Cross that Bridge When I Come to it

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Cross that Bridge When I Come to it Eight Keys to Making Wise Decisions

Cross that Bridge When I Come to t Dr.iBrandon Park | May 3, 2015 Eight Keys to Making Wise Decisions

“We make our _______________ and then our decisions __________ us.” What you are today is based upon the decisions that you’ve made i n previous days. And what you will be i n the future will be determined by the decisions you make in your life today. FACT: We make over ________ decisions every day (some important, s ome not so i mportant). Each day we are confronted with a series of choices and those choices determine the direction and the destiny of our lives. When it comes to making decisions, most people find themselves in one of two categories: 1. Some people make ________ ________________ -‐-‐ they move forward too hastily. 2. Some people are __________________ -‐ they procrastinate or decide not to decide. Nothing of significance is ever accomplished in this life without clear decisions. We cannot take our decisions lightly! We need to have some kind of B iblical process that we can go to so that we can arrive at a good decision. The Book of Proverbs shows us how. Proverbs 28:26, “He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom in kept safe.” One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to make decisions without the counsel of God. Here are 8 Biblical keys to making wise decisions.

1. _______________ WITH ___________

Psalm 16:11, “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your p resence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” When you are seeking to make a choice, commence with faith. James 1:5 says, “If any man lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to a ll men g enerously.” You acknowledge that you are inadequate to make the right choice and you seek His wisdom. Someone has defined rebellion this way: “Reserving for myself the right to make the ________________ decision.” You don’t make the final decision! God does! “In his h eart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) When God speaks to you, he doesn’t always tell us exactly what He wants us to do. (BIBLE ILLUS: Abraham was told to leave his country and go to a c ity that he had not heard of. He didn’t tell Abraham where he was going and he didn’t tell him what the destination was. As Abraham went – God showed him where one step at a time. So God doesn’t necessarily lay out the whole plan for us. Usually, He shows us the first step and then the next step. God will never advance your _______________ beyond your last act of _____________________.

2. _____________ THE __________

Proverbs 13:16 says, “Every prudent man acts out of knowledge.” In other words, we are not to make decisions out of ignorance. We are to get all the facts that we can get regarding the decision that we are going to make. Proverbs 18:13 says, “what a shame, how ignorant, to decide before k nowing the facts.” Solomon wrote this verse. When you read the book of Ecclesiastes he tells us that he learned everything that he could about every situation—he sought learning…he was a learned man. We have to be careful to n ot make decisions based on ____________________. Proverbs 23:23 says, “get the facts a t any price.” We are not to be guilty of uninformed enthusiasm. Ask yourself at least 2 questions: 1. What Do I Need to Know? 2. What Do I Not Know?

3. ______________ WITH ______________

God speaks through Godly people. You need to seek out godly counsel when facing an important decision. Proverbs 20:18, “Prepare plans by consultation, and make war by wise g uidance.” The more advice you get the more likely you are to win. The Bible says that there is wisdom in the multitude of counselors. Life is too short for you to always go around learning from trial and error, from y our own mistakes. If you can learn from the mistakes of others, then you have a leg up on the situation.

Proverbs 18:15 says, “Counsel in the heart of men is like a deep well, but a man of understanding will draw it out. The intelligent man is always open to new ideas, in fact he looks for them.” Asking questions is not a sign of stupidity, it is a sign of wisdom. It is a wise person who asks questions about that which he does not know.

4. _______________ YOUR ____________

Proverbs 17:24 says, “An intelligent man aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.” You can only chase one rabbit at a time. Life i s so full of decisions, but you can only make one choice at a time. You can handle only one problem at a time. QUOTE: Losers focus on what they are going _____________ while champions focus on where they are going ______. Champions make decisions that create the ____________ they desire; Losers make decisions that create the _____________ they desire. Concentrate your focus. What is the most i mportant choice you have to make today? Paul said, “This one thing I do.” – he was talking about serving Jesus Christ and making sure that his priorities were right.

