Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT) 19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
This week we are looking at one of the most important factors in whether or not we walk in the favor of God. We are looking at the role choice has in our Christian walk. We have laid the foundation by showing the role choice plays in every aspect of relationship between God and man. God chose to create and man chose to rebel. God chose to redeem man. God chose to make covenant with Abraham to open the way for the plan of redemption. Abraham chose to accept God’s covenant.
In the incarnation at the birth of Jesus, God chose to take on human form so that the price for sin could be paid. Jesus, in his humanity, chose to submit to the will of God and bear the penalty for man’s rebellion even though he did not carry the stain of sin. Once Jesus was raised from the dead, man had the opportunity to choose eternal life by partaking of the sacrifice Jesus paid for sin. No one forces an individual to receive Jesus. If a person so chooses they can spend eternity separated from God and in torment. However, we can choose life.
We can see clearly from this that God has based everything on choice. From God’s perspective, man’s right to choose is inviolate. Once any human being chooses to receive Jesus as Lord and savior, no power in hell or on earth can keep that person from heaven. God backs up the choice with all of his power.
Since this is true in the area of the salvation of our souls, why would it not be true in other areas of relationship? I believe it is. In today’s scripture, we find that God takes choice in all areas of life very seriously. Earlier in the week, I quoted this same verse from the NKJV bible. In that version it says, “I call heaven and earth as a witness against you.” Why would he say, “a witness against us.” He would say that so we would understand that if we do not have life it is our own fault. God has provided the choice. He will not make the choice for us.
In Deuteronomy 28, we found that God provided a whole list of blessings that are related to the covenant we have with God. I believe favor is a part of that package. However, to access those blessings, Moses tells Israel that they must “obey the voice of the Lord and keep his commandments.” In chapter 30, Moses continues this theme making it even clearer. God wants his people to choose life. Under the New Covenant, he has paid for the ability to choose life with the blood of Jesus. The only thing that remains is for us to make the right choice.
Once someone makes that choice, all of the power of God goes into effect to enforce the choice and bring it into manifestation in the earth. On the other side, all the power of the enemy is applied to make you back away from choosing life. The great deceiver will try to convince you that nothing will ever change. He will try to get you to settle for something less than the life God desires for you. Do not give in to this deception. God is behind you when you choose life. If you do not back down you will see this life manifest in your circumstance.
The question that is probably on your mind is, “How, with my circumstances and limitations, do I choose life? I want life. I want the power of God involved in my circumstances, but I don’t know how to access it.” The answer is so simple it seems that there must be more to it, but there is not.
Deuteronomy 30:15-16 (NKJV) 15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
God has given us the way to choose life. We choose life by loving God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments. It is just that simple. When we do those things, we choose life and the power of God will enforce our choice. When we do not do those things, we choose death and we tie God’s hands. He will not violate your choice. The implications are too great.
We must understand the nature of God. He is absolute. He is absolute love. Nothing can make him stop loving. Adam committed the sin of high treason and God’s response was to put a plan in motion to redeem him. Man rebelled against God and gave himself to sin as a child of “wrath” according to Ephesians 2:3. God’s response is recorded in John 3:16.
John 3:16 (NKJV) 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God cannot “not” love. God is also absolute in his view of justice. He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Therefore, he could not simply forgive Adam’s transgression. Somehow, justice had to be served. The problem was that justice in this case required eternal death and separation from God. Man could pay that price but the result would be unacceptable. If God violates absolute justice, he goes against his own nature and he cannot do that.
The solution was choice. God provided man with the right and ability to choose life. The ultimate expression was salvation through Jesus Christ. We can make that choice but for it to be a choice, we must not be forced to make it. Once it is made, our choice must be upheld. To override that choice in one area would invalidate it in all areas. Jesus paid the price to uphold justice. If we choose not to accept that payment, we will pay the penalty ourselves eternally. If God does not honor the person’s choice, the whole system falls apart.
This is true in salvation but it is also true in every other are of choosing life including the release of favor. We can choose healing and the power of God will back our choice. We can choose prosperity and the power of God will back that choice. We can choose righteousness and holiness and the power of God will back our choice.
However, we can choose sickness, poverty or sin and the power of God will not violate that choice. We are at the mercy of the devil if we chose death. Although there are other elements involved that affect how and when life will manifest in our situation, the way we begin choosing life is to obey God’s voice as we hear it, and keep his commandments as they are set before us in the Word of God.
I must point out again that I am not talking about law. Law is the regulation of the flesh by the flesh. The commandments are the revelation of God’s nature. The same could be said of the life principles laid out in the pages of the bible. To do those things is not law, it is aligning our lives and circumstances with the nature of God. It is applying truths that release life where death is attempting to reign.
Obeying God’s voice is submitting to relationship with our Father. Law is impersonal. It does not take into account who we are or what our particular circumstances may be. The voice of God is infinitely personal. It implies that the Father knows us and speaks to us specifically in terms of who we are. That is the direct opposite of law.
If we choose to ignore God’s voice and violate his principles as set forth in his Word, we choose death. This death may not manifest immediately but it is a cancer that will eventually destroy us. Jesus died to give you the choice. What will it be? Life or death? The choice is yours and both heaven and earth are watching to see what you will choose