Elijah went before the people and said "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing (I Kings 18:21).

Video presentation - Patrick Morley

Welcome

Our goal in this meeting is to find out how to and how not to make decisions in life, whether they are crucial or critical, minor or major.

"Once - many, many, years ago - I thought I made a wrong decision. Of course it turned out that I had been right all along. But I was wrong to have thought that I was wrong." - John Foster Dulles

This topic is a continuation of last month's topic in which we discussed "Godly Time Management". We do hope have a degree of continuity for each of the meetings; so there will be some overlapping. But if you are a newcomer we also hope that you can just jump in and join us in our discussions. There are so many decisions to be made every day. Let's try to work together and help each other find our way on this busy highway called life. This highway is a dangerous road with many distractions and temptations. We must seek His face whenever we have to make these decisions. Let us now open up our hearts and minds and try to find out what our Creator would have us do.

Outline

THE BIG IDEA:
To assist us in our decision-making and finding His will, God has seven means of guidance.

1. The Bible - I Cor 4:6, Romans 15:4
2. Prayer - Luke 18:1, James 5:16-18
3. The Holy Spirit - Romans 8:27
4. Conscience - Acts 17:26, Philippians 2:13
5. Circumstances - I John 3:21-22, I Cor 4:4
6. Counsel - Prov. 15:22
7. Fasting - Mark 9:29, Acts 13:2, 14:23

We are the sum of our decisions.

There are 2 types of decisions that we make every day. They are priority and moral decisions. Priority decisions are right/right decisions; God is testing us to see which way we will go (good, better, best) whereas moral decisions are right/wrong decisions. Satan is tempting us to make the wrong choice. He wants us to go against God's will. The power to make correct and moral decisions results from the enabling power of God. It is important to remember that God allows Satan (and our own sinful nature) to tempt us and if we choose wrongly, it is OUR choosing. The example that Jesus gives us in Matthew 4 is quite something. He made his decision not to give in to Satan's temptations by following 3 basic principles. He used Scripture, he refused to test God, and he refused to worship anyone/anything other than God.

Small Group Discussion

When it comes to the moral side of things there is much to talk about. Perhaps some examples might help us wade through this quagmire.

• The decision whether or not to report overcharges to a customer is a moral choice.
• Whether or not to engage in mental adultery with a young beauty at work is a moral choice
• Whether or not to accept the big job offer in another city.
• Deciding whether or not we need a new car, if we do then how much to spend. Do we put our finances in jeopardy or that of our families just to satisfy our own wants?
• What we allow in our homes (e.g. rock music, movies, language, certain toys and/or computer games, attitudes)
• What we teach our teens or siblings, or lack of teaching.
• How we treat our Sundays; whether or not we worship, or work on Sundays or do both or neither.
• Whether or not we are always critical to or about others.

Discuss how all of these, or any other that you are thinking of, can have a great impact on our families, our relationship with God, and our witness to those around us. Most Important is our relationship with our Lord, second is our families, and a close third is those around us, at work, our neighbors, our friends or those we have just met. Every decision we make has consequences. The consequences of these decisions always include at the very least a spiritual and a financial dimension. All life is spiritual so every decision has a spiritual consequence. A financial consequence also results from most of our decisions.

Questions

• What is your personal batting average on making good decisions on the big issues?
• Describe one very good decision you have made. What factors in making your decision contributed to its success?
• Describe one "lousy" decision you have made. What caused you to make this decision? What consequences have you had to bear because of it? Would you make a different decision if you had to do it over again?
• Why is it so hard for men to live by God's principles?

REMEMBER, DADS, THERE ARE LITTLE EYES WATCHING US AND EMULATING US!