Winning the World Series 3: Fielder’s Choice

Seeking Godly Guidance: Making Decisions and Coming to Godly Conclusions

Fielder’s Choice is a term used in baseball to describe a specific type of defensive play that occurs during an at-bat. In a Fielder’s Choice, a fielder is presented with two or more options for making an out and chooses one, allowing a runner to advance to the next base as a result.

This play is often made by infielders and is an important part of the scoring strategy of baseball. Understanding what a Fielder’s Choice is and how it impacts a game is essential for players and fans alike. Options are everything!

Having options is what freedom is all about. 

It’s also the reason hell is full of human beings in a place designed for the devil and his minions.

Our ability to recognize our options and make good decisions will determine what our victories or defeats are. 

Part of every single journey is dealing with forks in the road. Part of winning any game is strategic planning, decisive action, maintaining momentum, and precision in execution. 

Churches are failing. Our nation is unraveling. The political environment is going global. Families are are under attack. Rule of law is out the window. We have some conclusions to come to and some decisions to make. 

Joshua 24:1-31 – Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.

3 Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac.

4 ‘To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

5 ‘Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.

6 ‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

7 ‘So they cried out to the Lord; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.

8 ‘And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.

9 ‘Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

10 ‘But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand.

11 ‘Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you–also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand.

12 ‘I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.

13 ‘I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

14 “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods;

17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed.

18 And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”

21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord!”

22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!”

23 “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.”

28 So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

TIMNATH SERAH MEANS “ABUNDANT PORTION”

31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

• CHOOSE TO BE A SUPERNATURAL, SPIRIT-FILLED LEADER 

• THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU REAFFIRM YOUR COMMITMENT AND LOYALTY TO GOD. YOU DO THAT AFTER A HEALTHY REVIEW OF GOD’S GOODNESS IN YOUR LIFE. REAFFIRM YOUR LOYALTY TO JESUS. REAFFIRM YOUR AVAILABILITY TO THE KINGDOM. REAFFIRM YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE CAUSE OF CHRIST  
• Jesus said, “Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away” (John 6:37).
• Revelation 3:2 – Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

Revelation 3:2 (AMP) – Wake up, and strengthen and reaffirm what remains [of your faithful commitment to Me], which is about to die

Remembering

Isaiah 46:9 (NKJV) – Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me

John 14:26 (NKJV) – But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

THERE IS A KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING. IF YOU DON’T REMEMBER THE RIGHT THINGS, YOU WILL MAKE THE WRONG CHOICES. 

Remember certain inputs cause certain outcomes. 

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING

Galatians 4:28

The promises God has given you  (This list will keep you in times of trouble) 

In Galatians 4:28, you and I are called “Children of promise.” 

Psalms 27:13 – I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Start off by doing a Google search on scriptures on God’s promises. Then begin to seek the Lord and ask Him to help you know His specific Promises for you personally. 

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE WITH HOPE, YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE WITH THE CONSTANT MEMORY OF THE PROMISES GOD HAS GIVEN YOU. 

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING 

The miracles God has done in your life (This list will keep you trusting God)

God Almighty warned the people of Israel, “Do not forget the miracles I did for you. Don’t forget how I brought you out of Egypt. Don’t forget. You have good reason to trust me.” 

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. – Psalms 77:11

For thy testimonies are my meditation. – Psalms 119:99                                                                                                                          

IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE YOUR LIFE TRUSTING GOD, YOU ARE GOING TO REMEMBER HOW GOD HAS DELIVERED YOU OVER AND OVER AGAIN. 

 THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING  

The privileges and things you love about your life (This list will keep you thankful) 

John 1:16 (NLT) – From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A LONG LIST OF WHAT YOU ARE THANKFUL FOR, YOU HAVE A LONG LIST OF WHAT YOU GRIPE ABOUT.

Remembering how blessed you are will cause you to be thankful. 

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING 

Remembering is prioritizing the prayers God has answered in your life  (This list will keep you praying)

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. – Psalm 145:18

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING 

The people God has placed in your life (This list will keep you relational)

Rick Warren writes in The Purpose Driven Life, “I have been at the bedside of many people in their final moments, when they stand on the edge of eternity, and I have never heard anyone say, ‘Bring me my diplomas! I want to look at them one more time. Show me my awards, my medals, that gold watch I was given.’ When life on earth is ending, people don’t surround themselves with objects. What we want around us is people – people we love and have relationships with. In our final moments we all realize that relationships are what life is all about.”

Philippians 1:3-4 – I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING  – Galatians 2:10

Remember the poor (This list will keep you humble and effective in the Kingdom) 

THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLE OF REMEMBERING  – 2 Timothy 2:8 

Remember that Jesus Christ is raised from the dead 

Remember that life has slapped death in the face. 

Remember that JESUS “called the shot” and prophesied that on the third day, He would rise again. 

Remember that for those of us who are in Christ, death has no sting and the grave no victory. 

Remember that Jesus didn’t just raise from the dead for Him. He is risen for all believers for all time. 

This is what I remember when I am facing my own mortality. 

This is what I think of when I begin to feel overwhelmed. 

I will remember that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.  

And when I remember that Jesus is risen from the dead, I remember that nothing is impossible. 

REMEMBERING AND BEING WATCHFUL QUALIFIES US TO ESCAPE TERRIBLE THINGS AND ENTER INTO WONDERFUL THINGS.

Joshua 24:15  – “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”