Joel 3:9-21

   The theme of Joel is “The Day of the LORD”. Joel writes of the future judgment of the nations as the LORD gathers them to the valley of Jehoshaphat for World War III. It is “the valley of decision,” for it will determine once and for all the eternal future of the world’s nations.

   The LORD will separate the goat nations from the sheep nations. The fate of each nation will be determined by how they have treated Israel. Therefore each nation will determine its own punishment or reward in “the valley of decision”

   An eternal principle is implied here that also applies to each individual. God’s decision concerning man’s eternal destiny and his rewards or punishment is based upon man’s actions in time. Our eternal decision is made in the now! II Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) We are now determining our eternal outcome in “the valley of decision.” “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision.” Literally millions of people are in “the valley of decision” this very moment. We make God’s decision and we will be solely responsible for the decision we now make.

   We must make that decision now. Most seem to think there is plenty of time for that decision and they end up in the “the valley of decision” all of their lives.

   Life is full of decisions which determine what happens to us now and especially forever. One decision and only one decision depends upon where you spend eternity. God will not send people to hell, men go there because they choose Satan instead of God. It’s your choice! Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. This very moment we are living in “the valley of decision for the day of the LORD is near.”

   Those who have problems making decisions try to avoid them. Those who are neither cold nor hot are in the valley of lukewarmness as were the Laodiceans. Some are like the young socialite when asked if she had problems making decisions, and answered, well, yes and no. Then there are those who want to hold on to God with one hand and the devil with the other with each one pulling in opposite directions. Some are like the mule who died standing between two bales of hay because he couldn’t decide which one to eat first. Some are always swapping horses in the middle of the stream. Some are always saying one thing and doing another. “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

   Some are like the soldier in the Civil War who wore a blue coat and gray pants. The rebels shot him in the coat and the Yankees shot him in the pants. There are those like the little boy who said that he was a Catholic Baptist. For some reason there are far too many what I call Baptistcostals. (They cannot decide whether to be Baptists or evangelicals or Pentecostals.)

    Sipping saints want to drink at the honky tonk Saturday night and show up in church on Sunday morning. They just cannot decide between God and liquor. You cannot have two gods at the same time. Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. This means you cannot serve God and money at the same time.

   You cannot serve the true God of heaven and the god of the lodge simultaneously. You cannot live in the dark and worship God in the light. There are too many straddling fences, including Baptist preachers.

   Those who like so-called Christian rock have problems choosing between psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and music with a demonic tune. You cannot sing songs to the devil’s tune and worship God at the same time. Too many are fickle and wishy washy and without any convictions whatsoever.

    Then there are those like Balaam who loved the wages of unrighteousness and want to die the death of the righteous. They want to live like the devil and spend eternity in heaven.

    The biggest problems of Israel were not the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites; but the inbetweenites who made up “the mixed multitude” that left Egypt with them. It was those who were neither for nor against. They were circumcised Israelites with uncircumcised hearts.

    There are party people who slip in and turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness. Jude describes them as, “... spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;

    Then there are the politicians who roll with flow. These religious bureaucrats are looking for what they can get out of it. They are hitch hikers looking for a free ride. Yes, there are swamps in some churches.

    Then there are those like buzzards looking for a place to roost. Before long they are ruling the roost. Luke 13:19 It (the kingdom of heaven) is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.

    Those who believe one religion is as good as another spend their lives in the valley of indecision. The non-denominationalists believe in a little bit of everything and not much of nothing. They cannot decide between the true local visible church and what they falsely believe to be the invisible universal body of Christ.

    Where are you? Are you in the valley of indecision? More importantly are you in “the valley of decision”? Do you need to make a decision concerning God, now? Are you living in “the valley of decision,” today? What you do now finalizes your unchangeable, eternal outcome. Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

WHOM YOU FOLLOW YOU WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW! 

   II Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

    Do you follow a Holy Spirit appointed pastor as he follows the LORD or do you follow some self or demonic appointed user in church with an ulterior motive? Is it a Cain? a hell bound church member? a Korah? A deacon? a Balaam? a Nicolaitan? A coup? a Diotrephes? a preeminence lover? a Jezebel? an Ahab? a Mason or Masons? a church clique? a family clan? church buddies? a big daddy or a bigmamma? Or an old Bel cow? They only make merchandise out of the people of God. Who uses you? If it is not God you are living in the valley of decision! Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.

    Don’t continue to follow the devil’s man nor the devil’s crowd! If you are not following the pastor as he follows God you are not only usurping the authority of the pastor; but worse you are usurping authority over Almighty God. Make the right choice. Immediately make the LORD your shepherd.

YOU WILL ETERNALLY REMAIN TO BE WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO BE.

   Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. Where will you fall? You are what you have chosen to be. What you choose today you choose forever!

    You are a child of God because you have chosen to be. If you are a child of the devil it is what you have chosen to be. You will go to heaven because you have chosen it as your eternal home. You go to a devil’s hell because you have chosen it as your eternal abode. It’s your decision. It is entirely up to you. What will you do with Jesus, now?

 YOU WILL MAKE AN UNAVOIDABLE DECISION ABOUT CHRIST.

   Matthew 27:24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

    You will do something with Christ just as Pilate. The Jews brought Jesus before Pilate to get him to crucify Him. Pilate did everything he could possibly do to get out of passing judgment on Jesus, but it was his responsibility; therefore, making it impossible for him to pass the buck. First, Pilate tried to get out of making the decision by turning Jesus over to the Jewish authorities. But this didn’t get him out of it so he sent Jesus to Herod. But Herod sent Him right back to Pilate. Since this failed Pilate tried to escape making the decision by proposing to inflict a minor penalty on Jesus. Then he tried by calling attention to Barabbas. Last he tried to get out of the situation by washing his hands. He had to do something with Jesus. In the end he rejected Him. Jesus will keep coming back to you until you accept Him as your personal savior or you reject Him. You will not get out of it, so face HIM now and get saved once and for all and for forever.

GOD BACKS UP HIS DECISION WITH HIS RECORD. 

   Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

   If you reject Jesus, God will recall to your remembrance every time that you had the opportunity to trust Jesus and rejected Him. As you spend your eternity in hell you will remember how you treated Jesus in your lifetime because God will bring out His records. Revelation 20:11 ¶ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. What an awesome moment when man faces his entire life!

GOD CALLS US TO DECISION, NOW. 

   Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

   Joshua said, make up your mind once and for all and choose now! Joshua said, it doesn’t matter what the rest of you do, but as for me and my family we choose God.

DON’T PUT IT OFF ONE MORE SECOND.

   I Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

    Who or what is your God? How long are you going to be stuck in the valley of decision? How long? Forever? Get out of “the valley of decision” and do what God wants you to do, immediately. Quit being like the balking ole mule and live for God before time runs out on you.

THE FINALITY OF PERSONAL DECISI0NS!

    Many are always saying one day I will make my decision. I’ll do something about it when I finish school or when I get married. As time passes, it is when I retire and the first thing you know you have one foot in the grave and the other one on a banana peal. But still I’m going to do it one of these days. Then you go out into eternity without God. Why not now, why not today; for today determines forever! Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. You will die like you live and then come face to face with God. Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: What you are now you will forever be. It will not change at the judgment because you have already determined it in time.

   Decisions! Decisions! Decisions! Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.

WHAT IS YOUR DECISION???

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS???