Today I Choose to Be a Blessing

Choose Life Today

• Deuteronomy 30:15-19

• The church's leadership confession is: “Today I choose to be a blessing.” This is not merely a church motto but a way to live.

• Choosing today matters. We cannot postpone obedience until we have better circumstances, more money, a building, or a more convenient season.

• The church is made up of individuals, so the way we live affects the church we are part of.

• Moses set before Israel life and prosperity, death and destruction, blessings and curses. He commanded them to love God, walk in obedience, and keep His commands.

• Moses could lead, teach, warn, and pray for Israel, but he could not choose for them. They had to choose for themselves.

• Life is made up of the choices we make. Hearing the Word is not enough; we must choose whether we will be hearers or doers of the Word.

• Moses was preparing Israel to enter the promised land without him. After forty years of leadership, his final instruction was: choose life so that your children may live.

More Options Do Not Always Produce Better Decisions

• 1 Corinthians 10:23

• Every day contains many choices, from simple decisions such as coffee or matcha to major decisions about marriage, education, work, and where to live.

• The abundance of options, information, social media, streaming platforms, and advice has not necessarily made decision-making easier.

• Constantly searching for a better option can leave us dissatisfied and unable to recognize or receive what is already good.

• Neil Postman's book Amusing Ourselves to Death was used to introduce the information-action ratio: people may receive more information while taking less action.

• We can bring this same approach to God. After hearing God's instruction, we may ask for other options instead of obeying.

• Examples include asking whether there is another option besides forgiving or living with purity.

• Having the right to do something does not mean that it is beneficial or constructive.

• Major decisions should be examined through the lens of life and death: Is this beneficial? Will it lead to life or death? Does it make me more like Jesus? Does it draw me closer to God?

The Confession: I Choose

• We are not powerless. We cannot choose everything that happens to us or everything happening around us, but we have more choices than we may realize.

• We can choose kindness, discipline, holiness, joy, forgiveness, and how we respond to a situation.

• From the Pastor: “I've been practicing this that there's been some times where I'm just frustrated and instead of acting out on my default emotion, I just start smiling. I'm like, I choose joy.”

• Feelings do not have to control every action. God has given us agency, power, and liberty to act on what we know rather than only on what we feel.

• Excuses such as “that is just the way I am” should not become the basis for our identity or behavior.

• Do not allow circumstances, personality labels, family history, or past experiences to decide who you will be or what mood you will have.

• Choosing carries responsibility. We should not claim “I chose that” when the result benefits us and then say “I had no choice” when we dislike the consequences.

• As we grow and come into alignment with what God says about us, our choices should change.

• Spiritual growth includes choosing to grow out of excuses, the need for everyone's approval, the need to be liked, blaming others for what we have experienced, and habits or patterns that have not benefited us.

• To grow into what God has for us, there are things we must grow out of.

Moses: Growth on the Other Side of Obedience

• Exodus 4:20
• Romans (chapter and verse not specified)

• When God first called Moses at the burning bush, Moses offered repeated excuses: Who am I? What if they do not believe me? What if they do not listen? I am not eloquent in speech. Finally, he asked God to send someone else.

• Moses eventually got up and went, even though the account does not say that all his doubts disappeared.

• Exodus 4:20 records Moses taking his wife and sons and beginning the journey back to Egypt with the staff of God in his hand.

• By Deuteronomy, forty years later, Moses was confident, wise, and secure in his assignment. He was not a perfect leader, but he did not allow his shortcomings to stop him.

• The man who once said he could not speak was now addressing an entire nation.

• The record of Moses' mistakes and weaknesses gives us something to learn: we can grow from the versions of ourselves we once were.

• There is another version of you on the other side of obedience and decision-making.

• The direction of your life is shaped by the decisions you make and by the decisions you refuse to make.

The Commission: Be a Blessing

• Genesis 50:20-21
• Galatians 6:9

• The confession is “I choose.” The commission is “Be a blessing.”

• Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and eventually imprisoned, but God brought him into a position of authority in Egypt.

• During a famine, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt for food. Joseph had the power to retaliate against the people who had hurt him, but he chose to bless them instead.

• Joseph recognized that although his brothers intended harm, God intended good and was using the situation to save many lives.

• Joseph did not merely forgive privately; he provided for his brothers and their children.

• We may not control what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond.

• Galatians 6:9-10 calls believers not to become weary in doing good and to do good to all people whenever there is opportunity, especially to the family of believers.

• Our next opportunity may not be a platform or business opportunity. It may be an opportunity to be kind, encourage someone, or help someone in need.

• The church should look for opportunities to be a blessing in a world looking for blessings.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

• Genesis 12:2-3

• Scripture presents many kinds of blessings, including fruitfulness, provision, protection, favor, peace, wisdom, and forgiveness.

• God's purpose for Abraham was not only to bless him but to make him a blessing to others.

• A person can stop at possessing a blessing, but God's intention is for His people to become conduits through which blessing flows.

• Being a blessing glorifies God. Giving, serving, and forgiving make our lives look more like Jesus.

• The goal is not simply to accumulate more things or make life more comfortable; the goal is for our lives to look more like Jesus.

• Material possessions do not define blessing. True blessing includes knowing Jesus, having peace and faith, experiencing love and forgiveness, and knowing where blessing comes from.

• The blessing of God is not reduced to the amount of money in a bank account.

Kingdom Blessing and Kingdom Influence

• Matthew 5

• Jesus' Beatitudes describe a blessed life in kingdom terms: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers, and those persecuted for righteousness are called blessed.

• Kingdom blessing may look different from earthly blessing.

• Do not pursue earthly blessings while ignoring the blessings valued in God's kingdom.

• Jesus calls His followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

• Salt makes a difference by being present and adding flavor to what is bland.

• Wherever God places you, you should make a difference, add rather than take away, and bring the influence of Christ.

• Be a blessing at work, at home, at school, in your crew, in the community, and in the church.

• Walk with the confidence that you are a blessing rather than a burden, failure, or mistake.

• God has placed people in families, workplaces, and communities so they can be a blessing there.

Receive God's Blessing and Live as a Blessing

• Deuteronomy 28

• The promise given to Abraham—that God would bless him and make him a blessing—was applied to God's people.

• Deuteronomy 28 speaks of blessing in the city and country, blessing in coming in and going out, blessing on families, work, provision, and everything put into one's hands.

• The passage also speaks of God establishing His people, granting prosperity, blessing the work of their hands, and making them the head and not the tail.

• The message called the congregation to receive God's blessing, favor, protection, provision, wisdom, authority, and breakthrough.

• The blessing was presented as extending beyond an individual to families, businesses, minds, marriages, futures, and nations.

• The promised response to blessing is changed thinking, insight, strategy, and the ability to address problems that previously seemed unsolvable.

• Favor should be received with gratitude and not treated casually or presumptuously.

• There is no blessing apart from the One who blesses, and His name is Jesus.

Choose Jesus and Choose Life

• Deuteronomy 30:15-19

• The invitation to follow Jesus was presented as the most important choice.

• Moses set before the people life and death, blessings and curses, and instructed them to choose life.

• No one can be forced to make this decision.

• Good behavior and nice actions cannot produce salvation. Salvation is not merely making bad people good; it is making dead people alive again.

• A person needs to be saved, know Jesus, and become part of Christian community.

• The response prayer confessed belief that Jesus died so we could have new life, and received His love, joy, peace, blessing, and new life.