There Is Power In a committed Heart. Every one is committed to something.
What do I mean By that?
#1. When you go to the Bank To Borrow Money, You sign A Contract. YOU ARE COMMITTED
#2..When you Join The Army you sign up or enlist as a soldier… YOU ARE COMMITTED
#3.. When you take a job to and you sign a contract, you are committing to do your best.
#4..When you get married you take a vow that for better or worse till death do you part… YOU ARE COMMITTED.
#5..When you step out and say I will follow Jesus..YOU ARE COMMITTED.
Numbers 30:2 says, If a man vow unto the Lord or swear an oath to Bind his soul with a bond, he shall not Break his word, He shall do according to all that Proceedeth out of his mouth.
Ecclesiates 5:56 says, Better is it not that thou shouldest not "vow" than thou shouldest vow and not Pay..
I'm frequently reminded of an event that took place when I first started to pastor my first church after college, I only had 18 people there.
My wife, Daniel and I were 3 of those 18.
I ask the question. "Who here will commit to pray for me, for I am new at this and do not know what I am doing?"
To my surprise, only one hand went up and that was my wife.
My heart sank and broke.
But a man later come to me and said I just wanted to let you know why I did not raise my hand. He said, "We get caught up a lot of telling people that we pray for them and then we forget too. And that Is breaking a vow. I will do my best to pray for you, but I will not promise."
I must say I was so impressed, that taught me something.
The word "vow" means this.....A solemn Promise, one by which a person is bound to act or serve.
The word commitment means an agreement or pledge to do something in the future.
We are to be COMMITTED to God.
But let me ask this question: How can a man be committed to God and NOT his brother?
We seem to live in a time that many people, even in the church do not see commitment as something of importance anymore.
I have found that leaving just one area of our life uncommitted will open the door for destruction to move in.
Consider the man that is in church and living for God today and the least little things trips him up and he is gone.
Chances are his heart was not totally committed. It could be that there was just just one area in which he was not committed.
Consider the Divorce rate. Over one half of marrages end in a divorce.
Why?
Because one of them was not committed to the other.
Jesus is looking and searching for people who will make an unwavering commitment to follow him.
In the Gospel of Luke 9:57-62 the Word says:
57) And it happened as they were going in the way, one said to Him, Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.
58) And Jesus said to him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.
59) And He said to another, Follow Me! But he said, Lord, first allow me to go and bury my father.
60) Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.
61) And another also said, Lord, I will follow You, but first allow me to take leave of those in my house.
62) And Jesus said to him, No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
There are 3 Men here, and a lesson we can learn from each of them.
#1 man... It seems that he wanted to Be Involed.
There is a small Problem with mere Involvement.
He wanted to be a Part of Jesus Ministry but not to commit.
The difference Between Involvement and commitment is like the eggs and ham breakfast.
The chicken was Involed But the Pig was committed.
Jesus is looking for the Real thing In us.
#2 man.. Verse 59. We see a Problem of misplaced Priorities.
Verse 60 gives us the Answer. The man was not asking to tend his father’s funeral, but rather to stay and care for his Father.
Jesus was driving at the Issue of priority.
He was just wanting the man to understand the urgent nature of his mission.
He told him to go Preach..
I was talking with a young lady some time back about giving her life to Christ, and she said to me that before she did that she wanted to get married and have a family.
So many times we can get in the same place this man was.
But Jesus is looking for A committed heart over everything........
Placing him First in all things! .
#3 Man Verse 61 . We find a Problem of Misdirected Focus.
But it was only a request.But Let me first go and bid farewell.
But It goes Much deeper than that.
His first commitment was to someone at home.
The farewell was more that just a goodbye.
Jesus answer him in verse 62 ...He said No man putting his hands to a plow and looking back is fit for his Kingdom.
Many People hear the call of God… but get focused on what they will lose, in stead of seeing what they will gain.
I once had a man tell me while laying in a hospital with open heart surgery, that he did not want to commit his life to Christ, for he had to much too lose. He went on to say that he was told that when you do that, you have to start going to church.
It is sad that many people believe that same way.
They see all you have to give up, but they do not see what you gain.
I read a story once about a young man who wanted to be a singer but also wanted to be a school teacher. He was torn in what to do, so he went to his Dad and ask him what he should do, and his dad said "son, you just cant sit in two chairs.”
John c. Maxwell said it this way...
Until I am committed, There is a hesitance and a chance to draw back.
A very wise Man once told me that a man will only commit and keep his word to the degree that he himself believes that "God" will keep His commitment.
So... here's the question I want you to ask yourself:
"How committed am I to Christ?"
Take a good look at your heart and honestly ask yourself:
Am I fully committed to Christ, or am I just giving this a trial run... leaving myself room to get out?
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