Well here we are entering a brand New Year, its funny how we see the mark of a New Year on the calendar as a place to start over even if it’s just another day. A lot of people make New Year’s resolutions, things like losing weight, going on a diet, or spending less money and making more to try and get out of debt. People have made a lot of resolutions at the beginning of 2018.
Now the word resolution defined in the Cambridge dictionary means a promise to yourself to do or to not do something The Urban dictionary defines it as this; a goal that you propose then forget the next day.
Commitment according to the Cambridge dictionary means - a willingness to give your time and energy to something that you believe in, or a promise or firm decision to do something
Urban dictionary defines Commitment by saying it is what Transforms the promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time After time after time, Year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff Character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism.
As Christians we need to be making commitments not resolutions. We need to make a commitment to get back on track in our walk of faith. But in order to get back on track we have got to know where we got off track, we need to know where we took a wrong turn, and we need to know how far off course we are in order to adjust our path in the right direction. And to do that we must look in the rear view, we must evaluate where we have been in order to correct the direction in which we are going.
I remember when I took an Overland Search and Rescue course that we were taught how to navigate using a compass. We were given a map, a compass and coordinates with specific waypoints to reach. Now I want you to understand getting from point A to Point B isn’t as easy as it sounds when you’re walking in the hills and hollows of some Mississippi Woods and sometimes you wouldn’t reach the waypoint on the first try and you would have to get back on track. Well to get back on track you had to figure out where you got off track. Now you didn’t have to backtrack all the way to point a if you could look at the map or either look where you had been and realize when you started to veer off, then all you had to do was make a small adjustment and continue moving forward until you reached the next set of coordinates and then you moved on from there until you reached your final destination.
That’s how it is with our Christian walk, we set a course with our eyes on the finish line and then stuff gets in our way and we lose sight of the direction that we need to go and we veer off course. It’s like this, when we accept Christ and the forgiveness He offers us we began a journey , I wish I could say that we always stayed the course never getting off track but the truth is sometimes we get lost, and we take a wrong turn and start heading in the wrong direction. It could be that we don’t spend as much time in prayer and scripture because our days just seem so busy, maybe we don’t make it to church as much as we used to for whatever reason, maybe we don’t give as much as we used to, or just maybe we even feel like God has abandoned us. For whatever reason we get thrown off course and just need to get back on track.
To do this we need to look at our success and failures honestly, where I have kept my commitments. Do I still practice my spiritual disciplines, such as reading my Bible, Prayer and meditation, do I still work to strengthen my relationship with God? Am I still a cheerful Giver? Do I project the love of Christ, do I attend worship faithfully….. Even when I don’t feel like it? If not where have I took a wrong turn?
Have I let others influence my church attendance? Have I let stuff get in the way of my personal relationship with Jesus? Have I let my wants, or issues interfere with my cheerful giving? Have I began to love others less because I want things to be more about me?
We must evaluate where we have been and inventory the good and the bad in order to adjust our course and get back on track. We must right our course and get back on the path that leads us to the next step that the Father has in store for us.
Now when we join the church we make a commitment to uphold this church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service. When we accept Christ we make a commitment to do Gods will not ours, as Christians we must make a commitment to love God with every fiber of our being and to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves? At our Baptism we join each other in fellowship and become brothers and sisters in Christ, joint heirs to the kingdom.
Now I want to talk for a moment to those that have been baptized and that have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. I’m going to ask you to come forward and dip your hand in this water and remember your baptism, I’m also going to challenge you to make a commitment to strengthen and deepen your relationship with Christ in the coming year as well as praying daily for our church.
Now to those of you that haven’t asked Christ into your heart. What are you waiting for? Jesus will meet you right where you are, no matter what you have done, no matter how unlovable or unworthy you may think you are Jesus loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. You don’t have to get cleaned up first, Jesus will take care of that and clean your heart from the inside out. I urge you to make a commitment today also, commit your life to Christ and experience the freedom and joy that only Christ can give. If you’re not ready today at least make a commitment to pray daily and continue to come and fellowship and worship with us.
Today I urge each and every person that hears this message to do more than make a resolution I challenge you to make a commitment to get back on track and be more than you can be on your own. I challenge you to grow in Christ and commit to a New and Better you.
