HOME Key to Making Wise Decisions
By Brian C Thomas
Introduction
How do you make decisions? What is the basis of your decision making process? All of us make decisions every day. Sometimes they appear to be insignificant but then we see in time they were very significant. Sometimes those decisions have little or no consequence and sometimes they have great consequences. Sometimes the consequences are joyful; sometimes they are not so joyful. But we are all in the process of making decisions and those decisions do not just affect us, they often times affect other people and we all have a basis for making them. That is, we all make our decisions based on something. Well what I want to talk about in this message is how do we make Godly decisions? How do we make wise decisions in our life? Well there are many examples in the scripture and I want us to look at one particular passage and one particular man who learned very early in life how to make Godly decisions. I want to look at the contrast between the right and the wrong way. I am speaking of the prophet Daniel.
Jeremiah’s Prophecy
Now I want to give you a little background – everybody knows Daniel by the fact that he was in the lion’s den. But more important than that is something that his parents taught him very early in life. Jeremiah the prophet had been prophesying to the nation of Israel for a long time that because of their sinfulness, that because they walked away from God, the judgment of God was coming upon them. The prophet stated in Jeremiah 5:14-18: Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts: “Because you speak this word, Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them”. And this is the judgment he said: “Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. “It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open tomb; They are all mighty men. And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, Which your sons and daughters should eat. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; They shall destroy your fortified cities, In which you trust, with the sword. “Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you.” Now naturally the people did not like Jeremiah. So what did they do? They threw him in jail. They did not like what he was prophesying so they put him in jail thinking that would stop him. But here’s what happened.
“Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.” - Jeremiah 32:26-28
So when we come to the book of Daniel, the events that Jeremiah prophesied are beginning to take place.
Babylonian Captivity
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. – Daniel 1:1-8
Daniel
So we see from this passage, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem, Judah and took away hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people and killed many of course. His army burned the gates, tore down the walls and one of those who was taken to Babylon was Daniel. It is believed that he was somewhere between 13 and 16 years of age at that time. He along with a number of other Hebrew children, young people, were taken to Babylon. The king said to his commander over the Hebrew captives, “now here’s what I want to do. I want to take the smartest ones, the most educated ones, the ones who are handsome, the ones who seem to have a lot of potential and we want to Babylonize them. That is, we want them to think like we think, act like we act, live the way we live. So I want you to teach them the literature, teach them our worldview, teach them about our gods; in other words, I want you to change their whole way of thinking. And in fact, I want you to give them all a different name so they will forget their God”. And so these things began to happen in their lives and of course they were growing in the middle of all this. And up until a certain point there was no resistance. They did exactly as they were told to do. But then there came a time when they decided, “NO MORE, WE CANNOT DO THAT, THIS IS WHERE WE TAKE OUR STAND”.
Principle vs. Preference
In this message I want to focus on the whole idea of what is the basis upon which you make decisions in your life? And there are two words I want you to remember if you forget everything else about this message: Principle and Preference. In these two words lie the crux of everything we want to look at. I want to define first of all the difference between a principle and a preference. A principle is a moral rule based on the word of God for guiding our conduct. It’s a fixed, predetermined mode of conduct. That is, if I’m going to operate on the basis of a principle, then it is a moral principle in the word of God. That’s one way to think and one way to make decisions and when a person comes to that, these are principles out of God’s word. They are principles by which we establish our entire sense of conviction, our belief system. That is, all of us have convictions; we have a belief system of some sort. And so the question is: what is the basis of what you believe? Those of us who are believers, we say the basis of what we believe is the word of God. And so we make decisions consistent with that. For example, let’s take the Ten Commandments: thou shall not steal, lie, cheat, commit adultery, shall only worship one true God. In other words, these are basic principles of the word of God. So if a person says, “I’m a Christian” then he/she lives with the truth of God’s word. That means we live consistently with what God teaches in His word. So when a person says, “I live by principle”, what they’re saying is this: “I have established a roadway in my life. And I’m going to walk that roadway. And I’m going to do what my convictions tell me to do because my convictions are based on the word of God”. That makes it rather simple and plain to some degree. When a person says, “I’ll live by principle”, that is they have a guideline. They’ve established the guidelines by which they are to live. And those guidelines come from the word of God and deviating from that is out of line with who they are. So when you think about what are the principles in your life which you live by, can you truthfully say, “I live by principle?”
