Leon Fontaine - Staying Out of Neutral
The Bible has a promise, and it says that no deadly thing shall hurt you. No deadly thing. And so that's what I'm talking about. I'm going to come at this from a lot of different areas. And there are so many areas to come at this from that are crucial. Right now, today, I want to talk about wisdom. Now, wisdom, the Bible says is the principle thing in life. There are Christians and, you know, for every mile of truth, there's two miles of ditch. So the ditch on one side for some people is everything is a miracle. Do whatever you want, make whatever decision you want, say whatever you want, and God is going to miraculously keep you blessed. Then the ditch on the other side is there are no miracles today. It's just me and my wisdom. And neither are true. It is wisdom and miraculous protection very clearly that the Bible promises you and I. That we must use wisdom.
Proverbs is, in fact, the entire Bible is filled with tidbits that will teach you how to make good decisions. And then it also lets us know that when something happens that is out of your control or you do make a mistake. That God is there to work with you. And so right now let's talk about wisdom. Did you know that there is power in making decisions. The decisions you make about who you marry and then more importantly how you treat them and how you build your marriage. The decisions you make about how much time to spend with your kids. The decisions you make about your finances, your career. The decision you make about your eternal soul is going to determine where you spend eternity. Decisions are absolutely crucial. And by the way, neutral is a decision. Not making a decision is a decision.
I often tell the story about an old Pontiac Strato Chief that I used to drive, and we used to have when I first got my license in Weldon, Saskatchewan. And for the first little while, I would stall it because it was a three on the tree with the clutch. And I remember trying to get it into first gear, and you feed the gas a little bit. You let the clutch out slowly. And if you do it wrong, this car just jerks forward and snaps your neck. And if you do it wrong, it will stall. And one day I was at the stop sign at the railroad tracks in our little town. And I remember looking, there was no train. But I remember stalling it and the car stalled right on the train tracks. And so I started it up and drove off but as I was riding off, this story came, this thought came to me. That if a train was coming, and I stalled the car on the tracks. What should I do? Should I try to start it quick and drive it off the train track? Or should I open the door and run for my life? And then I realized sitting in the car stalled on the train tracks thinking about it, was a decision. And that lack of making a decision had consequences.
We live in a day today where everybody is in the process of making decisions. And so what does wisdom teach us in God's Word? Well, you can make great decisions or you can make lucky decisions. What is needed in the making of great decisions is great information. Without information or the facts, you are not going to make great decisions. And so it's not, you know, in my life as a believer, is it wisdom or is it miraculous protection? No. It's wisdom and miraculous protection. But you're going to find, that in life you're going to have a whole lot less storms, a whole lot less messes. You're going to need a whole lot less miracles if you will walk with wisdom in every area of your life. So now, when you don't have enough information, or you can get enough information. Then we do need to be led by the Spirit. There are some decisions that you can't know the future. You don't know what the future holds. And so you end up looking at all that you can, all the facts over here, and you say, "Okay, God, now I needed to be led by Your Spirit". And the Spirit of God will lead you in the decisions that you make.
Now, there's a verse in the Bible that talks about decision making. And it says, "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall". One of the worst things you can do about making decisions in life is to get involved emotionally. It is to get emotional about it. Get angry and make a decision. Get scared and make a decision. Get selfish and make a decision. Get worried, fearful of what people think about you and make a decision. Pride. Pride is one of those things where you... this is what I think. What do you think? I believe this. I believe that. You know what, we've gotten to the place where we actually think that truth is up to you. I remember watching a movie one time. It was kind of hilarious in this, and people talk as well all the time. And this guy's, "Well, this is my truth". No, take the word truth out. That's your opinion. Okay? That's what you think. But truth isn't negotiable. There is truth always about everything.
And so we need to desire truth. The Bible says that when you know the truth, in John 8:32, that the truth will bring you into freedom. That truth will cause you to make wise decisions. Today everybody's trying to make decisions about politics. It's huge. It's everywhere right now. Is the government over reaching? Should they have the power to do this? Can they tell me to do that? Should we all agree? Is it for everybody's safety or not? Is it socialism coming in? Is it wrecking our democracy? There is a plethora of questions that are out there. And you need to understand that if you're going to make wise decisions, you need to know the facts. For example, you need to know about history. What have countries dealt with in government situations in the past? Take a look. Listen to great people out there, wise people from varying opinions. I'd never want to listen to one group of people from just one side of the opinion. Wisdom wants to gather facts.
