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Turning Points, Choices, and Consequences
01:03:15
Rand Millich | Recorded May 16, 2026
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Sam, Have you ever heard the term milestone? This actually goes way back into the time of the Roman Empire. But the word literally means or refers to markers that show the distance to or from a particular destination. On our highways, we call them mile markers. But in our day and age, because so many rely on GPSs, we probably ignore them and we just simply tell us where, go where the GPS tells us to go, turn where they tell us to turn, and more often than not arrive at our destination. Once in a while, it leads us to a wrong destination. So we call ours Jezebel. That's our good name for our gps. In life. Milestone refers to a significant event that begins a new chapter, one that can impact your future in an important way, one way or another. Again, it's so wonderful to see the LE choir and the students here because again, they have a milestone as well. But these occasions dictate choices and turning points. Those of us who are older, some called dinosaurs, look back on such events, which have shaped our lives for good or for bad. We may even fantasize going back in time to tell ourselves, don't do that, do this instead. But that's fantasy. And we probably wouldn't even listen to ourselves anyway. But what are some of the major events? Well, high school and college graduations. We have quite had quite a few graduating from high school in our area. There are also people, students graduating from college. Those are milestones. A job, either your first job or a transfer, and a job responsibility, that's a milestone. Marriage is a milestone. And don't confuse milestone for millstone. Marriage is really a wonderful blessing, but it is a milestone. Baptism is a milestone. The death of a family member or close friend, that also is a milestone. You probably are thinking of happenings. I have left out, but those are some of the major occurrences in life. Many of us don't grasp how these events and our choices can have impact on us for the rest of our lives. You know, we face them, we make decisions, but we don't always anticipate what will it mean for the future and for eternity. So the title of today's sermon would be Turning Points, Choices and Consequences. Turning Points, Choices and Consequences. So how do turning points lead to choices and choices lead to consequences? Let me give you some personal examples. As I was finishing the last years of high school, that was last century. That's scary to think about. But even Mr. Herbert Armstrong used to laugh. He, you know, he was born, I believe, 1892 and technology is starting to come out. And again, the, what they call horseless carriages, you know, the automobiles were coming out. And he mentioned, and he said this on many occasions. He said, his father said, listen, a horseless carriage in Mr. Armstrong was as a child so excited he run to the window and there was a cart pulled by donkeys. So it was a horseless carriage, but not what Mr. Armstrong was thinking of. But he was born two centuries ago. So I'm only, I'm a newbie last century, but some of you are laughing, but you too were born last century. But in high school I had friendships and relationships, as most of us do, which could have led in any number of directions. The dating might have led in a far different direction than it did. Perhaps it could have involved a later marriage, which may not have been good or might have at all, but it would go one way or another. At graduation, I couldn't stay in high school forever. My grades were pretty good. So I couldn't stay back, you know, and keep going to high school. That doesn't work that way. So graduation was coming. What would I do next? And I feel that so many high school graduates have that dilemma. What do you do next? So the question here are my alternatives. Would I continue hanging out with friends and continue dating? That would be an alternative possibility. Stick around home for a while and continue kind of an extension of high school. Would I go to college? If so, which one? Would I jump into a full time job? And if I was going to high school, would I be drafted? Or would it be better to join the military first and then go for better education? Would I stay in the church in which I grew up? Because I did not grow up in the living church of God or the church of God, put it that way, that time it would be the radio church of God. But would I stay in the Protestant church that I was used to or would I do something different, as I was being called? Actually, I was about 15, 15 and a half years of age, and so I was listening to the Tomorrow's World broadcast or the World of Tomorrow broadcast. So the question is, would I continue listening to that radio program? I was getting some literature. Would I continue getting literature? Will I continue eventually following the way of life I was learning, or would I just simply continue back in my Protestant church? Would I attend again a college in California or another college in California which they had articles about? Plain Truth about Ambassador College. Will I attend that one? And if I attend that one, why? So again, choices. And some of those choices I didn't have great information on. So a lot of it was emotional, a Lot of it was kind of guessing what God might have in mind. So those were, in a sense, some of the choices. Then we had to. Or turning points, put it that way. The turning points, then the choices came. And how would act on those? How would you act on those? So through the years, I've considered how my life would