“Who or what you listen to will ultimately determine what you do.”
I once heard Andy Stanley make that statement…and like it or not…it’s true. Every single one of us are influenced by someone or something—period!
This stuck out to me the other morning as I was reading through the OT and saw II Chronicles 24:1-2…take a look at that verse and notice the phrase, “Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years of Jehoiada the priest.”
In other words…Joash did what was right as long as he was being influenced to do so.
BUT…as I continued to read IN THE VERY SAME CHAPTER I saw II Chronicles 24:17-22…WOW!
How does a guy who is so sold out to the Lord eventually turn his back on God and even have people killed who try to talk sense into him? Simple—WHO he listened to changed.
None of us…NO ONE…can make wise, godly decisions on our own! We need help…which is why we should continually seek…
#1 - God’s Word - I’ve said it a million times—NO ONE has ever came to me claiming to have screwed up their lives by reading the Bible and then doing what is says. In church world this is true as well…if our THEOLOGY isn’t driving our METHODOLOGY then we are screwed! (I would say correct theology!!!) And right doctrine comes from a right discipline of spending time with Him in His Word!
#2 - God’s People - Let me be clear…I do not make decisions without the godly input of others. Once again to borrow from Andy Stanley…I heard him say once that the wisest person who has ever lived (Solomon) had tons to say about listening to the advice/counsel of others. If he needed it…we do as well!
Let me be clear before moving on…we need to seek the advice of people who LOVE JESUS and we know will tell us what we NEED to hear rather than what we WANT to hear. We can always find a group of idiots that will affirm our sin and dysfunction because doing so will allow them to justify their lifestyle.
BUT…that would be the WRONG approach.
#3 - God’s Church - When you attend a church weekly and walk in with a prepared heart…you will often find that God WILL speak to you in very direct ways! I can’t tell you the number of times people have said to me, “Pastor P…I felt like you were talking to me and only me today.” Which is funny because I didn’t have that particular person in mind when I prepared the message!!!
I could list some other ways…but my question to you is WHO or WHAT has the most influence in your life…because “who or what you listen to will ultimately determine what you do.”
Life is too short for us to make bad decision after bad decision…we need Jesus and we need one another! Don’t fall for the lie that this is “my life” and I will do as I want because…in reality…our decisions always impact other people.
So…think about it…who or what has the most influence in your life? Answering this question is dangerous because in doing so, you may need to make some adjustments! When Joash got away from doing things God’s way it ALL went downhill…and what is sad is that it didn’t have to be that way!
God is ALWAYS speaking…the question is are we always listening?