Now the other word: preference. Preference says decisions and choices are based on likes, dislikes, and desires. So here’s the way that person operates. “Well today, it’s a bad day. I don’t like this day and so I’m going to call in to work and tell them I’m sick. Now I’m not sick of course but I’m going to call in and tell them I’m sick.” Preference says, “I’m going to lie because lying will give me what I want today which is a free day”. Preference says I’m going to operate on the basis of circumstance; I’m going to operate on the basis of feelings, my desires. I’m going to operate on the basis of things that please me, honor me, make me look good, make me feel good, or could profit me.
So a person makes decisions based on one of those two. Either I’m going to live by the principles of the word of God or I’m just going to be sort of all over the place. And that is, it just depends on the circumstance; depends on what the situation is. Something that we commonly here today is situation ethics. That means people make a decision based on the situation and what they desire to get out of it. Now here’s the problem with that because it is a very dangerous way to live and it is a very dangerous and destructive way to raise your children. Because if they see parents operating on the basis of preference, if they see this kind of contrast going on, “here’s what I’m saying but here’s what I’m doing”. What you are doing is teaching them to live in the fashion that has no sense of strength, honesty, and protection. Here’s an example. Let’s say that you are driving down the highway and it’s midnight. And there is a center line, a yellow center line. As long as you are driving down the highway and the center line is there, you know where you are. You know that as long as you stay on this side and the other guy stays on his side that you are going to be safe. But let’s say its midnight and there are no street lights because you are out in the country. All of a sudden, there is no yellow line in the middle. Then what? You do not know where you are. You may be wobbling on this side a little while, it’s all pitch black dark and you are wandering all over the place because you do not have any center line to guide you. A person who makes decisions based on preferences is like driving down the highway with no center line. Because you see, your desires change, circumstances change, life changes for you. And so as a result, as things change, you make a decision based on this preference today and that one tomorrow and so there is no real sense of direction and guidance for your life.
Now a person can have convictions without being a Christian. They can have convictions that certain things are right that I would never agree to because the Bible is very clear. But a follower of Jesus has basic convictions and those convictions become the principles by which we live. Without them, you’re just there.
Daniel’s Principle
When we come to Daniel it is very evident that Daniel’s mother and dad taught him very early in life to live by principle. As the Hebrew captives were coming along, their names were changed and they had to learn the literature of Babylon which was a Godless nation. They had to learn about their worldview, their gods, and their worship, and their lifestyle and so forth. Then there came the time when the king said to their commander, “now here’s what you must do. I want you to teach them the literature, I want you to teach them about our worldview, I want you to teach them all these things and then, because I want them to be their best and look their best and do their best, I want you to feed them from my table. My table is the best food so I want them to look their best. So I’m going to give you a period of time and then when you bring these young men to me I’m expecting for them to be handsome, I’m expecting them to be very committed to our way of life, I’m expecting them to be excited about Babylon. In other words, you’re going to transform these men”. So the commander, Ashpenaz, comes to Daniel, Shadrach, Meschech, and Abednego and he says now, “this is the diet; the diet is right off the king’s table”. Well that sounded pretty good. In fact to be a slave somewhere and to eat off the king’s table, drink his wine, you couldn’t get any better than that. Preference would have said ABSOLUTELY, WHY NOT? But Daniel said, “Ashpenaz, this is where we stop. We’ve learned your literature, we’ve done all these things but we’re not going to do this”. Why not? “Because it is against the Mosaic Law and we have principles by which we live that we cannot and will not violate, whatever the consequences we are not going to do it.” Now the rest of those guys probably ate off the king’s table and thought that was fantastic. That is because they didn’t have a principle to live by. You see here is the problem with it; all the food that the king ate had been offered to idols. It was food offered to an idol and the best of the food offered to the idols was brought to the king’s table and fed to his crowd. So when Daniel realized that he said, “we are not going to do that for the simple reason we don’t believe that there is but one true God. And we’re not going to eat anything offered to so-called other gods”. So Ashpenaz responds, “look, wait a minute you’re going to get my head removed because if you’re not looking your best when I bring you before the king, then I’m the one who suffers the consequence”. So Daniel said in verse 12, “well I’m going to offer you an alternative. Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.” Now that does not sound very appetizing to us does it? “Vegetables and water; just feed us vegetables and water and then give us ten days and then come back and compare us with the rest of these students.” Ashpenaz hesitated of course but then he agreed. Now watch this carefully. When you desire and when you are committed, committed to living by principles by the truth of the word of God that no matter what the invitation may be to do otherwise, God will see you through it. Many, many times He is going to intervene in your situation. Does that mean you will never suffer? No, because the first six chapters of Daniel gives us illustration after illustration of how he suffered as a result of his conviction. On one occasion Daniel, having earned the favor of the king, was given a position that made the other guys sort of jealous and so they formulated a law that everybody had to bow down to the king. This meant no one could worship any other god including the one true God. So what does Daniel do? He does what he always did. He had a principle by which he operated that daily he prayed a certain number of times to God. As a result, they arrested him and threw him in the lion’s den. He could have said, “well look, you know I can pray by myself, I can pray secretly, I don’t have to tell anybody I’m praying, I can do this to myself and nobody will ever know and I’ll get by”. But that is preference. He instead said, “I have a principle by which I live that daily I’m on my knees before the presence of almighty God praying and I am not keeping it a secret”.
You know it’s interesting that they changed his name but when the king came looking for him that morning, he said “oh Daniel was your God able to deliver you?” He didn’t call him Belteshazzar, he called him his Hebrew name. Daniel stuck to his conviction. He said whatever the cost, “I’m not eating meat or drink wine offered to an idol”. Look at what happened. Not only did God spare him, but God gave Daniel, Shadrech, Meschech, and Abed-nego wisdom and understanding that was ten times more than the rest of the king’s so called wise men. They looked better than the rest. And along with that, Daniel lived about seventy years under four kings – Nebuchadnezzar, his son Belshazzar, Darius, and King Cyrus. He had tremendous impact on the lives of those four kings. And also, the book of Daniel, the last few chapters, is one of the most important words of prophecy to be found in the entire word of God. Now where did all that begin? When he said, “you know what, I am living by principle no matter what you do to me, I am not eating meat offered to idols.” God honored him. What I want you to see is this. God honored his living by principles.
How Are You Living?
Now I want to ask you – do you live by principle or do you live by preference? In other words, do you have certain basic convictions in which there is absolutely no question? Do you have a belief system that is such a part of your life you cannot be tempted to go beyond that? Can you say you have committed yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ, you believe this is His word, you’re committed to that and it is not a matter of whether something is convenient, popular or profitable or easy or satisfying? The issue is, is it right or is it wrong? Principle is my yellow line down the middle of the road in the middle of the night. And without it, you’re all over the place. So when I look at Daniel and ask the question, “at that early age, how did he learn the difference between principle and preference?” I’ll tell you where he learned it. He learned it from his parents. He had to have learned it from them. And I want to ask you simply this: do your children, do they see in you, this, not rigid but definite sense of commitment that there are certain things that you will not allow in your life? There are certain places you will not go? There are certain things that you will not do? There are limitations in your life. The way you treat money, the way you treat people. Whatever it might be, they see in you a very clear line. It is not that you are just all bent out of shape on being super religious. It is the fact that you have basic convictions and those convictions are based on the word of God. You make that very plain to them and they understand that. If you want your kids to love you and to support you and to be faithful and loyal to you when you give them principles to live by and you live by them, that builds a sense of intimacy with them. That builds a sense of oneness with them that they never escape because they will be tempted and tested the same way and many other ways. Now think about all the kids who are growing up today and look at what they face. Those will survive who live by principle, not by preference because the world is full of preferences. Try this, do that, no one is going to know, it’s just you. And besides, what’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that? And who will know you went and who will know you’ve been? In other words, all these things that people have to make decisions about. The issue is this: what are the guidelines in my life? If the guidelines are Biblical moral laws of God often times the decision will be so simple it will not be an issue at all. You will say, “that doesn’t fit who I am”. Your friends will tell you a lot of other things but do not worry about that because you are going to have to make a decision.