be different according to the paths I might have followed. What if I continued hanging out with local friends and dated girls I knew in high school rather than being with brothers and sisters in Christ? So this is not living in the past. This is, again, really learning lessons from the past. So what would have happened? How would my life be different as I kind of considered those choices? What if I had opted for a factory job that was offered rather than continuing my formal education? So, you know, if I'd taken that course, I could have had a car and maybe a few more fun things to do as opposed, though, to going to a college. What if I had joined the military and fought in a war? Would I have survived? Would I have been injured? Would I have come out with mental or emotional problems? What would have happened? Would have come out really good with benefits and training and so on. You know, you never know. What if I had continued in the Protestant church in which I had been baptized as a young person? Now I would say I was dunked but not really understanding what it was all about, but continued in that congregation rather than studying with the Church of God? What would have been my way of life? What would have been my relationship with God? What if I had chosen a different college than Ambassador? How would my life have been drastically changed? So those were the, you know, thinking through choices we make in the roads that may have taken from that those choices. Well, there were consequences for my choices. You know, what I did or did not choose shaped my life to come. You know, I'm speaking to all of you. I know so many of you, some of you back from Ambassador College days, some from our congregations. We pastored, some I know individuals. It's a joy to see them. And they're in other places of the world. We see them with council of elders at least twice a year, at least in person. And again, it's such a joy to get back together. And so you have to kind of consider that it did shape my life. It shapes friendships, it shapes marriage, it shapes family. It shapes so much. And so there are important lessons of life that all of us must consider. I'm looking back from my viewpoint. Some of you who are young have to look forward and consider what we're talking about. But there's no exception, by the way, no exception. We all have milestones, we all face choices, and then we've got to consider where those choices lead. And then what are the results? What are the end results, the consequences? Let's turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 3. The book of Ecclesiastes is an incredible book because it's really examining life from young to old, from birth to death. It's all encompassing. And if you look at the Bible, the Bible is kind of that way. When you read the Bible, you read stories, stories of youth, stories of young men, young women with great milestones and what happened to them, what were they facing, what were they encountering, and what would those encounters lead? And so we have a marvelous history of life. But here in Ecclesiastes chapter three, this was even set to music. So it's a very influential part of the Bible. Against to everything there is a season. And just for the sake of this sermon, I can cite, well, everything there is a milestone. There's a time for every purpose under heaven. There's a time to be born, huge milestone, not just for the baby, but for the parents. That's huge. And a time to die. That also is such an emotional, mental and physical in almost every way, milestone and consequence of life. A time to plant, a time to pluck what is planted. So those who are farmers understood those are important times of the year. A time to kill, a time to heal, a time to break down, a time to build up, a time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn, a time to dance, A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to gain, a time to lose, a time to keep, a time to throw away, a time to tear, a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. A time to love, a time to hate. A time of war and a time of peace. So there's all sorts of different seasons, milestones, times. And we each sometimes we don't realize there might milestones at the time, but they are. And so we face them. But again, we don't have any choice in the sense of when we live and what comes upon us. I said many of us are, if you want to call them old fogies, you know, long lived, maybe that's a better word, long lived people. And we can look back and you know, we had wonderful opportunities, but we didn't foresee. And I know I didn't in Regard to baptism and being part of the very body of Christ, I did not anticipate all the twists and turns and the ups and downs that life would bring. But looking back, I do not regret this calling, do not regret what God has allowed us to experience and to grow into. But these are Ecclesiastes, chapter 8, 3, excuse me, verses 1 through 8. These are common to us all. And some experience milestones that others don't. There are physical and spiritual events that may impact our lives. Some of them, again, basing it off some of these aspects here in Ecclesiastes, there's a time when childhood begins to begin. Being a teenage. In other words, you grow into puberty. That is a milestone. From childhood to teenage to young adult, you know, those are big, big times. It's a time from total dependence to beginning to be independent. That is big. I think we as parents and adults need to again understand that this is a huge time period, very important time period for young people. We also know our jobs may change our lives because those jobs may require us to learn new skills. It