And so then there's, it's all, we're all wondering about needles right now, and what should I do here, what should I do there. And listen, you can't make a wise decision from pride. You can't get in an argument. It's splitting families right now. I think this. I don't care what you think. There is truth here somewhere. And the only way to get truth is to go after facts. And you don't just go after the facts that are in your arrogant corner and what you think is going to go on. And so when we allow our emotions to cloud our judgment, then we are going to jump from the frying pan into the fire. Now, the Bible has a lot to say about wisdom. It says, "Wise people like being disagreed with but fools hate it". Wise leaders enjoy a plethora of counselors around them. They don't expect all the counselors around them to agree. They know as the leader, they must make the decision once they gather a lot of expert opinions from this side and from this side. So if you allow emotions into your decision making, like fear or like pride, with this the two I look at right now. You're going to make bad decisions.
Now, every choice that you make in life has a consequence. Every choice. And it could be good, and it can be bad. But you cannot escape the consequences of making choices. Therefore your ability to make choices are crucial. This is something the Bible continually says from Genesis to Revelation. That every man is free. That every man must make his own decision. That every man must pursue wisdom. That every man must learn. That's why the Bible is so special. Choices have consequences. So decisions are crucial in your life. There are little decisions no one thinks about. They look back years later and they kick themselves for treating it as inconsequential. But yet it can bring death. It can destroy relationships, countries. It can do huge, and if you make a lot of bad decisions, little ones. Little, little, little, little, little, little. You can have a horrible future. Where do we get this wisdom? Well, first of all we look to God. As you look to God, the Word of God will prepare you for life. And the decisions that the Bible won't make for you. It will give you the principles to make that decision.
In the book of Proverbs, it gives us three words to making a great decision. The three words are knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. The Bible talks a ton about these three words. And it encourages leaders of countries, leaders of companies, leaders of home, leaders as a parent. You've got to lead your children. Where every one of us has to lead our own lives. And as you look at the Word of God, then we understand. Now what is knowledge? Well, knowledge is the facts. And the only way you can be a wise person is to accumulate the facts. And facts are how we come to wise decisions. Now, if you're not going to do the work to pursue the facts. The Bible has a word for that, and it says that your life will be a mess. The Bible says that people who will not go after facts for themselves, that you're going to make decisions so bad. And there's going to be consequences because of the laziness or the arrogance or the pride or whatever emotion it is that stops you from pursuing facts. You must go after facts. You must gather. That's the word knowledge. Knowledge is the facts.
Now, you can give somebody a lot of knowledge. You could give a 12-year old all the knowledge you want about lawful, being a police officer and you still wouldn't hand them a gun. Now, from knowledge, the next step of gathering these facts is the Bible calls it understanding. Now understanding is where you think yourself clear. It's meditating and applying the knowledge that you've garnered. The facts that you now have, you try to apply those facts into your world. You apply these principles into your life. And so this is the knowledge. These are the facts that I have gathered. Now, how do I understand how these facts affect my future? How do I understand how these facts, this knowledge affects my marriage, my home, my health, my country, my voting, etcetera. And then as I think myself clear and I begin to look at these things. I use the third word is wisdom. Wisdom is the actual making of a choice. It's making the decision.
So I don't know how much knowledge you have. I don't know how much understanding you have. But I know how much wisdom you have because wisdom is looking at the decisions that you make in your life. In fact the Bible says before you marry someone look at their track record. What have they done in their past? The Bible doesn't say to judge people's heart. It says by their fruits you will know them. Well, fruits are the things that are in their past. How have they made decision about drugs. How have they made decision about the law? How have they made decisions about all these things? So everybody has a track record of making choices. Are they a wise person or the Bible says is he a foolish person? So wisdom. Now we've got to gain knowledge. We've got to go after the facts. Now, one of the most evil things on the planet. One of the most evil things on the planet. One of the most evil things on the planet is censorship. When someone decides to censor information and not allow you to gather facts. Then they are telling you, I'm going to make your decision for you.
Now, there's consequences to the decision that I'm making for you but those consequences are yours. But I'm still going to make the decision for you. That is a great evil. When a government censors, when a company censors, when a social media censors. When someone won't tell you something and you have to make a decision. Then they are causing you great harm because you can't make good decisions unless you have good facts. You can't make great decisions unless you have great information. With great information, you can make great decisions. With good information, you can make good decisions. With not enough information, you make a lucky decisions. With improper information, you can make horrible decisions. And those decisions will bring consequences into your life that are irreparable. That there are consequences that even God can't change. And that's a whole another topic.
So you making decisions as a, one of the most important areas of your life. Don't follow people who make poor decisions. Don't follow people because they got a good heart. No. You are to look at track record. And so my challenge to you today is that we are making a lot of decisions right now. Decisions about healthcare. Decisions about needles. Decisions about government. Decisions about voting. Decisions about making your voice heard. Decisions about being quiet. Decisions why I get involved. Decisions about getting emotional. Decisions about getting angry, mad. There's things going on between families and married couples and businesses. And what are you thinking? What do you believe? I don't care what you think and I don't care what you believe. I want the facts. Do you have any facts? If you don't have any facts, then your opinion is just another opinion. Everybody's got two opinions like everyone's got two armpits. Do you have facts? Do you have information? Where did you get it from? Is it accurate? Or you just sit, "Well, I'm just going to do what they say". Oh, that's the neutral position where the person goes, "Well, you know, I'm just going to trust in our government". Really? What does history say about that? I'm just going to trust in our healthcare system. Really? What does our history say about that? When you take a look at the decisions that you need to make.