Conviction
There is one other word that I want to remember and that is conviction. I want you to notice that all of us should have convictions but look at this. It is a principle by which I am committed and purpose to follow. All of us have convictions. It’s just that some people have convictions that are not Biblical but because we are followers of Jesus Christ then Biblical principles should be the basis of all of our convictions. These are the things that God is thinking and so forth. Now let’s think about some of those areas in which you should have immovable, unalterable convictions. For example, let’s take Jesus. Do you have an unalterable, unchangeable conviction about the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only Savior of the world? Do you have a conviction about that? Or if somebody says, “well look I know He was a good man and I believe He was a prophet, a healer, a good teacher but He can’t be the only way.” Are you willing to correct them and say that Christ is the Son of God and the only way to eternal life? Do you believe the Bible is the true word of God or do you not? If somebody says, “well you know, I believe most of it.” If the book has errors in it, where are the errors, whose going to judge where the errors are? You see that’s like erasing the yellow line down the highway. You do not know where you are because if there are errors in the word of God then who is going to identify the errors, who says what is right? The truth is - your opinion is as good as anybody else. You must have convictions about things; things that you do not allow to change.
Somebody says for example, “well I have some feelings about my body” and a woman says, “this is my body and if I want to have an abortion that is my business”. No it’s not. You may think that but the Bible says the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that is one person of the Trinity living in you as a child of God. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is not your body. Paul says we are not our own. A woman does not have a right to kill her unborn child. If I have the idea that my body is just mine and I can do with it whatever I want to then what happens? You will change what you want to. You can drink if you want to, you can drug if you want to, you can sex if you want to, you can mutilate the body, and you can do all kind of things if it is a matter of preference. But if it is a conviction that your body is a temple of the living God, you will be careful how you dress it, you will be careful what you put in it, you will be careful how you treat it because we are representatives of Jesus Christ. Somebody says, “well that’s awfully straight-laced.” No, it is principle, has nothing to do with laces. It has to do with principle, it has to do with convictions, it has to do with a yellow line down the middle of the road.
Money Principles
So when we look at Daniel we realize there came a time when he said that’s it. Willing to learn the literature, willing to do these other things but eat from the kings table? “No, we’re not going to do that”. For example, let’s take money. Do you have principles about money? That is that money is not to be God. Money is a means of accomplishing and achieving or giving or helping or whatever it might be. There are many, many good things about money. But do I have a preference about money to the point that if it takes me doing a little cheating over here it’s going to be alright? For example let’s say you go to the grocery store and the lady gives you $20 more than you should have received. And you walk away saying, “20 bucks praise the Lord.” And your little child is watching this and thinking, “I was in Sunday school last week and they said ‘thou shall not steal, how does this work?’” Preferences will kill you. Preferences will destroy your testimony. In other words, if stealing is a sin, its stealing whether it’s a nickel or $20, whether you steal from your daddy or steal from a stranger. Whatever it might be stealing is stealing. In other words principles do not change and our convictions should be based on principles. And those principles are divine principles, principles of the word of God.
Sexual Purity Principles
I heard a pastor once state that a lady called him and said, “I have a question I want to ask you”. The pastor knew her because she used to be a member of the church a long time ago. She says, “I need you to answer a question. Is it alright to have sex before you get married?” Now this young lady had sat in church for a number of years and she is calling the pastor to ask if a very clear principle of the word of God is true or not. He simply instructed her to turn to 1 Thessalonians 4 and start reading and there she would find out what God thinks. But she chose to violate principle and fornicated, later married this guy and the next time he heard from her she was just sobbing and crying because her marriage was in a mess. And guess who got it there? She got it there.