may require us to work hours that are inconvenient. It may mean you have to travel more, or you might actually have to transfer to places you really don't prefer to be. But the job is important because you have to support yourself. Work is good, but sometimes we don't have our dream jobs. And so we have to face that. And those are, again, milestones. Marriage is a wonderful blessing. It truly is. But it also is a turning point because we cannot just think of ourselves and do what we like. We now need to learn to love and to relate to another person. And as in life, sometimes we are easy to live with, and sometimes we are hard to live with. I don't think there's any exceptions to that. But we have to learn how to relate. We learn how to love. We learn how to. To tolerate and to work with and to pray for. If God blesses us with children, then we now need to sacrifice many of our own wants and desires in learning to love them and to rear them. And little babies, they don't realize that their moms are sacrificing sleep. Their dads, you know, their whole schedules are kind of changed. If you marry and you don't have children, that's also a turning point. And that's a difficult challenge of life. And that is not easy. Being called to be part of the body of Christ is huge. That changes everything. If you were not in the church of God, but either being an agnostic or atheist or Protestant or Catholic or whatever you might have been. Then you find out we begin to observe holy days that we did not observe before. And we stopped observing days that we thought were Christian but were not. And when you understand that if you had been doing those things that affects the family, that has not been called into the church of God. And there are lots of changes that have to be made. God begins to change our minds in our hearts through the Holy Spirit and God's Word. So we begin to look to the Bible and God's Word for direction and instructions rather than just what we want to do. That changes our very purpose in life, changes our lives, change what we practice, what we eat, how we spend our money, how we spend our time, even how and what we think, as well as how we relate to others and how we treat them. Now those are huge milestones in life and for some who grew up in the church of God. And I'm very grateful that so many of our young people have had that blessing. You know, there really is still a turning point because there comes a time in life when you've got to ask the question, should I continue? Is this really God's way of life or is this simply my parents religion? So even then there are decisions and should I be baptized? Am I ready? All of these are. Even those who have grown up in church have to understand and face the death of a parent, a spouse or a child. And perhaps a child is the most grievous situation that affects our lives. It changes our lives. So these are the issues that come up. So what we choose to do, how or how we choose to cope with these milestones have an impact. It has a consequence. God has given us free moral agency. What does that mean? Mr. Herbert Armstrong talked about that. Dr. Meredith has talked about that. You'll see it in our literature. I think Mr. Weston has talked about that. What it simply means that we have the capacity to choose and then to be accountable for those choices, that we have the understanding of right and wrong, the consequences of them, and God allows us to choose. In other words, God doesn't force us to choose. And that free moral agency, that capacity is necessary for God to build his holy righteous character in us. So that is good. But would you like to ask the question, how would God want us to choose? So have we talked about milestones, choices, different paths we could take? Let's go to Proverbs 19, Proverbs 19. 21. Notice he's not really a clock up here. So I guess we just automatically know when to stop. We've got plenty of time, I think. But Proverbs 19, verse 21, the Proverbs mentions there are many plans in a man's heart or a woman's heart. So you women don't think just because it says man does not apply to you, that this applies to you as well. There are many plans in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the Lord's or the Eternal's counsel that will stand. And that's where we're coming from. God must be in the picture. There are many choices. And for some of us, these plans rattle around just like a gumball machine, just ideas here and there. And we have to make kind of decisions, sometimes very frivolous decisions, sometimes very serious decisions. And so we might even have, you know, kind of what we want to do here or there. But the reality is we actually do need the Lord's counsel, his mind, his character, his direction, because that's really what's going to make the difference. Helps us to make and choose the right path. Proverbs 16:3. Proverbs 16:3. And again, the book of Proverbs, just like Ecclesiastes, is a fascinating book. Lots of instruction, lots of guidance, but it goes from youth to old age, from men, women, all sorts of different circumstances. A very, very instructive book. Proverbs 16:3. The advice is this. Commit your works to the Lord, and then your thoughts will be established. Now, there are times in life when our emotions get in the way. And so then what we have to do is knowing, understanding God's principles and laws and ways. We do the work, we do what God has to say, and then our thoughts, our emotions will fall into line. That's hard to do because sometimes our emotions say, I want to do this. And yet God's word says, that way is not the way. This way is what you should do. And instead of saying, okay, I'll wait till my emotions