Make up your mind
By Ivan Ho 13 Mar 2016
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Matthew 6:24 NKJV
And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
I Kings 18:21 NKJV
These words are not given to unbelievers who have no God in their hearts. Rather, they are spoken to the people of God.
There are some followers of Jesus whose hearts are divided. They are the ones who cannot decide who their master is. One moment they read the Bible and agree with God’s words but the next minute they listen to the opinion of the devil and say: “That sounds good!”. They are being continuously torn between two opinions, or so they think: God’s word is just one of many opinions. They cannot decide which opinion governs their life. Their devotion is divided between God and the devil. They surround their lives with people who speak the truth as well as people who speak half truths, and they cannot make up their minds what is of God and what is of the devil. They listen to messages from both camps. Both seem right to them and their hearts and minds are divided.
Make up your mind
Jesus says: “Make up your mind whom you will serve. Choose one and despise the other. You can’t serve God and mammon at the same time!”. I can imagine Him being fed up with the Judases in His camp and said: “It’s not on if you have one foot with me and another with the devil. Decide today which side you belong!”.
Many people who attend church regularly are undecided what they actually believe. They have been hearing opinions of man and being bombarded with messages in the world which mess up their minds. They read the Bible and think: “This is what God says”, but then another voice says to them: “Did God really say that?”
More often than not, divided opinions come from within the church as well as people who are closest to you. The devil does have his secret agents working for him, often times people in leadership positions, especially leaders who compromise the word of God. If your mind is not made up, you will be swayed from one opinion to another.
God’s word is not an opinion
If you think what God says is just one of many opinions, you put yourself in a position where diverse opinions occupy your mind and your soul. When God’s word is just an opinion to you, you will open yourself to discussions. That’s the problem with Eve when she got herself into a discussion with the devil. Her mind and heart was swayed because she entertained a second opinion.
When God speaks, it is the truth. He doesn’t need a second opinion. Our job is to obey the truth instead of interpret the word of God according to our opinions.
If you believe the Bible is the word of God, then follow what He says. You need to make up your mind whether or not the written word is God or not. Is the Bible inspired by God or is it just another opinion? If you believe the Bible is the word of God, then shut out any other opinions that do not align with what God says. Stop listening to preachers who compromise the word of God. Stop following leaders who no longer follow what God says.
The voice within
If you are a born again believer of Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. Through the Holy Spirit, God speaks to you and I just as He speaks to countless people in the Bible. Not only does God speak to God’s people, He also speaks to non believers. In fact, a believer is one who listens to God and believes in what He says as true and obeys it.
The trouble is: If our soul is divided, we carry various voices in our hearts and minds, being unable to determine which voice is of God. In the garden of Eden, there are 3 kinds of voices: the voice of God, the voice of man, the voice of the devil. In the same way, there are typically 3 kinds of voices speaking in our world today. Not every voice that you hear is of God. Just because it sounds good does not mean it’s the sound of God.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:6 NKJV
A person whose heart is divided can hardly hear from God.
Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
Matthew 5:8 NKJV
If you are a follower of Christ but have difficulty hearing from God, chances are that there are too many conflicting messages in your mind. God’s voice is always consistent and His direction always clear. Confusion only comes from a divided heart who cannot decide which voice to follow. A person with a divided heart is a double minded man.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 1:6-8 NKJV
Jesus says: “No one can serve two masters. He either hates the one and loves the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon”. Mammon means “confidence” and whatever one puts his confidence or trust in becomes his mammon.
Jesus also says: “My sheep know my voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.“
“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:4-5 NKJV
You need to make up your mind which voice to listen to and let the word of God govern your life always.