Making Wise Decisions – Dr. Charles Stanley

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you need to talk to the one who always

makes wise decisions and that is

Almighty God and he is willing to give

you direction he is willing every single

time to answer that request he may not

answer the way you expect he may not

answer the way you want him to do it as

far as the timing is concerned but he

will answer next on InTouch making wise

decision life is made up of decisions

you know I’ve been making decisions

since we were born the first one may

have been crying when we wet our diaper

I don’t know but you made a decision and

you’ve been making them all of your life

and the most important decision you will

ever make is the decision to accept the

Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God the

savior of the world who went to the

cross shed his blood in Calvary paid our

sin debt in full and offered salvation

to all mankind most important decision

is to accept him personally as your

Savior and Lord

confessing and repenting of your sins

and surrendering your life to Him

number-one decision so when you have to

make a decision how do you go about it

you say well make this decision that

decision the other decision in other

words that you just make decisions on

second thought or do you have a plan

most people have no plan for making a

decision you have a plan for lots of

things but you never thought about

having a plan of making decisions so

what I want to do in this message I want

to give you a plan I want to give you

one that I know that works because it’s

been working in my life for over 50

years and so I trusted

you’ll take notes because you’re going

to be making decisions the rest of today

you may end up by the end of next week

making one of the most important

decisions of your life how you going to

go about that you ought to have a plan

so I want to give you one and I want you

to turn if you will to some 25 and I

just want us to read a couple of verses

here there are lots of verses in the

Bible about prayer and answered prayer

and discovering the Lord’s will and so

forth and here’s what he says in verse

12 of Psalm 25 who is the man whose fear

of a woman who is the man a woman who

fears the Lord he will instruct him in

the way he should go his soul will abide

in prosperity now one of the parts of it

I want us to understand is if you’ll

notice how he says it he says who is the

man or woman who fears the Lord so what

does it mean to fear the Lord an

attitude that acknowledges one’s

absolute dependence on God for

everything if I fear the Lord I’m going

to depend upon him for everything and so

where do you turn to make decisions who

do you talk to who do you ask

and they ask you this who do you trust

in your family or you among your friends

or people you work with to really give

you wise advice when it comes to making

decisions and let me say this to you

talking about people is fine you need to

talk to the one who always makes wise

decisions and that is Almighty God and

he is willing to give you direction he

is willing every single time to answer

that request he may not answer the way

you expect he may not answer the way you

want him to do it as far as the timing

is concerned but he will answer and what

I want you to understand is there’s a

way and you need a plan that whatever

you’re asking him about

you certainly want God to hear and

answer your request

and I preached on finding the will of

God about lots of things lots of times

but but I’ve never given you a plan so

here’s the first step of the plan clear

your heart of any known sin clear your

heart of any known sin because sin

introduces confusion in our minds and

hearts hinders our capacity to hear and

receive from God because you see sin and

and the wisdom and knowledge of God

don’t fit together

and so if I’m going to make wise

decisions I gotta get rid of any sin and

so how do I do that that’s the first

point how do I get rid of sin in my life

number one I asked the Lord to show

watch this carefully as Florida show me

Lord is anything in my life that would

keep me from hearing the truth I don’t

want to be prejudiced but I want to hear

the truth

anything in my life they would keep me

from hearing the truth and exactly will

the Holy Spirit will do is he’s going to

keynesian appoint to you whatever there

is in your life it may be a relationship

it may be a habit and it may be the way

you think but whatever is not of God

he’s going to point it out to you you

need to deal with this so how do you

deal with sin you deal with sin by

confessing it confessing sin means that

I agree with God that this is sin in my

life so first there’s agreement followed

by repentance on the basis God that you

say this doesn’t fit in my life I repent

of this missing which means I turn away

from it I walk away from it and I want

to do absolutely whatever God says if

you want to clear out all the static and

all the humdrum stuff that goes on in

the mind and making decisions you begin

with that you begin with cleaning you’re