5. ______________ THE ____________

Don’t take your decisions lightly. Your c hoices are like the rudder of a ship. The decisions that you make establish the directions for your life. Proverbs 20:5, “It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows.” You have to ask the question: “What are the consequences of this choice? What will it cost me to make this choice? Are the profits and the potential worth the cost? PRINCIPLE #1 -‐ You should always ______________ making a decision when you are physically or emotionally drained. When fatigue walks i n—faith walks out! We don’t make good decisions when our minds are cluttered. PRINCIPLE #2: You should never make a decision until you have sought the ______________ of God and gained the ______________ of God. Sometimes we want something so badly that – even though we k now it’s not God’s best – we do it anyways! If there i s any “unrest” i n your spirit – do not make the decision. PRINCIPLE #3 -‐ We don’t make good decisions when our ____________ are real high or real low! When salespeople want to sell you s omething, they get your emotions up! It is much better to wait than it is to make a bad decision. PRINCIPLE #4 – Don’t allow your dreams and desires to become an __________ where you are pursuing them more than you are pursuing God. You should not let your dreams and desires become so strong that you cannot be happy without them. ‘ Psalm 37:4-‐5 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires o f your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust a lso in Him, and He will do it.” When you delight yourself i n God by keeping Him i n first place – at the right time, He will bring those desires to pass.

6. ________________ THE ________

Proverbs 20:18 says, “Don’t go charging into battle without a p lan.” Proverbs 22:3, “A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks for problems a head a nd suffers the consequences.” Don’t ever underestimate the strength of the Enemy. Satan will attack anything big that you attempt, anything that y ou enter into, any relationship, anything that is important in life.

7. _______________ YOUR __________

Proverbs 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to b e a snare, but whoever trust in the Lord is kept safe.” Indecision is a m ark of a ______________ mind. We are so impacted with choices today that many of us have developed a fear of making decisions so as to not make mistakes. But to not make a decision, is a decision! Success is n ot for the _____________ few, but for the few who ___________. Most of the success you have in your life will be over the choice of your decisions.

8. ____________ ON _____________

WORD STUDY: “Decision” = comes from Latin roots de which means “from” and caedere which means “to c ut”. Making a true decision means c ommitting to achieving a result and then cutting yourself off from any other possibility. You will never leave where you ______ until you decide where you would rather _______. (Read Hebrews 11:6) Remember that the secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. Men decide their _____________ and then their habits decide their __________________.

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Cross that Bridge When I Come to it Eight Keys to Making Wise Decisions

Cross that Bridge When I Come to t Dr.iBrandon Park | May 3, 2015 Eight Keys to Making Wise Decisions

“We make our _______________ decisions and then our decisions __________ make us.” What you are today is based upon the decisions that you’ve made i n previous days. And what you will be i n the future will be determined by the decisions you make in your life today. FACT: We make over ________ 2,500 decisions every day (some important, some not so i mportant). Each day we are confronted with a series of choices and those choices determine the direction and the destiny of our lives. When it comes to making decisions, most people find themselves in one of two categories: 1. Some people make ________ snap ________________ decisions -‐-‐ they move forward too hastily. 2. Some people are __________________ -‐ they procrastinate or decide not to decide. indecisive Nothing of significance is ever accomplished in this life without clear decisions. We cannot take our decisions lightly! We need to have some kind of B iblical process that we can go to so that we can arrive at a good decision. The Book of Proverbs shows us how. Proverbs 28:26, “He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom in kept safe.” One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to make decisions without the counsel of God. Here are 8 Biblical keys to making wise decisions.

1. _______________ WITH ___________ COMMENCE FAITH

Psalm 16:11, “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your p resence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” When you are seeking to make a choice, commence with faith. James 1:5 says, “If any man lacks wisdom let him ask of God who gives to a ll men g enerously.” You acknowledge that you are inadequate to make the right choice and you seek His wisdom. Someone has defined rebellion this way: “Reserving for myself the right to make the ________________ decision.” You don’t make the final decision! God does! “In his h eart a man ﬁnal plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) When God speaks to you, he doesn’t always tell us exactly what He wants us to do. (BIBLE ILLUS: Abraham was told to leave his country and go to a c ity that he had not heard of. He didn’t tell Abraham where he was going and he didn’t tell him what the destination was. As Abraham went – God showed him where one step at a time. So God doesn’t necessarily lay out the whole plan for us. Usually, He shows us the first step and then the next step. God will never advance your _______________ instructions beyond your last act of _____________________. disobedience

2. _____________ THE __________ COMPOSE FACTS

Proverbs 13:16 says, “Every prudent man acts out of knowledge.” In other words, we are not to make decisions out of ignorance. We are to get all the facts that we can get regarding the decision that we are going to make. Proverbs 18:13 says, “what a shame, how ignorant, to decide before k nowing the facts.” Solomon wrote this verse. When you read the book of Ecclesiastes he tells us that he learned everything that he could about every situation—he sought learning…he was a learned man. We have to be careful to n ot make decisions based on ____________________. Proverbs 23:23 emotion says, “get the facts a t any price.” We are not to be guilty of uninformed enthusiasm. Ask yourself at least 2 questions: 1. What Do I Need to Know? 2. What Do I Not Know?

