If you'd like to find your place in Deuteronomy chapter 31, Deuteronomy chapter 31, we'll start reading in verse 9. The title of the message is Decisions and Consequences. Every decision that we make has a consequence. Now they're not all negative. Some can be very positive. And that's why it's so important that we make the right choices and the right decisions in our life, especially in our spiritual life. Because there are spiritual consequences to spiritual decisions. And if you reject Christ, well guess what? The consequences is an eternity in the lake of fire. And if you accept Christ as your personal Savior, that's an eternity in heaven with Him. So there are consequences to every decision. In Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 9, we'll start reading, it says, And Moses wrote this law and delivered it unto the priests, the sons of Levi, which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel. And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years in the psalmoty of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law. and that their children, which have not known anything, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it." Isn't that a sad verse right here in verse 13? It says, and that their children, which have not known anything. Well, I tell you what, if that's not a picture of our society today, There's an increasing number of children, young people, who do not know anything in regards to the Lord. They know all about social media. They know all about the internet. They know all about the different games and apps. They know all about the singers. They know all about the entertainers of this world. But isn't it sad? A country that was founded on the Bible, on biblical principles. I'm talking about the United States of America, that we've come to a point where our children, they don't know anything. But God says, make sure that you bring them. and get them in to where they can hear and learn to fear the Lord your God. As long as you live in the land, whether you go over Jordan to possess it, as long as we're alive, as long as we're to serve God, then it's our duty to make sure that those within our area of influence are brought before the Lord that they may hear, that they may learn to fear, and they may learn to obey God's word. Go down with me to verse 26. Verse 26, it says, take this book of the law and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God that it may be there for a witness against thee. Uh-oh. Yeah, the word of the God is for you, but it can also be a witness against you. Boy, don't underline those words. It's very important. For I know, verse 27, for I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck. Behold, while I'm yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord. And how much more after my death, gathering to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to record against them. For I know that after my death After my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you and evil will befall you in the latter days because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands. Well, I tell you what, we've seen that come to play, haven't we? I mean, in our lifetime, I'm talking in the last 100 years, not just the last 2,000 years or 3,000 years, 4,000 years, we're talking in the last 100 years, these latter days that it's speaking about here. Deuteronomy 32. Turn to Deuteronomy 32, the next chapter over in verse 15. But Jeshurun, that's Israel, waxed fat and kicked. Thou art waxed and fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods. With abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God, to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up whom your fathers feared not. of the rock that begot thee, thou art unmindful. It has forgotten God that formed thee. And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them because the provoking of his sons and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be, for they are a very frail generation, children in whom is no faith. Boy, I'm gonna tell you what, that's where we are today in America. Children who have no faith. We can see it, there's an evidence of that across our streets, across our communities, and most likely in many churches. In Deuteronomy 32 and verse 29, it says this. Oh, that they were wise. If they were wise and that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end. You better consider where your decisions are going to lead you. I mean the decisions that you make today are going to lead you somewhere tomorrow. How many Christians have made decisions that took them further from God? They set out thinking that, hey, this is a better opportunity for me, or this is a better place for me to be, or this is something else. But yet it took them further from God instead of bringing them closer to God. Why? Because they only thought of the now. What suited them now, what was best for them now, that they thought, by the way. Just because they think it's the best don't mean it's the best. They let themselves be guided by their own will, by their own pride and their own lust. Oh, they knew the truth. They knew the will of God. They knew the right path, but they just wouldn't consider the end and what God said would happen to them if they went down that path. Verse 29, oh, that they were wise. That they understood this, that they would consider their latter end. At any age, it is very wise and necessary to consider and reflect on many things concerning your present circumstances. But God says if you're wise and if you're going to make good decisions, that you better consider what's going to happen at the end of that decision. Or where is this decision going to lead you? Many people will get into credit card debt. They want something