harder than in own sin and that’s where

a lot of people stop they say well you

know what I don’t give me that because

there’s some things in life I want to do

well some things in life will make you a

fool

there’ll be decisions that one of these

days you look back and say how in the

world could I possibly have been

thinking that I’ll tell you why because

sin clouds your mind and sin confuses

the mind and sin betrays the mind and so

the first step in coming to know what is

the wise way to make that decision is

clearing the heart of any known sin

secondly is bring your desires watch

this bring your desires to a position of

neutrality which means this this is what

I really want above everything else and

they say this they say that what I need

to do if I want to know what God wants

I’ve got to be willing to say Lord I

want what you want I don’t know what

that is right now I don’t know you will

right now but I really want what you

want now telling him that the first time

probably won’t work because deep down

inside you’ve been thinking about what

you want what you need what you desire

who you wanna marry what you want to

drive where you want to live what have

you and there was all these things so

the first time you say Lord I want I

want what you want you may not you may

not mean that but listen carefully when

you begin to say God I want what you

want I want I want to know what you know

is best for my life I would I want to be

wise God in its decisions I need your

help I’m willing to listen to you and if

I’m heading in the wrong direction

please show me their God don’t don’t let

me make a mistake in this issue will he

listen to you yes he will you have to be

willing to come to say God what is your

will

well what no it’s listen to this you’re

asking the one person who knows

everything about you knows what is best

for you knows what will work for you

those what will make you happy

what will he also knows will make you

miserable you think you can’t live

without her or without him you won’t

even begin to realize what you’re

getting yourself into

what’s the will of God what are you

trying to say to me Lord so lord I want

I want what you want whatever it takes

that’s what I want you to show me when

you bring your mind and heart toward

neutrality lord I really don’t know what

to do but I want to know that God’s

going to be in there work in your life

and the third thing I want to say is you

have to exercise patience this is where

people get in trouble for example

there’s some things I prayed for for a

long time before God ever answered my

prayer but watch this why do you keep

praying when God has an answered for a

while he doesn’t there’s not a verse in

the scripture says asking it should be

given to you immediately seek and ye

shall find it now there was no wearing

the Bible’s would say that and so some

things you know what God is doing he’s

getting us ready for the answer and so

what God’s pauses are very important and

his plan for our life it isn’t tell me

now so this is why you came up and make

decisions about important things in your

life all things that don’t seem to be

very important when you are not sure

exactly what God has said to you so

you’ve got to exercise patience and you

got to be willing to wait now I want you

to write down something and I want you

to understand what we mean when we say

waiting upon God you shouldn’t write

this down it is not simply to mark time

well I’m just going to wait upon the

Lord rather it’s to live in a confident

expectation anticipation of his actions

on their behalf that God has heard you

and he’s your answer that it is to

refuse to run ahead of him trying to

solve our problems for ourselves it says

be still and know that I am God now

being still is very difficult sometimes

especially there’s something that you

really want my soul wait in silence for

God

be strong and let your heart take

courage wait on the Lord some people

don’t like to wait for anything but if

you’re going to make wise decisions in

your life sometimes you have to wait a

pretty good while sometimes you don’t

have to wait for long what’s this

God knows where the emergencies are in

your life he knows where the answer must

come now he knows when you’re not ready

for the answer he knows when you think

you are but he knows when you’re not and

he knows if you gave if he gave you an

answer now you an accepted because

you’re not ready for it think about this

just think about this an all-wise

omniscient God who knows you perfectly

knows what’s best has heard your request

he knows exactly the things that need to

change before he can answer your prayer

he knows the kind of attitude you have

and he knows that there may be some

aspects from that attitude that need to

change before God can get it’s not that

he doesn’t want you to have it

he just knows you’re not ready for it

right now so it is required of us to be

patient got to have it now we live in

the age that has to have it now and it’s

an age of this aster I gotta have it now

I don’t have to ask God whom I cannot