We cannot violate the principles of God and get by with it. Many people live today with tremendous regret due to having sex outside of marriage. They are living with the painful consequences of horrible marriages, diseases, guilt, you name it. At the time it was fun but it was not worth the price they are paying. Did you know that a study showed that less than 2% of marriages end in divorce when the couples abstain? Studies also show that married couples who abstained until marriage have a more fulfilling sex life. God’s way works but they will never get the wonderful fulfilling marriage that God designed for us because they chose preference over principle. Even though people may have repented of their preference decisions, sometimes God still does not remove the consequences of the sin. People can say well I don’t know if I believe that. Just look at Moses in the Bible, look at King David. Both suffered consequences for disobeying God even after repentance.
We are to be people that live by principle. There should be certain things that we will not tolerate in our lives. And when we do, what we are doing is we are going by preferences. “This is what I want to do today” and lots of people do things that are very questionable and you ask them why and they say, “well it’s just my own business.” When you are a child of God it is not just your own business. Now the question is, “why do people do that?” Let’s think about it.
Fear of Rejection
Why do people choose to live by preference when it is not the best way to live? Well one of the primary reasons is they fear rejection by other people. “If I do not do what they want me to do and if I do not go where they want me to go then they are going to reject me”. If that is not where God wants you and you are convicted about it, it does not make any difference what they think but that is the reason people choose to live by that. If you take different aspects of your life whether its money or any of these other issues that we’ve talked about and you live by preference then where are you in life? One of the reasons is because people cannot stand rejection. And sometimes financially if it is a matter of money, the issue is greed. In other words, are you willing for example to cheat somebody out of something so you can have a little bit more? And you think about all the things that we hear in the news about people making financial decisions that are as dishonest as they can be and try to justify it. They are living by preference. “What can profit me today in this situation no matter what it is”? The same thing applies when it comes to promotion and position in life. If to get that promotion I have to make the other guy look bad and out do him in every way I possibly can. Then what happens? You are living by preference not by principle. Principle is, “I will do my best, I will do all that I can, not just to impress somebody but because I want to do my best and then if I get a promotion – fine, if not fine”.
Every single aspect of life, you have to decide is it going to be a preference or is it going to be a principle? And lots of times people grow up believing the word of God and somewhere along the way they step over into the preference side. Once you do, once you start living by preference, it will be real easy to go further and further and further away from your convictions and into preferences. And then here is what will happen. You will start defending yourself and then you will start trying to prove that it is okay.
I see people do this often when it comes to abortion and fornication. Principles say I have a guideline that is for my protection. And once I go beyond the guideline I am like the guy who is wobbling down the highway with no center line, pitch black night, no lights on the highway and I am all over the place. That is the way most people are living. They are living by preferences. They lack moral convictions. Although Christians, they go out and find a mate at a night club and then wonder why did he or she cheat on them? Why did their romance not work out? In other words, what are the guidelines? The guidelines are right here in the word of God. Both Old Testament and New Testament teach us how to live. It is always by principle, not by preference. When people start living by preference, they get in trouble.
Standing for Righteousness
Daniel is that beautiful example of a man who decided very early in life because he was taught to live by principles even when he knew it could be costly to him. I have heard of many cases in which people lost their job because they would not do what the boss told them to do (something immoral or unethical). Sometimes they thought it was a disaster but they soon got the best job because they stuck to what they believed. Even when you and I suffer for what we believe, the truth is God is going to use that in someone’s life. He is going to use your testimony for doing the right thing in someone else’s life. Daniel’s three buddy’s, Shadrach, Meschech, and Abed-nego, they refused to bow down to the king’s statue and what happens? They get thrown into the fiery furnace. But God protected them in the process. Does that mean that you and I will never suffer if we stick to our principles? No, it does not. Many people have lost their lives because they had principles they would not surrender. But their reward is coming when in the presence of our Lord. You see this current life is not our eternal state. God has better things planned, eternal rewards for those that stand by His principle.
