.

Write down, hey, every option that's offered.

In other words, when we used to, especially, I remember with Stephanie when she was trying to make the decision which PA school she wanted to go.

We would I would I would talk to her about her options.

Where can you go?

UAB?

Treveka?

Knoxville, Tennessee?

What are your options?

What are my options?

Brainstorm with them, write them down.

Tell them that, by the way, if they come up with some, sometimes you know your kids will come up with some silly ideas.

But make sure you tell them there's no silly ideas.

Now there's wrong and right ideas, but no silly ideas.

You don't want them to close up.

Number two, what benefits come from each option?

Now this is good.

This is great decision making.

What benefits come from each option?

The goal is not to coerce them, but for them to discover and embrace the truth for themselves.

Stephanie used to always say about me, because I would, when we were dealing with decision making with them, I'd always quote scripture and I'd tell them what I, you know, it bel what it said.

And she'd say, Well, Dad, that's your belief.

No, it wasn't.

It's what it says.

And I'd always say that.

She said, No, no, that's your belief.

So the idea in making decisions is that they see the truth themselves.

Can I get an amen?

Because when they see the truth, then you've, hey, they've understood it, and now they've got the option to make the best choice.

Now that doesn't mean they will sometimes, but let them see the truth.

You should know the truth, say it with me.

And what?

Number three, what negative consequences come from each option?

Kids can be brutally honest, amen.

And that's okay.

It's just part of the learning.

God calls it the God's cause and effect law of sowing and reaping that we're going to look at in this passage in a minute.

That's okay.

It's just part of the learning process.

Now, here's something that's really good.

Teach them to question themselves.

In other words, Stephanie, if you make this decision, are you willing to accept the consequences?

Hello.

Make them question the decision they're about to make.

After they've looked at the positive and the negatives, okay, so now they make that decision.

What's the consequence?

Question themselves.

And then, well, this is so good.

And once they question themselves, so they're willing to accept the consequences.

And then, are you willing to accept the consequences?

Here's another good question.

I wrote down.

How will this decision change your life?

Are you willing to accept the consequences with your decision?

And here it is.

How will this decision change your life?

That's powerful.

Man, that's powerful.

And then number four, what personal values are involved in this decision?

Boy, that's good.

Now let me show you a few things I wanted to show you.

Go to Luke.

Did I put Luke 14 up there, did I, Denson?

I did.

Alright, go to Luke 14.

I want you to see this.

Remember, here's what you got to show them scripturally.

For which of you intended to build a tower?

Okay?

What we've been doing, what our council has been doing, we've been meeting for the last six months, off and on, and we've been looking at the cost.

Paul did a tremendous job bringing us a cost analysis on everything we wanted to do.

For which of you intending to build a tower does not sit down first and count the cost whether he has enough to finish it.

Remember, consequences come.

But there's a cost involved.

Write that down.

There's a cost involved in every decision.

There's a cost involved.

The consideration, what it will cost to see if you can hey, do it.

Can you do it?

That gets back to what we started off with.

Is it a heart decision?

Is it a right decision?

Is it an honest decision?

And now do you have the resource?

Do you have the faith?

Do you have the gumption to do it?

Because if you don't, look at the contempt.

Verse 29.

Give me verse 29.

Can you give me verse 29?

I don't think I had it on the outline, but verse 29 says, for failure to finish the tower will bring contempt.

It'll bring shame.

In other words, when we make bad decisions, wrong decisions, and it fails, it brings shame to our reputation.

Hello, owe me.

That's what it says.

And if you go on down in verse 31, it talks about a battle with the king, and he says, hey, how will a king, he's got to decide whether or not to stand there with his castle and fight the enemy.

The enemy's got 20,000 about to attack, and he only has 10,000, so he's got to make a decision.

Am I going to fight or am I going to surrender?

Because there is a cost to be paid.

If you go on down further, that's the next example.

So, very important.

And then what personal values are involved in this decision?