right now without thinking about the fact that if I can't pay that off, I'm still going to have to make payments. Oh, I want this, and I want that, and I want a new this, a new that. And all of a sudden, they're enjoying it right now, but the bill comes at the end of the month. And they're not able to pay that bill, so they just make minimal payments, or just a little bit more than minimal payments. But still, they don't consider how it's going to bind them financially. Well, I've got to have that new truck, I've got to have that new car, okay, but that comes with a payment. You've got to think about the end, not the beginning. When we're making choices and decisions, we better always ask ourselves, is this decision going to bring me closer to God, or is it going to take me further away from God? Will my decisions keep me in the will of God for my life, or will it lead me away from the will of God? Hey, what is guiding my thoughts here? Is it fleshly or is it spiritual? Hey, is the Word of God directing me or is it my desires that are directing me? For the young people that are listening, for those that are underneath the sound of my voice, there's so many things they have to consider. the choice of a college, the choice of a career, the choice of the person that they're gonna spend the rest of their lives with. They got so many things that they're at that stage of life where they need direction. They need somebody guiding them and helping them. You can't leave that up to them to make those choices. You need to be very involved in those choices that they're making. hoping they'll listen to you. But like Moses said, he said, hey, I know what you're going to do. But he still told them. He didn't hold back from telling them the truth. It's very important to consider the path that you're going to take and where you're going to wind up. How about this question? Is the person that you're considering spending the rest of your life with living for God right now? Have you considered the end or are they just thinking about now? Have you considered where is this person going? Where has that person been the last two or three years? What did they do the last two or three years? Are they heading toward a goal, toward an end, or are they just living for now? Because wherever they are heading is where you're going to wind up. That's exactly what's going to happen. Where are you going to wind up in the end? That's a very important question. Where is this leading me? Is the person going to take you away from the place that believes the same as you are now? Because if they're going to leave you somewhere else that does not believe, then you better beware. You better be careful. That's probably not the right person you ought to be with. Because you're not considering the end. You're not considering what will happen, not just to you, but to your future family. Because you're only thinking about the now. Because you think about the decisions that your children are going to have to face in 15 years, in 20 years, if God blesses you, if the Lord Jesus tarries and children come into play and they grow up, then they're going to have to make decisions, but from what platform? Look at the decisions you're making from your platform where you're at now and look at where they're going to be, most likely in a step down, and then they're going to make, which way are they going? They're just going to get further and further away from the truth. Life consists of choices, and the result of these choices will determine the path that you're going to take. Our choices not only affect us, but they also affect God's decisions toward us. God will warn us, don't go that way. Moses got everybody together and he told them, man, this is the way. Walk ye in it. This is the way God wants you to go. but he can't force them to stay in the will of God. Remember Psalms 106.15, it says, and he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. You may make that decision right now, but it may cost you in the end. Do you know how we get to these last days and these perilous times that we're living in right now? I mean, we're living right there in these last days and these perilous times. How did we get to this point? I'm gonna tell you how we got there. God's people turning their ears from the truth. Since the fall of man, the world has always been sinful. The world has always been evil. So how did we get to these last days, these perilous times that we're living in? Well, God tells us in the passage we just read that if one is wise, then one will understand and consider what will happen to them in the end. And the best time to consider these things is before making a decision that will determine the path of one's life. We understand we all have a start. We all have a date of birth that everyone knows, but the one thing we don't know is the day of our end. We can look back and see our beginning, but we don't know the end. That's why God says you better consider the end. You better consider where you're heading and what you're doing and who you're gonna bring with you when you go. Moses is cautioning the people to consider the end. James told those Christians who had been displaced and scattered there in the book of James to consider how the Lord worked in the life of Job, to consider the end of the Lord and how He took care of Job. Hey, it's best to stay with God through the difficulties. I mean, it would have been a lot easier just to curse God and die like Moses' wife said. What she was saying was, look, just go ahead and curse Him and die and just get out of this mess. But he considered the end. He considered the mercies of the Lord. And James reminds us in the New Testament, you better consider the end and how God will take care and sustain you. Look to