Finding Peace
Think about this, what kind of life is it you go to bed every night, you’ve gotten into this and into that, you’ve lied over here, had lustfulness over there? In other words, where are you in life? One of the reasons so many people are unhappy in life and they do not even realize they are unhappy because they are living by preference. So what happens is they go to bed every night, they’re tossing and turning, they have decisions to make. Think about this, if you are living by principle you will not have to toss and tumble. You know what you are going to do. For example let’s say you are a member of a church and you give every Sunday when the offering plate comes your way. That means you are a tither. Are you a genuine tither because you believe in the principle of it? So you write a check or give your money on Sunday. It is not even an issue. You know what ten percent of whatever you make is and so that was settled a long time ago. You just do it because you love God. But if you act on the basis of preferences, here is what will happen. On about Friday evening after you have gotten paid and you are looking at your money, you say “well here is what it would be for a tithe this week.” You say, “let’s see I am going to the mall tomorrow and I’m going to need a little extra to get what I want so this week I think I will just pass.” When the offering plate comes just close your eyes or whatever, just let it pass by and just act like you did notsee it or something. You know what? You live a miserable life because think about this, I cannot imagine living this way. You are going to church and every Friday or Saturday night you got to make up your mind on whether you are going to give or not. That is the way that most people live on many decisions in life that have nothing to do with church and money. They are always having to decide shall I or shall I not?
Suppose a guy gave you some lustful look and you had to do one of two things. Principle says forget it. Preference says “well, maybe I’ll consider that”. That one consideration can totally destroy the rest of your life. So there you are making decisions based on preference, not principle. All of life is a decision making process and when we decide this is the way I’m going to live, then these are the principles I am going to follow no matter what. And sometimes it is costly but God always honors obedience. You have to decide are you going to be obedient to God and leave all the consequences to Him or are you not? God does not want us to live with this upheaval on the inside of how to make decisions. When you are living by principle you know how you are going to respond. You say no to sin, you say no to things that may not even be sin but things that you know will not get you to where God wants you to go. This can be things that can become sin eventually but you say no because of where it could lead you. Principles are for our protection. They do not prevent us from having fun, they are for our protection because if you are living right down by the center of God and what He wants in your life then you going to have joy.
Obedience
So when I think about Daniel he was obedient and decided it’s going to be principle whether it costs me my life. Seventy years, four kingdoms, he influenced and impacted all four kings. And besides that, he got in the Bible. Do you think Daniel would be in the Bible if he would have just eaten whatever they put before him and done whatever they asked him to do? Not likely, at least not for the same purpose. Daniel is one of those persons in the Bible of which there is not one single negative word. Not a one. Was he perfect? I am sure he was not perfect. But he was a Godly man whose influence impacted a countless number of people. He did not know what the future was. He would never have dreamed that he would end up influencing four major worldwide leaders. So what got him there? Straight-line principles, not preference. So if you are worried about your future, stop worrying. You live by principle and trust God to get you where He wants you to go with the influence he wants you to have to achieve the things in life He wants you to achieve. But when you decide you are going the preference way, what you have done is you have lost His approval and you have lost His power in your life. You have lost the potential that you have and you have lost the blessing that was out there waiting for you. That is the way God operates.
Principle Requirements
Now there are certain requirements if you are going to live by principle. Let’s look at them for a moment. I will just mention a few of them. First of all you have to decide you are going to live for a cause that is greater than yourself. Meaning you are going to live for Jesus Christ, for the kingdom of God and bare witness for who He is in your life. You are going to live for something that is more important and greater than you. That is the kingdom of God. That is number one. You have to decide that you will sacrifice self desires.