3. ______________ WITH ______________ CONSULT FRIENDS

God speaks through Godly people. You need to seek out godly counsel when facing an important decision. Proverbs 20:18, “Prepare plans by consultation, and make war by wise g uidance.” The more advice you get the more likely you are to win. The Bible says that there is wisdom in the multitude of counselors. Life is too short for you to always go around learning from trial and error, from y our own mistakes. If you can learn from the mistakes of others, then you have a leg up on the situation.

Proverbs 18:15 says, “Counsel in the heart of men is like a deep well, but a man of understanding will draw it out. The intelligent man is always open to new ideas, in fact he looks for them.” Asking questions is not a sign of stupidity, it is a sign of wisdom. It is a wise person who asks questions about that which he does not know.

4. _______________ YOUR ____________ CONCENTRATE FOCUS

Proverbs 17:24 says, “An intelligent man aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.” You can only chase one rabbit at a time. Life i s so full of decisions, but you can only make one choice at a time. You can handle only one problem at a time. QUOTE: Losers focus on what they are going _____________ through while champions focus on where they are going ______. to Champions make decisions that create the ____________ future they desire; Losers make decisions that create the _____________ present they desire. Concentrate your focus. What is the most i mportant choice you have to make today? Paul said, “This one thing I do.” – he was talking about serving Jesus Christ and making sure that his priorities were right.

5. ______________ THE ____________ CALCULATE FACTORS

Don’t take your decisions lightly. Your c hoices are like the rudder of a ship. The decisions that you make establish the directions for your life. Proverbs 20:5, “It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows.” You have to ask the question: “What are the consequences of this choice? What will it cost me to make this choice? Are the profits and the potential worth the cost? postpone making a decision when you are physically or PRINCIPLE #1 -‐ You should always ______________ emotionally drained. When fatigue walks i n—faith walks out! We don’t make good decisions when our minds are cluttered. presence of PRINCIPLE #2: You should never make a decision until you have sought the ______________ peace God and gained the ______________ of God. Sometimes we want something so badly that – even though we k now it’s not God’s best – we do it anyways! If there i s any “unrest” i n your spirit – do not make the decision. emotions are real high or real low! PRINCIPLE #3 -‐ We don’t make good decisions when our ____________ When salespeople want to sell you s omething, they get your emotions up! It is much better to wait than it is to make a bad decision. PRINCIPLE #4 – Don’t allow your dreams and desires to become an __________ idol where you are pursuing them more than you are pursuing God. You should not let your dreams and desires become so strong that you cannot be happy without them. ‘ Psalm 37:4-‐5 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires o f your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust a lso in Him, and He will do it.” When you delight yourself i n God by keeping Him i n first place – at the right time, He will bring those desires to pass.

CONSIDER FOE 6. ________________ THE ________

Proverbs 20:18 says, “Don’t go charging into battle without a p lan.” Proverbs 22:3, “A sensible man watches for problems ahead and prepares to meet them. The simpleton never looks for problems a head a nd suffers the consequences.” Don’t ever underestimate the strength of the Enemy. Satan will attack anything big that you attempt, anything that y ou enter into, any relationship, anything that is important in life.

CONFRONT FEARS 7. _______________ YOUR __________

Proverbs 29:25, “Fear of man will prove to b e a snare, but whoever trust in the Lord is kept safe.” fearful Indecision is a m ark of a ______________ mind. We are so impacted with choices today that many of us have developed a fear of making decisions so as to not make mistakes. But to not make a chosen few, but for the few who ___________. chose decision, is a decision! Success is n ot for the _____________ Most of the success you have in your life will be over the choice of your decisions.

8. ____________ ON _____________ CHARGE FORWARD

WORD STUDY: “Decision” = comes from Latin roots de which means “from” and caedere which means “to c ut”. Making a true decision means c ommitting to achieving a result and then cutting yourself off from any other possibility. You will never leave where you ______ are until you decide where you would rather _______. be (Read Hebrews 11:6) Remember that the secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. Men decide their _____________ habits and then their habits decide their __________________. future