see when I can see her I know him so I

know what I want and why why should I

ask God I don’t know these why would God

listen to me with that attitude he want

very important that we are patient and

willing to wait upon God and number four

be alert to pressure be careful of that

pressure you’re going to get pressure

from your friends you’re going to get

pressure from your enemies you’re just

going to get pressure from yourself

maybe you’ve had things your way all

your life you’ve not had to ask anybody

anything you’ve just done it your way

well it’s time to learn a lesson

here is that listen here is one of the

most difficult things we have to deal

with this oppression now watch this

pressure at a two types of pressure

there’s external pressure and there’s

another kind of pressure will come to

that external pressure is pressure from

your friends you have to be very careful

who you are listening to and especially

people who are your bosom friends it may

be you’ve been friends with somebody

that you’ve been a friend long time

usually I can trust him no matter what I

can trust her

there’s one step above that I can trust

God because my dearest friends may make

a mistake my dearest friends watch this

may because they love me may want to

make me pleased and happy I don’t want

to be pleased and happy I won’t know

what’s the will of God so we have to be

careful about those pressures then

there’s internal pressure you get it

from the outside you get it from the

inside and I think about things that

I’ve been through in life and our own

fears with our own fields of laws and so

forth and I’ll give you an example of

probably a moment in my life that I hope

God never repeats but when I came to I

came to Atlanta

they came a time when we were going to

vote on a Wednesday whether to make me

the pastor or not so this is what

happened but I’ll never forget and

asking the Lord to give direction in

clarity and having the trust him and

your own sense of the problem on the

inside and so usually by Thursday I’ll

have my outline they got I don’t want to

get I don’t want to get a sermon to

complete I want to have to work on a

little bit of setting because I want I

want to be a hot on Sunday morning I

don’t I don’t want something that’s

uncool off between Thursday and Sunday

so anyway Thursday came along no sermon

hmm not even I have a one Friday no

sermon

Saturday no sermon and I knew that we

were going to vote on the pollen

Wednesday Saturday night I’m saying God

tomorrow is Sunday and I don’t I don’t

even I don’t even have a single verse of

scripture Sunday morning I’ll wake up

and the devil did his best to try to get

me to reach back and find an old sermon

or something that I could pull out

gotten Sunday morning I’m sitting in the

chair and the choir begins to sing so

help me God

no sermon no text no Scripture nothing

he just absolutely shut me down and I’m

sitting there thinking god I think this

is about the last part of that Cora song

and I don’t have anything to say yeah

nothing so they say I said okay God

picked up my Bible walked up opened it

up and then the pradhans up and it fell

on proverbs 3:5 and 6 I read it

trust in the Lord with all your heart

lean not to your own understanding and

all your ways acknowledge him and he’ll

direct your path my Lord but just get

started this is the truth I started

preaching and just like a machine gun

for 35 minutes about something I never

even thought about but it taught me this

awesome lesson God can shut you down

when he wants to and then when he gets

decides to open you up it’s like I can

on the or know the thing that I had to

deal with was that interfere God what is

your will about all of this and and it’s

Wednesday then it’s Thursday invited

insert in Sunday and Sunday morning you

know what God wasn’t in heaven saying

you know what charlie don’t do on

on this Sunday morning the other was

sitting back in promising that now I’m

going to show you what I can do and that

is he answered my prayer in the most

awesome way and the pressure was my

pressure that’s number four number five

persistent prayer PRS is a persistent

prayer and that is keep praying no

matter whether you understand it or not

presto sonja’s 5:17 he says we are to

continue in prayer that is continuously

praying you don’t stop no words because

you don’t have an answer you don’t stop

praying pray without ceasing it’s what

Paul said pray without ceasing in other

words he didn’t promise to give us

answers to give us Direction he didn’t

promise to give us that in any

particular time and I think God takes

great delight in doing what in watching

us respond to him and watching how we

move from doubt and fear and unrest and

all the rest to begin to trust him and

to begin to be confident and to begin to

ask him and know absolutely in our

hearts he will show us exactly what he

wants to say to us and so what happens

is sometimes people will say well I am

going to pray and they’ll pray about two

or three days and God doesn’t shout from

heaven and so they thankful you know I