Listen to me person. Listen to me. You need to go after facts. And if someone is trying to hold facts away from you, that is an evil person. You say, "Leon, you can't judge their heart". I don't have to judge their heart. I'm judging their actions. To remove from a parent the information they need to protect and to keep their child healthy into the future is an evil beyond evil. For someone to censor experts around our world and not to say, "Let's gather all the experts together. Let's weigh this opinion, that opinion. Let's continue". We used to love great debate as a country. We used to love having a great mind here and a great mind there put them together. And as they respect one another, let's, let them talk this thing through. Wow! We love that thing. But today, while you are like a, you're a person who is crazy. You're a fool. You're a conspiracy theorist unless you agree with everything I say or everything I think. No, the person who continually says conspiracy theorist. That's the fool because the decisions every one of us are making about our future.
We're making them and there are consequences to decisions about government. There are consequences to decisions about medicine. There are consequences to being a neutral and doing nothing about being censored. There are consequences to say, "Well, someone just look after me and everything's going to be okay". And so my challenge to you today and this is a very difficult message. But it's really not because I'm not taking a side. I'm not telling you what to do. I'm simply giving you the wisdom of God's Word that has stood for thousands and thousands of years. Countries have risen and countries have fallen because of the wisdom of God's Word. And it says my friend gather facts. Think yourself clear. Make wise choices. There is wisdom in the counsel of many. Don't give some government official. Don't give some guy who owns a social media company the right to decide and censor the facts you need to determine your future, your career, your generations, your health, your reproduction, etcetera. I want to hear what people have to say. Selah. Let's pray together.
Father, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You that the Bible is not only a book about where we spend eternity. The Bible is a book about raising up great families. The Bible is a book about raising up great government. The Bible is a book about making great decisions. The Bible is a book about walking in wisdom. I pray today that this short message will powerfully impact people and cause them to rise up and to take a hold of their destiny by gathering facts, by refusing to be censored, by refusing to allow others to make their decisions. Give the church of Jesus Christ wisdom. I pray that we would seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And that Father, there and all the other areas we would make wise decisions. And Father, not only do we walk in wisdom. We don't need to be afraid of viruses. We don't need to be afraid of God. We don't need to be afraid of all the things the enemy has. We walk in a supernatural blessing. That Father, likewise today, guide us with Your wisdom and help us to acquire it. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen and amen.
I hope that as you hear God's Word, something on the inside of you begins to grow and be strong. When you hear the Word of God, it should never make you fearful. God's Word and His Spirit will never make you worried or anxious. If you read or hear a preacher that it causes anxiety and fear and worry. It's the wrong spirit. Even if he's quoting and reading the Word, his doctrine might even be okay. But it's the spirit that is behind it. The Bible says we don't have a spirit of fear. We have a spirit of power, a spirit of love, a spirit of a sound mind. And as you continue to find the messages that we are teaching here and all the teachings. I want you to know, let the Word of God come in and renew your mind. And then as your mind begins to focus on the principles of God's Word. Who you are? Who Jesus is? Who God is? Who the devil is? And then what you can do? What your legal rights are? What is, does it mean when you are in Christ, you are in Him? That's your legal rights but then Christ is in you.
Now, it's not just the legal rights. It's the abilities that you have. You know, it's one thing to say that a policeman has the legal right to stop that car. Okay, he has the legal right to stop a vehicle on the road. Now the other question is, does he have the ability to stop it? Because if that person chooses to not stop, what can he do? Well, those cars have, they got rumble strips or a strip so they can run over spikes. They've got cages built on the front of the vehicle to stop that car. If they have to, they have shotguns and weapons and rifles. They have ability to stop a car if they need to do it as well. And this is the beauty of when you begin to know the new covenant, you'd better understand that it is all anchored around this teaching of His death, His burial, His resurrection, and He's seated at the right hand of the Father.
As you hear His Word, it's going to change you. And you're going to be realized that not only is there a legal side to my following Christ. His legal authority I now have, but also Christ is in me. Which means there's an authority. That there's a power that flows out of me. I pray that you keep following and learning and growing. If you don't know Christ as your Saviour, pray this powerful prayer that only you can pray for yourself right now. It goes like this. Just say:
Jesus, I choose to trust You. I'm going to follow You. I choose to make You my Lord, my Saviour. Come into my heart, my life. From today and on I'm following You. Teach me Your ways. In Jesus' name, amen.
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