DECISION MAKING ABOUT THE ISSUES OF LIFE

5 TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.
6 IN all your WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, And He shall DIRECT YOUR PATHS.
7 DO NOT BE WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES;
FEAR the LORD and DEPART from EVIL."
Proverbs 3:5-7 (NKJV)

• God wants or desires a relationship and fellowship. We are not serving God because of what we want to receive from Him alone.

• If the reason why you serve God is mainly because of your needs to be met, it means you are still far from Him. Now, if all your needs are met, It means you would not have any reason or basis for serving God again.
• Once a relationship is established through the new birth, being born-again, you build the relationship into communion or fellowship. Because God wants to be part of everything in your life.
• Thus, a believer should involve God in the making of decisions in every area of his or her life. But If your relationship and fellowshipping with God is not sound and cordial, you may find it difficult to know God's Will or mind on certain issues.
• There are things that confronted believers, things they face in life which they needed to make decisions on, but such are not explicitly answered or made known in the Bible. A believers may have problems in making decisions on the issues of life, especially things that are not written in black and white. THEY could be called or considered the ethically gray areas with vaguely defined position, condition, in the Bible.
• Many believers had a fire Brigade's approach to things of life. Some of such believers have become a victim of false prophets, because they wanted to know about their future or what to do on certain issues about their lives that seem confusing.
• So, God wants all His children to grow in their walk with Him and know how to hear His voice: "FOR AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE SONS [daughters] OF GOD" (Romans 8:14 NKJV).
• If you committed yourself to the Bible and prayer regularly, your heart would be sensitive enough to know God's Will about issues of life. However, If you only come to God, when you had a burning issue in your mind, to know His Will, you may not be able to receive clearly from Him. In fact, what you received at such a time might be from the flesh or the devil.

• What are the principles to consider in decision making.
I. Feed on the Word of God daily and regularly, so that when the time of distress comes and you do not know what to do; the Holy Spirit would have the Word to stir up in your heart—the Word needed for the moment, the solution to the matter at hand.
OUT of the treasure trove of the Word of God, hidden in your heart, comes the solution.

• The Bible speaks plainly on certain issues or things, whilst on some, they are not explicitly found written in the Bible. However, If you are sincere or genuine and not biased in your mind, and wanted to know, you can see the basis, the foundation; a principle, an idea, or a fact, through which whatever you wanted to know could be made known or discovered through the Word—the Bible.
• God also can speak through the books written by proven men and women of God. The direction or whatever you wanted to know may be discovered through their stories, the experiences they shared, which might be similar to what you are passing through.

II. Depend on the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14).

• If your personal communion with the Holy Spirit is strong enough, you would always receive a prompting from Him, that would either say yes or no on whatever issue of life you may want to know.
• You build fellowship with the Holy Spirit through consistent praying in tongues, in the language of the Spirit, and by conversing or dialoguing with Him (1 Corinthians 14:2).
• You would have to recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit on the inside of you, If you had received the fullness of Him, that is, the baptism. And had to always acknowledge Him in all you wanted to do (John 14:16,26; 16:13).

III. Does the proposed action agree or line up with the standard and commitment you had made previously with God.

• If what you intended to do is contrary to what you had agreed to do, or how you had promised to live, as a believer in Christ Jesus, you should not proceed in that which you wanted to do or embark upon.
  a. The question is, Would the proposed action improve your spiritual life or cause you to retrogress, or not be at par spiritually?
  b. Ask also, and usually often, on whatever you wanted to do; Would doing this increase my love for God or not?
  c. Would I hate Sin the more or the less?
  d. Would my prayer life, and the study of the Word of God, be improved and be more effective, OR less?
  e. This also could be asked the self, What effect would the proposed action had on your personality as a Believer?
  f. And most importantly, What would be the effects of the proposed action on those who are under your leadership; those who's your actions would influence, either positively or negatively? (1 Corinthians 4:5).
  g. How do you feel after you had prayed honestly and sincerely about the matter in questions?
• Believers are often reserved about praying frankly on whatever matter which they would not want God to disagree with or say No about. They are always apprehensive of God saying No on it—about Him not be in favour of it.

IV. Give yourself time to consider, mull the matter over, and seek God's Will about it; before making a decision to do or not.

• What seems attractive Today, might not be so alluring Tomorrow, after you had taken time to pray and carefully thought over it, and about it.
• Whatever is definitely God's Will for you, would grow more intense, more demanding, more attractive, as you think, ponder, And pray about it.

• In making Decisions on the issues of life, you had gotten to be painstaking.

• God is interested in all you do, as a believer in Christ Jesus: what you eat, what you put on, who you relate with or hang out with, where you go, and in fact, in every minutest thing of your life. - If you were used to the making of decision by yourself, without carrying God along, on general issues of life; when you needed Him for direction on what could be a major issue of your life, you might not know how to hear from Him.
• You discipline yourself, endeavour to cultivate the habit of asking Him what to do nearly on every matter at hand—whatever to be done.
• Ask Him how to spend your incomes—Money! Many Believers spend money without God's leadings, yet, they wanted Him to come to their aids, when they are having financial crisis.
• Acknowledge Him in all things, do not lean on your own understanding, He will guide and lead you—make your path smooth, And see you through in whatever predicament:
  5 TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING; 6 IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT [make smooth or straight] YOUR PATHS" (Proverbs 3:5-7 NKJV).

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

• Whatever is contrary to your health is rebuked in the mighty name of Jesus.
• I declare you healed and free from every Affliction of sickness in Jesus' name.
  Peace!

STEPS TO SALVATION
• Take notice of this:
IF you are yet to take the step of salvation, that is, yet to be born-again, do it now, tomorrow might be too late (2 Corinthians 6:1,2; Hebrews 3:7,8,15).
a. Acknowledge that you are a sinner and confess your Sins (1 John 1:9); And ask Jesus Christ to come into your life (Revelation 3:20).
b. Confess that you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that you confess it with your mouth, Thus, you accept Him As your Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9,10).
c. Ask that He will write your name in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:8).

• If you took the steps As highlighted above, It means you are saved—born-again. Join a Word based church in your area and Town or city, and be part of whatever they are doing there. Peace!