Subject Thirty-three

HOW LONG WILL YOU HESITATE
BETWEEN TWO OPINIONS?

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:21

1. The two sides in the universe
   1. Explain that in the universe there is God, and there is also Satan. God and Satan are the two sides or two sources in the universe. On God’s side there is light, good, heaven, life, etc. On Satan’s side there is darkness, evil, hell, death, etc.
   2. Because of the two sides or two sources in the universe, man has two possible choices: he may choose to follow God, which means to choose light, a good life, and heaven; or he may choose to follow Satan, which means to choose darkness, evil, death, and hell.
2. The conflict within man
   1. Because man has two possible choices, he has a conflict within him. On the one hand he is inclined toward light, but on the other hand he is drawn toward darkness. He likes good, but he also has an appetite for evil. He desires life, but he also bends toward death. He wants heaven, but he cannot stay away from hell. Here we may give some examples to describe the condition within man.
   2. Then explain that the conflict within man is a battle between God and Satan. Whenever man inwardly bends toward light, toward good, and toward life, that is the Spirit of God working inside of him to gain him. Whenever man inwardly bends toward darkness, evil, and death, that is Satan’s evil spirit working inside of him to gain him.
3. Man’s indecision toward the gospel
   Now we may draw people’s attention to the gospel.
   1. Many people have heard the gospel, agreed with it, acknowledged it, and even almost believed it. But because they were still fond of darkness, evil, death, and the things of the flesh, they were not able to make a final decision.
   2. The desire to believe is the working of the Holy Spirit. But indecision is the hindering of the evil spirit. At this point we should describe the feeling of the moving of the Holy Spirit and the feeling of indecision.
4. The urging of the Holy Spirit
   1. You are hearing the gospel today because of the reminding and urging of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit not only urges you during the gospel meeting, but also often urges you in private. Nevertheless, the strongest urging is in the gospel meeting.
   2. Listen to the urging voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “How long will you remain in indecision?” Now you must check with yourself. If the gospel is not worthy of being believed, you should refuse it right away. If hell is the place you would like to go, you should go right ahead. If God ought not to be accepted, you should put Him aside. Obviously, you know that you should choose good and life; yet you would not give up darkness, evil, and death! How long will you falter between two opinions?
5. The way of decision
   1. It is easy to make a decision.
   2. The faster you decide, the easier it will be.
   3. Therefore, you should make a decision right now. Ask all those who want to make a decision to please stand up. Saying it in this way makes it sound very easy to stand up. To stand up is to make a decision.