Now go to Philippians chapter 4, 8 and 9.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

Listen to what it says.

Value-based decisions call us to a higher road rather than the path of least resistance, I call it.

Here's some godly values, such as truthfulness, trustworthiness, loyalty, responsibility, compassion, friendship, self-denial, courage, honor, faith.

All those are seen in Philippians 4, 8 and 9.

And if we break it down for the kids, here's what I did.

I went through verse 8 and used all H's to make it very simple.

Oh, this was so good.

Thoughts that are honest, holy, harmonious.

I'm using all H's, which means decisions that bring people together.

It doesn't separate.

Can I get an Amen?

Amen.

Happy decisions, healthy decisions, heavenly decisions.

Those are the kind of values that we should bring to our decision making.

Can I get an amen?

Man, that's good.

Boy, that's good, folks.

You're gonna need to listen to this again and again.

Man, this is so good.

And so timely.

So timely.

Number three.

But but before we get to three, let me finish up.

Let me go back to.

Yeah, I almost missed that.

That's good.

All right.

Galatians five, look at what he says.

In Galatians five, now look at seven.

Be not deceived, God is not mocked.

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.

And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap as we faint not.

Now this is loaded.

Very loaded.

In fact, what I love, what I love here is again, leads in to what we call the law of harvest effect.

Notice what he says.

The deception, be not deceived.

Here's what Satan would have us to think that there's no consequences to our wrong choices.

That we can sin and get away with it.

That we're really not held responsible.

It's not our fault, it's the government's fault.

We don't really have to work because the welfare takes care of us.

All that's deception, folks.

All that is deception.

And we see that right there.

But now watch.

Be not deceived.

You will not reap what you sow, Satan says.

You can live in sin and not suffer consequences.

Let me remind you, Numbers 23, 17 says, you can be sure your sins will find you out.

And then look at the details, verse 8.

Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap.

And then he gives us the example of the details.

He that sows to the flesh, or you could say, he that makes bad decisions, shall of those bad decisions reap corruption.

But he that soweth to the spirit and makes the right decisions, those that are honest and holy and heavenly.

Hey, man, that's so good.

But he that soweth to the spirit.

In other words, if you sow wild oats, you reap wild oats.

If you sow good seeds, you reap good fruit.

And Jesus said, You should know them by the fruit that they bear.

And then look at the dedication.

Verse 9.

The law of the harvest should guide our decisions and performance.

Here it is.

Look at verse 9.

We see patience.

Let us not be weary in well-doing.

In other words, let us be patient about making that decision.

And now I'm going to show you in this next point.

A lot of the thought process controls that.

But hey, we got to be patient.

And then look at the other thing.

Not only patient, but we see when we're patient and make the right decision, we see the promise.

In due season, we shall reap.

In due season, there's going to be a good payday.

There's going to be a good payday.

Don't get so discouraged and defeated because you're not seeing immediate results.

I'm just now at 65 will be next month.

Can you believe that?

I'm 65 years old.

I get to sign up for Social Security.

I get to be a senior, no, sneakers.

What do you call it?

Silver sneakers.

Whatever that is.

But hey, hey, hey, listen.

I am just now beginning to reap benefits of the decisions Susan and I made 25 and 30 years ago.

And boy, they're good.

Woo! I like the paydays.

Amen?

Of investments and all the things that we made right decisions.

Now they're about ready to start paying off and paying back.

That's what Social Security does.

You made the right decisions.

And look what else it says.

Oh man, this is so good.

We're patient, then we see the promise, in due season we shall reap, and then, but here's the key.

Patience promised, but the third P persistency.

You can't quit.

Hello?

You can't get mad and quit.

How many people I know have gotten mad or disappointed or because it didn't happen immediately or when they thought it should, and they just gave up.

Well, that'd be like me starting a church, and if I didn't think it, well, we've been doing this six years and we're not running four or five hundred, so we're not successful, so I'm gonna quit.

