Lack of commitment is something that runs rampant in our world today.
People do not truly stand for anything or are even truly committed to anything. They are blown around like fall leaves in a windstorm, swirling around, going this way and that.
(Chameleon Commitment
By Neal Gracey
Copied from Sermon Central)
Poet Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy tells of an explorer who brought back a chameleon which his household affectionately named Billy the Lizard. The explorer left Billy in the charge of his butler, who showed him to his many friends and associates. When the explorer returned, he asked how Billy was.
"Well, sir," said the butler, "it was like this. We put Billy on the green rug he turned green as Ireland. We put him on the red rug he turned as red as Russia. Then some fool put him on a patchwork quilt, and poor Billy burst into a million pieces."
Kennedy writes: "The world we live in is a patchwork quilt, a bewildering complex...patched with the colors of the rainbow, and we madly try to adapt ourselves to its complexities. We change our characters according to the company we keep." And because we choose to be this way, we can not commit to anything.
Commitment is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, or something else.
To what are we committed today?
Our world sure could use a good dose of commitment. Commitment to God, that is.
Commitment. Dedication. Devotion. Allegiance. Loyalty. Fidelity. Whatever you want to call it. We need it.
If we want to get our world back on track, we need to commit our lives and ways to God!
The church needs to wake up!
(Kierkegaard's Complacent Duck
By Dean O'Bryan
Copied from Sermon Central)
We’ve become like sitting ducks.
There was a Danish philosopher named Kierkegaard (keer - ku - guard) whose writings are deep and tough to read. But that deep thinker one time told a simple parable that describes how easy it is to slide into complacency.
According to his parable, one Spring, a duck was flying north with a flock. In the Danish countryside that particular duck spotted a barnyard where tame ducks lived. The duck dropped down and he discovered these ducks had wonderful corn to eat. So he stayed for an hour....then for the day....a week then went by and a month. And because the corn and the safe barnyard were so fine, our duck ended up staying the whole Summer at that farm. Then one crisp Fall day, some wild ducks flew overhead, quacking as they winged their way south. He looked up and heard them — and he was stirred with a strange sense of joy and delight. And then, with all his might he began flapping his wings and rose into the air, planning to join his comrades for the trip south.
But all that corn had made the duck both soft and heavy — and he couldn't manage to fly any higher than the barn roof. So he dropped back to that barnyard and he said to himself, "Oh well, my life here is safe and the food is good!" After that in the Spring and in the Fall, that duck would hear wild ducks honking as they passed overhead — and for a minute, his eyes would look and gleam — he'd start flapping his wings almost without realizing it...but then a day came, when those others would pass overhead uttering their cry — and the now tame duck would not pay the slightest attention.
Over the past few weeks we have been talking about how the church needs to wake up! The church has been attacked by the diseases of apathy and complacency. It seems that like that barnyard duck — American Christians have gotten tamed....and spoiled...in the process, we've often forgotten Whose we are and Who we are to be. The church has fallen asleep!
It didn’t happen overnight. Complacency is a disease that sneaks up on us. We’ve just dozed off into dreamland.
It’s time to wake up Church!
It’s time to wake up our commitment!
Paul writes in Romans 13:
11 …[U]nderstanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed…. 14 [C]lothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. (Romans 13, NIV)
It’s time to wake up and get serious about our commitment with God.
If we want things to change, it will only be by our fulling trusting and committing ourselves to God.
King David wrote in Psalm 37:
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil? or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,? like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good;? dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,? and he will give you the desires of your
heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;? trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward
shine like the dawn,? your vindication like the noonday sun.
(Psalm 37, NIV)
Fortunately, there are many examples of people in the Bible who expressed complete and total commitment.
Back in the Old Testament, Ruth committed herself completely to her mother-in-law Naomi. She left her own people, her own homeland, and went back to Naomi’s homeland. She helped Naomi. She treated Naomi as her own family, being completely committed and devoted to her.
Daniel was taken into captivity in Babylon at a young age. But even in his youth, he was fully committed to God. He committed himself to not eating the unclean food in a foreign country. He committed himself to prayer and fasting as were the commands of God, even though it was strange to those around him in Babylon. He committed to only worshipping God, even when the world worshipped the king of this foreign land.
There are others we could consider from the old testament.
In the New Testament, John the Baptizer was fully committed to God, having no fear when he preached openly against the adultery of the king. It ultimately cost him his life.
Consider Stephen. He preached to the Jews about what they had done to Jesus, completely committed to the gospel message, and it cost him his life.
Paul and Barnabas faithfully committed their lives to God and the preaching of the message of salvation, even amid the opposition of the Jews.
Paul and Silas were imprisoned because of their commitment to God and to the preaching of the good news of grace.