agree, now, just do what God instructs you to do. Then eventually, either quickly or maybe a little later down the line, the thoughts and the emotions will follow and you'll look back and you're going to say, I am so glad that I did it the right way. So again, God has to be in the picture if we are to make sound choices, face milestones in the right way. That's going to lead to a path that leads to blessings. Proverbs, chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3. And verse 5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. See, God is the ancient of Days, you know, he's been around before. You know, this physical universe, before life was created in the physical plane, existed before the angels. So we can trust God. He's seen it all. He sees the future. So we can trust his experience and his direction. Our own understanding is really limited and sometimes it's simply flawed. So we don't lean on that. Doesn't mean we don't consider it, but we don't lean on it. We don't trust fully. We have to evaluate it in regard to God. And so in all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. So that's faith and that's trusting God. You know, you don't check your brain at the door, but you use what God has given you. But also with God directing it through his principles and purposes. Proverbs 16. I'm going through the book of Proverbs. I've got a commentary, Soncino, about proverbs and what's interesting, it is helpful in many, many ways. But what is interesting is almost each proverb, these proverbs have been studied by rabbis and scholars, you know, that Soncino refers to. And you get the impression that they're studying like a proverb for hours and hours or days and days. And there's this possibility and that possibility. And this word means that, but it could mean that, and then it kind of reaches a general conclusion. So that's. Proverbs doesn't have to be quite that complicated of God's spirit. We begin to understand the principles of what it really means. So going back to Proverbs 16:1, the preparations of the heart belong to man. So what we're saying basically is at each milestones we have to prepare. What do we do next? What do we do now? But really we're seeking God for to give us the right answer, the right direction in every possibility of life. You know, again, those are those areas. So we begin to graduate from high school, then we prepare. What do we do next? That's to give you an example. Then we seek God. What would God have us to do? And I've often referred to that. When I was making that decision, I think God was guiding me to go to Ambassador College. But I had never met a minister. I had never met anyone in the Church of God at that time. It was only through the radio broadcast and the Plain Truth magazine and some of the correspondence course and booklets. So I wrote a letter to headquarters and ask should I apply to Ambassador College first or should I join the Air Force first? So if I go to College, then I'll join the Air Force afterwards. Or if I join the Air Force, then I'll go to college afterwards. And their wisdom, they just simply said, what do you think Jesus Christ would have you to do? So they put it back on me. And so I prayed about that. Then I thought, okay, I'll go to Ambassador College first. Then I'm going to join the Air Force, because I would love to learn how to fly. So that was my thoughts at that time. In verse nine, again, a man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his path. So when, you know, we are being called by God, especially, oftentimes again, we have our human plans. And those plans are not bad oftentimes. Sometimes they are, but oftentimes they really aren't. They're just saying they've got many roads to follow. Which ones do we follow at this particular time? Here's this opportunity, here's this job possibility. Here's this place that might be nice to move to and to live. Here's this educational opportunity. Here's this, here's that. But we really want God to direct what we actually do. And then referred to one more Proverb here, Proverbs 15 and verse 22. Proverbs 15, verse 22, without counsel, plans go awry, they go askew. But in a multitude of counselors, they are established. And some of the most troublesome outcomes have individuals refuse counsel. You know, we're not gods. We're begotten as part of the family of God. But you know, that's going to have to wait till the resurrection. But multiple counselors, we see each other. What is the wisdom that happens? At the council of elders, we have individuals. They have their own backgrounds, their experiences, their lives, the times that they have faced troubles and they've overcome them. And so they learn from that. And all that goes into discussions in regard to certain questions. It'd be so easy to say, I've got this great idea, but I don't want to go to this council, or I don't want counsel because they might dissuade me that it's wrong. And we don't want that. We want to do what we want to do. We want to believe what we want to believe. So it's so easy. Just let's avoid it. Let's not read the booklet. There have been times when individuals have different, really different ideas on particular doctrines or prophecies or histories or whatever. And do they go back to the booklet? No. They kind of think, well, no, my ID is actually better but they don't double check themselves, they don't really seek counsel and they ought to. So now we come then to the consequences. The consequences. Where will your choices lead? That's the exciting part. And we might say, well, that's kind of meditation. It kind of is. It's actually taking, here's this choice, here's the possibilities or the choices. Now let me think through, okay, if I choose this path, then what is likely to happen? If I choose this path, what is likely to happen? And be realistic, don't think in terms of here is the fantasy result. I do this in my mind, it's going to work. But be realistic. What really be the consequences? Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes chapter 11. Here in verse 9 they said Ecclesiastes tells us that there are certain choices and consequences. That if you are young, you know, you need to think this through. Also if you're old, you have to think certain things through. But in Ecclesiastes 11:9 it says, Rejoice, O young man in your youth, or you young women in your youth. Again, let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart, in the sight of your eyes, and know that for all these, God will bring you into judgment. Now that's not a bad thing. All Ecclesiastes are really talking about you that understand there are going to be consequences. And it is a joy to be a young person in the church of God. I guarantee that it is a wonderful experience and I hope you never compare it with what could have been in the world. The world gives the appearance that everything is great. The reality is not always that way, maybe very seldom is that way. And so if you think in terms right, there's lots of things to be happy about, you know, family and all these different kind of things. But whatever you do, whatever choice you make, again, remember, there's a judgment, there's a consequence, and so what the next verse mentions, therefore remove sorrow from your heart, but put away evil from your flesh. Childhood and youth are vanity from an adult viewpoint. From an old adult viewpoint, childhood and youth passes away pretty quickly. It seems a long time when you're going through it, but when you turn 60, 70, 80. And for those who may be 90 or whatever, I'm not there yet, by the way. Certainly not in the 90s we realized, boy, times pass so quickly. And yet what happens in youth and childhood, the consequences can last into your 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. What happens then can affect your lives for the rest of your life, but you don't think of it that way. And even if you have a consequence, it'll be okay, it'll get better. But how many times in the ministry have we counseled with, tried with, worked with individuals who had certain choices they made or have happened to them when they were in their youth. And we're trying to still, even in older age, trying to help them work through those consequences, to help them stay on the right track, to help them to live life the best they can. So that's why Ecclesiastes is a very important book to consider. One scripture that actually was repeated even just learning about the church, but it was actually mentioned many, many times. Proverbs 14, verse 12. And I suspect that almost all of us probably have that memorized and I can quote that by heart, but let me turn that to there. Proverbs 14, verse 12. There is a way that seems right to a man, and that's the problem. It really seems right. It seems the thing to do, the decision to make, the path to walk, it really seems right. But its end is the ways of death. And I remember reading that proverb, hearing about it early on in the church of God. And it is so, so true. The problem is it seems right. Now if something seems wrong, that's maybe a little easier now, you still might be a rebel, go the wrong way. But the problem, but if you really kind of think, yeah, this is wrong, that should give you a heads up. But if it seems right, that's the difficulty. But if it seems right, but it's still really wrong, the consequences doesn't change, it's still going to lead in a wrong way. Romans chapter 15 and verse 4. Romans, chapter 15 and verse 4. Paul writes, whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Don't discount reading the Bible and not just once or twice, but as you live life, read through it because again, it reminds you, reminds us. Here are individual, very real individuals. This is their life story or portions of their life. And we can go back and well, what decisions did Adam and Eve make? What happened? You have Cain and Abel, what happened? What was the result of that? Or you go back to Abraham and Sarah and you know, they made some good decisions and they made some decisions to have consequences clear to this very day. We learned from it. For the modern world, society where sexual relationships are so out of balance, out of skew or askew. Then you go back to King David, okay, he was king. What happens when he didn't do it the right way? Did he escape it? Did everything work? Well, not really. Not really. You read the story. You read not just in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, there are stories. Read the Book of Acts, individuals who did things right, individuals who didn't do things right, and the consequences. So we learn so much as we read the Scriptures, Very, very important. But read it at times. I know we just kind of want to read it. But if you read it at least once in the way, okay, I want to see the milestone, the events. I want to see what their choices were. I want to see then what they did with those choices, which way they walked. Then I want to see what was the ultimate consequence, the ultimate result. You're going to learn a lot, and you're going to learn a lot about yourselves. And it may be very helpful, by the way, so we can. Okay, I really don't want that ultimate result. And you may begin to rethink some of your choices. Psalm 73. Psalm 73 in verse 1. In verse one it says, truly God is good to Israel. We heard in the sermonette again the promises that God made the covenant, and truly God is good to Israel. But notice to such as are pure in heart. And then this is Psalm of Asaph. He mentions this very common problem. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for. For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. This is a very important psalm, by the way. And you look back in your life. I look back in my life and I see individuals who maybe they made different decisions. They've got more money, they've got nicer homes, they have fun jobs, they have retired really early in life. Maybe they had two or three husbands or two or three wives, and the last one is a trophy husband, trophy wife. And you think, wow, look at all that. What a life. And even there are no pains in their death. They seem like they just keep living and living and living. And of course, we're very selective in how we view this. They don't have cancer, they don't have heart disease. They still are skiing and they're 80 or 90 years old. And they have their yacht and they, you know, have all these around the world trips. And here they're old age. And even when they begin to fail to help, they're taken care of and their strength is firm. They actually look pretty good in old age. And again, I'll repeat that to the staff here in my pictures. He's put a little disclaimer that this person may look better in real life because the picture looked pretty bad from my viewpoint, but probably is really what I look like. But again, when we look at these other individuals, that their strength is firm, they look like they're in great shape, and they are not in trouble as other men. That's what it seems like. And nor are they plagued like other men or other women. That's what it appears like. And so you compare. But here I am in the church of God, I've got decisions to make and there are troubles. And do you realize there in the church of God, who are not perfect and they make mistakes and some can be irritants and some, you know, on and on we kind of compare ourselves. And boy, you look at the world and these people are so much better. That's the appearance is not usually the reality. So the psalmist continues, therefore pride serves as their necklace. Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance, and they have more than heart could wish. So we kind of look at that and he begin to, wow, that. That's pretty good. That's pretty good. And then they scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily, they set their mouth against heavens, their tongue walks through the earth. Nothing happens to them. They aren't struck down by lightning. You know, earthquake doesn't swallow them. Now, again, we're not talking the biblical examples. We're talking about what we see in life. And therefore his people return here and waters of a full cup are drained by them. And they say, how does God know? You know, they're not apparently under judgment in the same way. And is there knowledge in the most high? These are the ungodly who are always at ease, and they increase in riches. And what is the initial emotional reaction? Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain. I've learned God's way of life with God's spirit, helped to live by God's laws even when it has not been easy. I repented. But life is still difficult, still hard. There are milestones that are painful. I've washed my hands in innocence for all day long. I've been plagued and chastened every morning. And sometimes that's the way we might think when we have chosen a right way of life. If I had said, I will speak that way with those thoughts in mind, notice he said, I would have been untrue to the generation of your children. And he's saying that essentially that would not have been correct. I was not seeing things correctly rightly when I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end. And that's the perspective when we think in terms of what is the ultimate consequence. When we go to God, understand his plan of salvation, we realize what is the outcome for those who are faithful to God's way of life, letting God's spirit direct them, guide them, and with their mind and emotions follow that way of life. What is the outcome? Resurrection, being part of the family of God, ruling with Christ. No more pain, no more death, you know, the abundance of what all that God has to offer. How in the world can you compare what appears to be this, this pain free way of life via not obeying God, which by the way is a false pain picture. And then the psalmist says, then I understood their end. Surely you have set them in slippery places and you cast them down to destruction. That's what he was seeing. How they are brought to desolation, as in a moment they are utterly concerned soon with terror. And as a dream, when one awakes, so Lord, when you awake, you shall despise their image. The consequences is not a good one. And when we read Matthew 24, you know there'd be no flesh saved alive. That's the ultimate consequence. It appears great when you realize the end result is if they have their way and live their way in knowledge, in behavior, in technology and so on, there would eventually no flesh survive. Death would be the end. Extinction, extermination would be the end. Our consequence is far different, except for the elect's sake. Those days should be shortened. And so we have not only an impact on our own lives, but God's plan into the millennium. And beyond that, when we go to our baptized. It's very interesting in Luke 14. Because Luke 14 actually does have a bearing on what we call milestones and choices, consequences in Luke 14. And I would doubt that anyone who's baptized did not go through this. I would be surprised. That's