just go and make this decision I can’t

wait forever I don’t know anywhere in

the Bible that God says that he’ll

answer prayer a certain time watch this

when he does not answer the way you

expect what is he doing he’s teaching us

to trust him when we don’t have any

evidence that he’s heard anything can

you trust him like that he’s teaching us

to trust him he knows he’s going to

answer it and if you’ll think about it

we start out by saying it’s a God’s book

he says ask and it shall be given you

not at 10:30 he doesn’t say that

seek and ye shall find he doesn’t say

today knock and it shall be opened

instantly it isn’t say that

so his delays are on purpose and when I

think about his purpose its certain to

teach me to pray teach me to listen

teach me to trust him just have to trust

him and so that’s why Paul said pray

without ceasing and what’s this and I’m

not to move ahead until I get Direction

even see a lot prayed about that for two

solid weeks like it was eternity prayer

is the greatest gift God has ever given

us a poison salvation and then there’s

number six

once he’s under arrest in God’s promise

he makes he promises here’s what I’m

going to do and if you’ll think about it

the Bible is the most valuable resource

we have in making decisions because it’s

full of wisdom and what it is it’s the

mind of God in print think about this

you want to know what God thinks about

anything getting the Word of God and yes

what the word does the words filters my

thinking when it’s not exactly right

filters my desires the Word of God is a

filter and our minds are continually

bombarded by what the world thinks and

how they think but when you’re not

getting the Word of God we begin to read

his word what Evans he sifts and he’s

only while he’s sifting he’s also

building our faith God said God promised

and if God said and God promised I can

go with it and remember this he gives us

promise after promise after promise he

will hear and answer a prayer I’ll just

trust him be patient wait upon it and

then

vii wait for his piece wait for his

piece and that very word degree in the

Greek means to bind together the peace

of God he and I are together about this

decision therefore therefore I can I can

trust him and I love Colossians 3:15

listen to what he says in that passage

and you may want to turn to it

Colossians 3:15 and listen to what the

Apostle Paul says in the 3rd chapter 15

first listen what he says he says let

the Peace of Christ listen this let the

Peace of Christ rule in your hearts to

which indeed you were called in one body

and be thankful let the peace of God

rule in your heart that is when I have

his peace I know that I have the answer

that’s God’s grace God is willing to

give us the grace of absolute assurance

and so when I think about all the things

that would keep us from knowing the will

of God I think about we have a plan and

I wish someone had given me that when I

was a kid the plan now you have the plan

whoever you are wherever you are what

we’ve talked about here you’ve heard

you’ve seen what works here works

everywhere in the world but Jesus Christ

is preached and people understand who he

is if you have never trusted him as your

Savior this is the time to do it ask him

to forgive you of your sins

tell them you’re repenting of your sins

confess and repent of your sins

surrender your life to him

god I give up I’m out here’s my life god

I want to find out what you will do with

me listen to this care for you listen to

amen it has nothing to do your

nationality your language your color

your inheritance it has nothing to do

with anything

are you willing to believe in and until

you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your

personal Savior this won’t work the most

important decision you ever make is to

trust the Lord Jesus Christ because that

decision determines your whole entire

eternity decision number one decision

number two follow him every day if

you’ve never trusted him as your Savior

we don’t have a prayer in just a moment

you can be saved seated right where you

are this lesson says you’re going to do

anything but that but you need to tell

somebody you get saved in your eternal

destiny changes you’re going to want to

tell somebody about it so let’s pray

father we thank you for your love for us

now I pray for the person seated here

today who has never trusted you as their

Savior maybe they were afraid too maybe

they didn’t understand what confession

repentance means to turn away from sin

surrender little light to you and

recognize that the shedding of your

blood Calvary paid our sin debt in full

and that’s why you said come unto me all

you that labor and heavy laden and I’ll

give you rest

believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and

thou shalt be saved

so I pray that those who need to be

saved will pray that prayer right now

and trust you to keep your word

and then Lord that this message will

become a part of every person’s life in

Jesus name Amen if you’ve been blessed

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