And then I go to a place where out of 40 of the 50 plants of church, there's only two that's running more than 100, and there's only one that's running almost 300, and it happens to be us.

But see, in my mind, I wasn't doing what I thought, so I'm quitting.

And we were the most successful church there.

See how that can work in a negative way.

If you know God, if you know you've made the honest decision, a hard decision, a holy decision, and a heartly decision, bless God, you stick with it.

You don't give up.

There's a payday coming someday.

Don't give up.

Yeah.

I mean, how many people have given up on marriages?

Hello?

Ooh.

Let's don't go there.

Now we're getting stoned too many.

I almost did on my first marriage.

I was ready to walk out on Becky, but she didn't walk out on me.

Thank God she didn't.

Hello?

Don't give up! Don't quit! Which brings me to the third point.

Proverbs 4.23.

Go to Proverbs 4.23.

Oh boy, this is good.

In Proverbs 4.23.

You know it.

It says, guard your hearts.

Guard your thoughts.

That's what it really means.

Remember, we said we gotta teach our children how to think right?

Well, this is so good.

I meant really good.

Keep.

Keep your hearts.

The word keep there is tasar, the Hebrew word.

It means to guard, to protect, to preserve your heart, your thoughts.

Your thoughts are the source of all action.

Write that down.

Your thoughts are the results of all actions.

Spiritually, the heart and mind affects every activity of people's lives.

Jesus taught this in John 7 38 when he says, out of the belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The Greek word there, belly, really means, and boy, what a word it is, but it's powerful.

It's koilia, and it literally means the seed of thought and thought.

Feelings and choice.

In other words, it's where we make those choices.

And a lot of times we allow the feelings to make those choices for us, which can be very dangerous.

Or our emotions to make those choices.

So, your heart, the word heart there is lava.

The inner man, the mind, the will, the understanding process, the knowledge, the thinking, the reflection process, the memory.

So, how do we control that to the point we can make that best decision?

Here we go.

Teach your children to ask themselves, and we ask ourselves two questions.

Question number one How will I feel after words?

How will I feel after I've made this decision?

What we think is what we become.

What we keep our minds, where we keep our minds is where we are.

Let me repeat that.

Where we keep our minds is where we are.

What we do is what we think.

What we do is what we think.

Why do you think he says in Proverbs 23, 7?

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

And why do you think he says in that same chapter, verse 26, my son, give me your heart, God says, give me your heart and let your eyes observe my ways.

That's why, and that's when your decisions become honest, holy, heartly, and heavenly.

No doubt about it.

Carefully guard your thoughts.

Look at this.

Are you ready for this?

He says, carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of your life.

Dobson in his book on wise decision making said this.

Kids with self-respect.

In fact, let me share this with you.

He wrote this and I wrote it down.

This is powerful.

What outlast our decisions are the feelings, what outlast our decisions, listen to what he said, are the feelings of self-respect versus shame.

Our positive self-worth versus negative self-worth.

In other words, what's one of the most important results of decision making is that we feel and we have self-worth and not shame.

Shame is what defeats us when we blow it and we know we blow it.

And we knew we blew it, and we made the worst decision, the bad decision.

It brings, remember what we saw?

It brings shame, defame, but but what happens, the decision far passes, but yet the shame remains.

We can't get over it.

We get discouraged, we get depressed, and we stay there because we messed up.

But we got to get past that.

Can I get an amen?

Or the greatest goal is that we teach our children so they won't have to be put in that position.

Man, this is good.

Kids, here's what Dobson said.

You got to guard your thoughts.

That's what we got to teach them to guard their guard their thoughts because kids with self-respect are much less likely, now watch, to indulge in promiscuous sex, drugs, drinking, antisocial and illegal behaviors.

People that have self-respect and have confidence and have have good character and know that they're doing what's right, have that inner consciousness of right and wrong.

Can I get an amen?

I can remember when I started to do something wrong.