Paul was completely committed to God, even in his days when he was persecuting the Christians! When he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his devotion to God was as solid as ever. However, he needed a change of vision to see Jesus for who he really was. And with that change of vision, his commitment to God grew even stronger! Through his ministry, over and over, through all of the natural disasters, times in prison, attempts on his life, Paul remained committed to his Lord and Savior Jesus, when many of us would’ve thrown our hands up and said I quit! Enough is enough!
These just scratch the surface of the stories we find. Each gave their total commitment and devotion to God throughout their lives.
In each of these stories I see four commonalities in their commitment to God — things that we can use in our lives today to awaken our commitment to God.
1. First, all made a deliberate decision, committing themselves completely.
You cannot be committed to something unless you deliberately make the decision to be completely committed to it.
It doesn’t happen by accident.
It doesn’t happen by happenstance that you become committed to another person, an employer, a relationship, or even to God.
Each of the people we mentioned all made that decision.
We must make that decision. Commitment does not come from indecisiveness.
We often are like the Zode in the Road. Consider this short poem by Dr. Seuss:
Did I ever tell you about the young Zode,
Who came to two signs at the fork in the
road?
One said to Place One, and the other,
Place Two.
So the Zode had to make up his mind what
to do.
Well…the Zode scratched his head, and his
chin and his pants.
And he said to himself, “I’ll be taking a
chance
If I go to Place One. Now, that place may
be hot!
And so, how do I know if I’ll like it or not?
On the other hand though, I’ll be sort of a
fool
If I go to Place Two and find it too cool.
In that case I may catch a chill and turn
blue!
So, maybe Place One is the best, not Place
Two,
But then again, what if Place One is too
high?
I may catch a terrible earache and die!
So Place Two may be best! On the other
hand though…
What might happen to me if Place Two is
too low?
I might get some very strange pain in my
toe!
So Place One may be best,” and he started
to go.
Then he stopped, and he said, “On the
other hand though….
On the other hand…other hand…other
hand though…”
And for 36 hours and a half that poor Zode
Made starts and made stops at the fork in
the road.
Saying, “Don’t take a chance. No! You may
not be right.”
Then he got an idea that was wonderfully
bright!
“Play safe!” cried the Zode. “I’ll play safe.
I’m no dunce!
I’ll simply start out for both places at once!”
And that’s how the Zode who would not
take a chance
Got no place at all with a split in his pants.
Indecision will keep us from committing our complete selves to God.
Wake up, today! Make a decision to commit our lives fully to God!
2. Second, this morning, all of the examples we mentioned gave up something to fully dedicate and commit their lives to God.
We must be willing to sacrifice that which gets in the way of our total commitment to God.
(Commitment
By Rick Pendleton
Copied from Sermon Central)
Consider the what the Spanish explorer, Cortez, did when he and his ships landed in Mexico with his 500 men. He burned the ships on which they had traveled. His men realized that they must be committed to staying and to succeeding here because there was no turning back.
Families have to have that type of commitment… no holding back, no turning back.
But in our world today, marriage has become a sort of temporary thing; if it doesn't work out we'll just walk away. No commitment. No sacrifice.
Church has become a temporary thing — we jump from church to church when we feel offended by something that is said. No commitment. No dedication and sacrifice.
God has become a temporary thing — we worship God when it’s convenient and get’s us ahead in life, but we turn our backs on God, doing things our own way, or worse yet, the way of the world when there’s the least bit of opposition from the world. No commitment. No sacrifice.
We have to leave the things of the world behind us if they are getting in the way of our commitment to God.
That’s what Jesus was saying in Luke 9:
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to [Jesus], “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9, NIV)
If you cannot commit to God completely, your service in the kingdom of God is useless. You are not fit for the kingdom if you cannot commit all that we are to Him.
We may have to give up things. We may have to give up people. We may have to give up jobs. We may have to give up our selfishness. We may have to give up our self-centeredness. Commitment requires complete and total devotion and giving up anything that hinders our devotion to God.
3. Third, the commitment of all of these people from Scripture meant a total commitment, not just a contribution.
Ruth didn’t just make a contribution to Naomi’s life. Ruth was completely committed to her mother-in-law, no matter what.
Paul didn’t just give or preach the message of the gospel when it was convenient. He didn’t just give a contribution. He gave his life figuratively and literally to and for God.
As did Stephen.
As did others throughout history who completely committed their lives to God.
(What Is The Difference Between Involvement And ...
By Revd. Martin Dale
Copied from Sermon Central)
What is the difference between contributing and committing you may ask?
Perhaps it can best be explained by thinking about two of my most favorite things: eggs and bacon.
With eggs, the hen contributes. But when it comes to the bacon, the pig is totally committed.
There’s a very big difference.
God has called us to a commitment, not to a contribution. We too often think that if we come to church, teach a class, or give a certain amount to the offering, that we’ve fulfilled our commitment to God.
Instead it is almost like we are trying to pay for our salvation.
In reality, we are making a mockery of Christianity, the church, and of God.
Being truly committed is so much more than just attending church, helping out around the church, or giving a good offering. We need to stop playing church and start living church — being committed to God as the husband and head of the church. We are his bride — a marital complete commitment to God.
What our Father in Heaven will requires of us is more than a contribution; it is a total commitment, a complete devotion — all that we are and all that we can be.
Now, understand that I am not speaking bad of contributing to the church and its activities. Those are definitely things we need to do. But we need a commitment in our spiritual lives that is shown in our individual behavior, in our personal integrity, in our loyalty and fidelity to home, family, community, as well as to the church and to God. Being totally committed to God should be evident in the way we live our lives, and the things we say, and the things we watch, and the places we go, and in every aspect of our lives.
Complete and total devotion.
It was how the church in the first century thrived:
We read in Acts 2:42 that:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2, NIV)
It was a complete and total devotion and commitment to God. There was no halfway. There were not things getting in the way.
When things did get away, those obstacles were removed from their lives in order to build that commitment even stronger.
That devotion to the church, to scripture, to prayer, to the breaking of bread together, and ultimately to God is exactly what we need in our lives today.
4. Finally, all remained completely committed to God regardless of how other people acted or treated them.
These examples of true Godly commitment didn’t give in to peer pressure.
Commitment was not easy for them. These outstanding believers were opposed at every turn.
Daniel was thrown into the lions den because he prayed to God!
John was so committed that he was beheaded.
Stephen was faithful and committed unto death.
Paul and Barnabas were committed regardless of the continual opposition of the Jews.
Paul and Silas were committed regardless of the times they were imprisoned because of their commitment to God and the message of the good news of grace.
The world around us today will persecute us for being committed to God.
The world today will ridicule our belief in something “old fashioned”, “out dated”, “out of touch”.
Satan wants the church to just be committed to God when it’s convenient, when it’s easy, and when it really doesn’t make a difference in our lives. The world wants us to roll over and give up at the first sign of difficulty. The world does not want us to remain faithful through times of adversity, struggles, and personal attacks.
But if through these tests of our faith, tests of our commitment, we remain true, our faith will be stronger, our commitment will be emboldened and awakened, and we will be examples to other believers, just as those we’ve talked about today are examples for us.
Conclusion
This morning, these Godly people demonstrate for us the commitment we need.
We need to wake up our commitment to God.
In our world, there’s a lot of trash talk that goes on around the internet — on social media. Many are quick to “stand up” for various viewpoints without actually taking a real-life stand.
It’s easy, you know, to be committed to something when the extent of our commitment is a few words we write and post to the world. It’s easy to be committed when there are no life changes or life choices that have to be made.
It’s harder to be committed when you have to actually live the life.
We’ve seen many examples of those who were faithfully committed to God. But, there are also examples of those who could not commit completely to God.
For example, Jesus asked the rich young ruler to be fully committed to Him when the young man asked about eternal life in Mark 10.
Jesus told him that in order to gain eternal life, he needed to remove the hindrances of his wealth. He needed to help the poor. He needed to give it away. That was blocking his total commitment to God. Yes he had lived a good life. Yes he had followed the 10 Commandments. Yes he was a good person. But it was not enough. He did not have the dedication, the devotion, the commitment that Jesus needed.
Tommy and Eddie share what might have happened afterwards:
Video Ill. Rich Young Ruler, The Skit Guys
What’s holding us back from completely committing our lives to God today?
Our commitment needs to be living and breathing, consuming every part of our lives.
If we are truly going to make a difference in this world, we need to wake up our commitment — we need to surrender our lives completely to God, and stand for everything for which God stands. It’s time to make a commitment today.
Now, I know we will waiver because we are human.
We will fail to honor our commitment to God because we will sin.
But God is completely committed to us, despite our failures, our falls, our sins. It’s called grace.
Jesus is the perfect example of commitment to God. Jesus was completely committed to the giving of His life for us — and He never swayed from that deliberate decision to follow God’s will.
Even amid the questions and pressures from Herod and Pilate.
Even amid the brutal beatings.
Even amid the physical abuses he suffered.
Even amid death, hanging on the cross.
Jesus kept His commitment to us and to God — ultimately giving his life for you and me.
But we also know that Jesus was completely committed to grace.
On the third day, Jesus rose. Jesus conquered death.
Jesus ascended to Heaven, now sits at the right hand of God, and is awaiting the time when the Father will call His children home.
Jesus did all of this so that we would be able to surrender and commit our lives to Him today.
This morning, it’s time to truly examine our lives.
How committed to God are we really? Do we profess just on Sundays in the church building? Do we make really good Facebook posts just for everyone to see? Or is our faith and commitment to God evident throughout each and every moment, each and every action, of each and every day?
It’s time to wake up, church!
It’s time to awaken our commitment to God.
That time is today — that time is now.
