Keion Henderson - The Power of Picking

This sermon looks at the ability of the believer to make picking based on the wisdom of God for an effective life. There are many freedoms that we enjoy today. Living in the United States, we embellish ourselves in the joys of freedom. We have the freedom to say whatever we want whenever we want, we can worship any way we want, and to the chagrin of some politicians, we have the freedom to own a firearm.

As Christians, we have many freedoms and liberties as well. Praise God that through the blood of Jesus we have liberty from death, hell, and the grave. We have been set free from the power of sin, and as Christians, the enemy no longer has dominion in our lives. But there is one thing that we are never really truly free from — choices.

What you do today might not affect you tomorrow. It might not affect you the next day. It may not happen next week, next month, or even next year, but somewhere along the line, if sin is left unchecked, it is going to rear it’s ugly head and you are going to realize the power of a choice.

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I want you to turn your Bible or your app to First Corinthians chapter 1, and I’m going to read verse 27 to you. This message has the power to change your life. I don’t often have much faith in my ability to deliver; I just have faith in what I am delivering, which supersedes my incapabilities, fallacies, and flaws. Whatever I bring to the table as an orator, the Word of God is tantamount to what I lack. So, even when I am not doing a great job at delivery, the Holy Spirit delivers His own message. Today, I believe it may not be the most exciting word you’ve ever heard, and I’m not sure you’re going to run around your house, touch a neighbor, shout, or flip out. But I promise you that if you listen to the words that come out of my mouth, the rest of your life will change.

I want you to go to First Corinthians chapter 1, verse 27. I’m going to read one verse. Are you ready? Here is the word of the Lord: First Corinthians chapter 1, verse 27. It says, «But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.» I want to say it again. This is Paul writing to the church at Corinth in his first letter, this epistle. He says, «But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty.» If you never remember anything I say today, I want you to remember the title of this message: The Power of Picking. That 's what I want to talk about today-the power of picking.

I hope you’re at home, still practicing social distancing, and that you are safe. I wanted to spend this moment just before I speak because many cities and states are preparing to open up, and you will soon have the ability to do just about anything you want to do. I want to echo some very intelligent voices: just because they say you can doesn’t mean you should. We have doctors and scientists telling us that the earliest we should come out of this is mid- May to June. I’ve even heard one clip on the airwaves where a politician said there are more important things than living.

As they give you the opportunity to go to these places, there have been those who suggested that the businesses that are opening are the ones most frequented by African — Americans, such as nail salons and bowling alleys. I won’t get into whether these decisions are racially motivated, but I will say that you have the power of choice. You can pick whether you go out, regardless of what businesses are open. Even when they were open, you chose which ones you wanted to go to, so you can choose not to go. I say this because I know there will be a lot of people waiting in the wind who will go out, perhaps contract the disease, and blame the government for opening up too early. But you have the power to choose. You can pick to stay at home, pick to go outside, or choose to wear a mask or not.

What I want you to realize today is to place more emphasis on your choices and less on what they did to you. Focus more on who you choose to date rather than what they did to you once you started dating them. Your life is a collection of your yeses and noes. If you had said yes when you said no, or said no when you said yes, you’d be in a different place right now. If you had said yes to the job you turned down and no to the job you accepted, your income would be different. If you had said yes to the person who didn’t meet your criteria and no to the person who checked all your boxes yet left you unhappy, the outcome would be different. If you had said yes to the city God told you to go to and no to the one you desired, your mindset would be different. Jonah, if he had said yes when God told him to say yes, wouldn’t have found himself in the belly of a fish.

Our life is often a reflection of our choices. We have to understand that we can blame everyone else we want, and I want you to hear this word. This is a me and you moment. I’m sitting because I want you to feel like I am in your living room telling you that your life and your pain are often the result of your choices. Your pain is actually revealing your decisions; it’s a derivative of your choices. Your pain is saying, «This is what you picked.» Your pain is saying, «This is what you chose.» The person who dies of lung cancer due to cigarettes — the decision tells on them. The person who dies from cirrhosis because of alcohol-the decision tells on them. Our choices often reveal our true selves, and we frequently overlook this truth.