I can remember my mama and papa had so taught me the word of God and done it.

Danny boy, don't do that.

I could literally see her saying that.

My girls used to get mad at me and they said, Daddy, quit praying that we'll get caught when we do bad.

They got caught every time.

And I'd tell them, wouldn't I?

I'd say, honey, don't you do it.

God's gonna reveal it because He's gonna reveal it to me.

They didn't believe it.

That's the third time they believed it.

You can't, you can't, you can't fool God.

How will I feel afterwards?

Here's the second question.

How will the people I value feel about me after that decision?

Whoa.

Will people respect me more or be disappointed in me?

Wow.

Will my parents be glad for me?

Or will they be hurt by my decision?

Will it bring joy and proud?

I don't even know if it.

Will it bring, I'm trying to, will it bring joy to the parents?

Will it bring accomplishment to the parents?

Will they feel good about their training in my life?

In other words, how will the people I love the most and have trained me and brought me up in this life?

How will they feel about this decision I make?

That's kept me out of a lot of bad decisions.

Because I knew what it would do to my grandparents.

I'll tell you something else.

You want to get real honest?

That's kept me from doing a lot of things that I wouldn't do because that would hurt her and my kids.

It's not all about me.

The decisions I make affect the ones that I love the most.

Reputation, write this down.

Reputation trumps money and power and prestige every time.

Every time.

Even in the secular marketplace.

Look at this.

Proverbs 22, 1 and 2.

Choose a good reputation over great riches being held in high esteem.

It's better than silver or gold.

Can I get an amen?

When you continue to make bad choices.

Look what happens.

In Proverbs 24, verse 80, it says, You will gain an evil reputation, known as schemers.

In other words, you become schemers.

Schemer wants to harm and do wrong.

You'll be detested.

Wow.

You don't want to be known like that.

You don't want to be known like that.

That's terrible.

So what's the answer?

Poor decision making can earn us a reputation that'll haunt our prospects indefinitely.

Poor decision making can follow us the rest of our life if we're not careful.

I know a couple of situations right now.

One bad decision.

In a vulnerable moment, boom, it happened.

And it's going to fall in the rest of his life.

I know several people like that.

Thank God, though, for forgiveness.

Amen.

Thank God God forgives and God restores.

We're not interested in your past.

We're interested in your future.

But what I'm trying to tell you, there is consequence.

It's even, hey, there's forgiveness, but there's still consequences.

And let's teach our children so they don't have to go through that.

Can I get an amen?

Many of us have had to go through that.

I had to go through a major bad decision early in my teen years.

Only by the grace of God I wasn't in jail.

My best friend happened to be the police chief.

If it wasn't, I'd been in jail.

I made a bad choice.

And I knew better.

Let's finish it up.

That's a little sobering, isn't it?

But don't forget the grace of God.

Don't get, don't be, don't let Satan beat you down.

Thank God for the grace of God.

And listen, thank God for the truth that we're learning right now.

Can I get an amen?

So we don't have to, we can teach our children so they don't have to make those decisions.

Now, they have the choice, by the way, and don't beat yourself up if you taught them, I know, been there, you taught them right, you live right and all that, and they still make the wrong decision, wrong choices.

You hey, hey, once they get to accountability age, listen, hey, you can't make it for them.

And don't let Satan beat you up because you know you did right, but yet it turned out wrong and you think you're the cause.

You're not the cause, they're the cause for making the wrong choice.

Remember, it's cost something.

You, hey, read the consequences of your choice.

If I could have made those choices for my kids that when they messed up, I'll never forget one.

Remember, Stephanie?

Oh my goodness.

I bet not, she'll get mad if I was to tell that, wouldn't she?

I won't say it.

But anyway, she made a bad choice.

And can you imagine?

Her dad was the dean of the seminary.

And it was front page news.

Brought shame on all of us.

Hello.

I'm the one that got the phone call from the sheriff's department.

Okay.