really a part of what we go through. And in Luke 14 it talks about verse 26. If anyone comes to me and does not hate or love less his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters. Yes, and his own life also. He cannot be my disciple. We all came to that. When I was council for baptism, I was on the younger side and I was not married. Some of these issues, you know, I didn't think about in that way. But when I begin to think about it, that my decision could affect the lives of other people would I be able to, you know, for myself do it. But would I by so choosing what about if that affected the lives of. If I were married, a wife, a child, other family members. And I basically said, I want to think about this. It wasn't because I was righteous, because I realized my own human nature. And I realized that in some ways I would maybe cave in, you know, in mind thinking, well, I don't want to hurt the other person. And I prayed about it and I thought about it. And then finally the conclusion that God led me to see was that on my own power, I could not do that. But with God's spirit, I would want to be able to make that decision. But it really would take God's Holy Spirit and God's help to do so. And in my mind and heart that I would make that decision to love God first. But I really would need God's help and spirit to do so. And I was baptized and the minister said, that's what I wanted to see if you really understood. We're not relying on self, but relying on others, on God. And it's still a hard decision, still the right decision, the one I'm continually making and what you're making as well. But again, takes God's spirit and help. Well, what will be the milestones or turning points in our lives yet to come? So you've already been. Many of you have been through a lot. Some of you are just kind of starting out. They will come, by the way. There's no avoiding it. They will come. So will it be high school or college graduation? Or has that already come and gone? Will it be a job change? Will it be for some actually being called by God? Will it be marriage? Will it be the birth of a child? Will it be a very powerful temptation or trial? Will it be the death of a loved one? Will it be your relationship to the church of God? Whether to stay or whether to leave, Whatever the event, how you choose to handle it can lead to a very positive change in direction in life and a very good outcome. Or it can lead us down a wrong path with dire consequences. Going back to Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Just a few excerpts from this verse 1. So for those who are younger, this is what God wants you to choose. How are you going to face your milestones? Remember now your Creator, verse 1. Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Remember now your creator in the days of your youth, saying that's what God's instruction would be. And he said, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near again when you say, I have no pleasure in them talking about older age. And that's just a generic statement. But I think even most of us who are older do have pleasure in life and in days. But for the young, that's what God is saying. Milestones are going to come. Remember your creator. That's the path you want to follow. That's the path you want to choose and stay on. Verse 6. Again, remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed. Again referring to older age. In other words, the decisions you make in youth will be the right ones and do it before you get much older. So if you stay on the right path, you won't have some of the troubles and difficulties and issues that older people are facing. That's God's encouragement instruction. In fact, verse 13, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. So if you're young, begin choosing wisely. Hopefully you already have been on that path. If you're old and decrepit, old fogy, if that's your, at least start from where you are. Start from where you are and then there will be a good conclusion. Deuteronomy, chapter 30. Just a couple more scriptures here. Deuteronomy 30 and verse 19, again, very familiar one for, or I think most of us. In verse 19, Deuteronomy 30, the statement is, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you. But I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, different consequences for what you do, what you choose. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. That's what God wants us to do and we can even add in the right way. I think that in other words, look at life, look around you, look at the experience of human beings in nations, families. What do you see? Well, again, as God would say, look at that. You know, do call heaven and earth as witnesses. Do the right thing, so you have the right consequences. In John chapter 10 and verse 10, John 10, you know, God's way of life, there's going to be. There's going to be troubles and trials and stressors. You know, I'm not going to lie about that. I think many of us here have gone through so much. But John 10:10, what's the ultimate? The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, they may have it more abundantly. Sometimes that happens even in this life. Sometimes we have to wait until the world ahead. But God desires. That's his desire that when we face milestones, we face life. Keep choosing the way that leads to blessings in life. So let me leave you with just two questions to ask of yourselves when you face life. Number one, where will my choice or my choices lead? Where will they lead to? Second one is the end result of that choice, the one that God wants for me, and the end result be the one to ultimately lead to life and blessings.