that end. Look how God is pitiful and merciful. And He's gracious. And may the Lord help us to never lose sight of the end. Because there is an end. One day what we've done with our life since the day we were saved is going to be weighed in the balance. As a Christian, we're going to be judged for our works. We're going to be judged for our involvement in the Lord's work. We will be judged for the amount of time that we invested in Him and our treasures and our talents and did we invest them for the use of the Lord. We better be careful living for the temporary. You better consider the end because there is a bema seat coming. There is a judgment seat of Christ coming for the believer. And we will receive either reward or loss of reward for what we've done since the day we've been saved. What have you done? with the time that you've had since the day you've been saved. How much of it has been invested in following the will of God for your life? Now, I want to change here a little bit and speak to those that are lost. If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, then you must consider the end. If you die without Christ, and the Bible says in hell, you will lift up your eyes, being in torment. Proverbs 14, 12 says, there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. John 14, 6 says, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by me. If you're wise, then the Bible says that you're gonna consider your latter end. That latter end's either heaven or hell. That's your choice. If you're not saved and you want to go to hell, then you just keep doing what you're doing. Just keep thinking the way you've been thinking. Just keep acting the way you've been acting. Just keep believing the way you've been believing. But let me warn you, the Bible says that you're condemned already. In John 3, 18, it says, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Hey, Jesus, Jesus, I'm gonna tell you, he takes us and he don't want us to go to hell, but it's up to you whether you accept as what he did as good enough to save you. He took your Condemnation. He paid the price for your sin, but it's up to you to accept that or not. John 3.36 says, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Let me make sure you understand God loves you. He gave His Son to die on the cross for you. He took your place. He paid your sin debt. You can have everlasting life right now, or you can refuse that precious gift. But you better consider your end because it's coming sooner than later. You're not promised another day and even another breath you're not promised. But you are promised that you'll either spend eternity with God or you'll spend an eternity in hell. That is a promise from God. The Bible says in Romans 10, 13, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Moses told Israel that if you're wise, then you'd better consider the latter end. Jesus is calling for you to believe in his death and burial and resurrection for the justification of your soul. Be careful following the course of this world. Why? Because it's on a broad way that leadeth to destruction. You better be careful only living for the now only. Boy, as a Christian, we need to live as if we were going to the Bema seat today. I wonder what you'd have to present to Jesus if he just brought up your church attendance. If he just brought up how many times, how much time you spent reading your Bible and getting to know him better. Spending time with him, allowing him to talk to you. I wonder if he just brought up your prayer life or he brought up how many times have you witnessed, how many times have you told anybody about Jesus? Have you even given a gospel track out? He may even want to talk to you about how much money you give to him. How much he's blessed you versus, you know, how much you do for him. How much of our time, talents, and treasures have we laid on the altar for God to use? Oh, you better consider the end. The decisions that we make as adults will have a direct impact on whether your children will know anything. If you raise your children listening to worldly music, listen to rock and roll and soft rock and all these 80s love ballads and rap and country or contemporary Christian music, which is nothing more than a combination of worldly music with a few religious words in it, then hear me well. You'll raise a generation that knows nothing of the right way, that knows nothing of God's way. Look at verse 13 of Deuteronomy 31. It says, And that their children, which have not known anything, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land, whether ye go over Jordan to possess it. We understand our decisions now will either build up the generation to come or it'll cause them to lose their hope. It'll cause them not to know anything and have no faith. We must be totally separated to the Lord. In Deuteronomy 32, 20, it says, and he said, I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be, for they are a very frail generation, children in whom is no faith. Well, wouldn't that be bad to see? But you know, there's some of you who've already lived long enough to see that in your own family. Generations under you that have no faith, that know nothing of the spiritual things of this life. They're not living, they're not considering the end. We had better consider the end. You better consider the end of all your choices. Do they lead us toward God, or do they lead us away from God? Do they lead us to live a holy and separated life unto the Lord, or do we just want to be more relaxed, more carnal? You know, one of those laissez-faire and quai sera sera lifestyle. The consequences of our choices have lasting effects. Let me leave you with this verse. Deuteronomy 32, 29 says, oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end.