I was talking about when they put the flag in the in the football field.

Stephanie and Mary both were involved in that one.

Oh, that was Mary.

Wrong story.

But both of them had major mistakes.

Hey, what I'm saying, folks, is listen, they still have to receive the consequences of their wrong decisions.

Now let's end this thing.

And it ends well.

There's a time.

That's Stephanie calling.

I'm in trouble.

Hey, number four.

What I'm trying to tell you, listen to me.

Just because you're a preacher, that doesn't mean everything's right in your house.

Hello, amen.

In fact, Satan attacks, I think he attacks preachers more than anybody.

I really do.

And I'm not saying that because I'm a preacher.

I'm just, I know, I know, I know, I've seen my friends.

I mean, if they can't get the preacher, they'll go after the kids.

I guarantee it.

Dr.

Rollins taught me that.

I'm telling you.

Now watch this.

Last thing about decision making.

There's a time to be silent.

Which I've almost said, it's time me to shut up about my kids.

There's a time to be silent and a time to speak.

I have not learned that first part very well.

Still in.

I'm still learning.

Amen.

I have heard my wife, I don't know how many times, say, that's enough! And I keep talking.

Dumb.

Am I getting a little better?

A little, maybe?

The most important skill we can, one of the most important is teach our children.

Number one, is this the best time to make the decision?

Decisions made in haste are often regretted.

Can I get an Amen?

Poor decisions are situationally driven.

I'm going to say that again.

That's pretty important.

And I've learned this over 40 years.

Situationally decisions.

And I really believe this because I am my own life.

Situationally, poor decisions are situationally driven.

And they are caused by momentary stress, peer pressure, hello, mood swings, and temporary emotions like loneliness.

Now, watch this.

When the situation changes, usually our feelings change.

We're all guilty, right?

Amen.

When a situation's good, we have good feelings.

When it's bad, we have bad feelings.

So the situation controls our emotions.

It really does.

And our feelings, when they change, usually our decisions often look doubtful.

Can the decision be made later, reducing or eliminating risk?

That's the key.

Don't never make a very important decision immediately, if possible.

You need wise counsel.

You need to go to some of your Christian brothers and sisters and ask them.

Is this, what do you think?

In fact, I'm fixing to deal with that.

God has a time for everything.

He has a place for everything.

And what we need to be and do is to be on his timetable.

Can I get an amen?

And then let me give you this verse, just so bless your heart.

Psalms 31, verse 15 says that our times are in his hands, God's hands.

Psalms 31:15

And then he says, Deliver me from my enemies and from them that persecute me.

In other words, Lord, my time's in your hands.

Help me make the right decision in your time.

That's good.

That's very good.

And then number two, and I'm through.

One, is this the best time to make the decision?

Number two, if I were advising a friend, John or Susie, would I suggest they take the same option?

In other words, if you want to make sure that it's an honest decision and not a personal selfish decision, would you make that same advice to your friends?

Is that not good?

Hello.

Is that not good?

So I want to close today saying the key to us making right decisions is our thinking process.

Why do you think Paul said, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ?

And I close with this.

Wow.

Sow a thought, reap an action.

Sow an action.

Reap a destiny.

We gotta train our children to think right.

And then when they think right, they will make right decisions.

Most of the time.

Not all the time.

I wished I could stand before you and say, I've never made a wrong decision.

I've made too many wrong decisions.

Amen.

If I'd have been taught what I just shared my heart with you today, earlier in my life, I think I would have been kept from a lot of bad decisions in my life.

And that's what I hope for you and your children and their children.

You know what I'm so excited about?

My six grandchildren, and I know, Jerry, you gotta be excited about this, that we can take these truths and help them as they grow up to live right, to think right.

Because what did we start by saying?

Good decisions is the key to a happy life.

How many of you want your family to be happy?

All of us, every one of us, your children to be happy, your grandchildren to be happy.

The key is making right decisions.

In order to make right decisions, they gotta know Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.