Secondly, you must be very clear in your mind as to what you believe. There are some things that are non-negotiable. If you are unmarried and somebody wants to go to bed with you that is non-negotiable. If you are married and somebody other than your spouse wants to go to bed with you, that is non-negotiable. Does not matter how bad your spouse treats you. Non-negotiable – that means this conversation is over, the decision has been made, we will move on to the next subject. Non-negotiable! Once you get an offer for something that is ungodly and you start turning toward that to consider it, you are in trouble. If you have a principle in your life, principles do not move. They do not change.
Thirdly, expect conflict. In other words, if you are going to live by principle expect conflict because there are going to be people who do not like it and do not want you to be a part of their life because they do not like the way you are living. You can expect conflict but embrace it as Jesus stated in Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” You have to make a decision and go with it leaving all the consequences to God. If He lets us suffer, so be it. If He blesses me in a most exceeding way, so be it. Leave the consequences of your obedience to living by these principles, leave all that to God. You have to come to that conclusion in life and make that decision.
The last requirement is this. If you are going to live by principle, you have to believe in the sovereignty of God that He is in absolute control of every single thing. That means when you live by principle you are living in obedience to Him. And therefore you believe that He is great enough, powerful enough, loving enough, and interested in you enough and with you in every circumstance in life that you do not have to worry about the consequences. That is who He is.
Conclusion
So I will simply ask you this: which one of these best fits you? They can call you dogmatic, they can call you a fundamentalist, they can call you anything they want to call you but which one fits you best? Are you a person who knows what you believe and you are committed to those beliefs because they are the moral law of God and you do not budge period? Does it mean you are perfect? No. Does it mean that you will never sin? No. But it is the decision making process in your life. That is how you live which means you only travel roads that have a yellow line right down the middle. Now if you forget everything else about this message, here is what I want you to remember, two words - Preference and Principle. And the other thing that I want you to remember is this. How would you feel driving 75 mph down a dark road, no yellow line and there are ditches on both sides? Would you not agree that is dangerous? When you set aside your principles that is the road you choose to follow. Which shall it be principle or preference? It will protect you, it will protect your children, it will protect your grandchildren, and it will protect your testimony all the days of your life. Well if you are not a believer and you say “well where do I start?” Here is where you start. Ask God forgive your sins and accept His forgiveness based on the shedding of His blood at Calvary asking Him to forgive you and surrendering your life to Him. That is where it all begins and that is my prayer to you because if you do not, you are going to waste your life. You will not find peace and happiness apart from Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father we thank you this morning for Daniel. His life, his courage, his convictions, the principles by which he lived. And it is our prayer Father that every single one of us would be wise enough because it is wisdom to choose to reverence you and honor you by living according to your rules and your regulations, your laws, and the wonderful love that you provided for us. I pray for somebody who is unsaved, who is not a Christian. A person living a life of pure preference and already knowing it is not working. There is no peace, no joy, no happiness, no security. I pray Father for those believers who would have to say, “That is the way I have been living - by preference not principle.” I pray that you would change both those hearts. Thank you for the promise that you will never leave us nor forsake us, that you are always there for us even when living by preference that the result is suffering and pain and heartache. We bless you Father for blessing us and for being the awesome God you are to see us through every circumstance of life. And we pray that each of us will have the conviction to do our best, be our best, look our best, and to follow the principles of the word of God every day of our lives.
We look forward to the day that our Lord Jesus Christ will rule and reign from Jerusalem and His principle will fill the entire earth. Until then, we pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, Blessings to the great nation of Israel, and to the only wise God, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
9(0x0*Off)11(2*2)&utmwv=1&utmn=5255917186&utmsr=-&utmsc=-&utmul=-&utmje=0&utmfl=-&utmdt=-&utmhn=blessings-to-israel.com&utmr=&utmp=/noscript&utmac=UA-27114567-1&utmcc=__utma%3D13134693.1713438724.1337359485.1337359485.1337359485.2%3B%2B__utmb%3D13134693%3B%2B__utmc%3D13134693%3B%2B__utmz%3D13134693.1337359485.2.2.utmccn%3D(direct)%7Cutmcsr%3D(direct)%7Cutmcmd%3D(none)%3B%2B__utmv%3D13134693%3B)