What Commitment Is Series

Theme: What Commitment Is

Text: Exodus 19: 1-6

Introduction

A. Today is the first Sunday of 2008. We’re so privileged to be in this beautiful place of worship, enjoying fellowship with God’s Presence and His people. We know that there are millions of people out there who do not know the freedom we enjoy and the joy we experience in worshiping the Lord. Even at this very hour, there are thousands of people wandering somewhere in this darkened world. But you’re here! Do you realize what that means? It means that you’re blessed. Your presence here in the church today testifies the great privilege God has given you. You wouldn’t be here now if God had not called you to become His child. Isn’t that truth very wonderful? Yes, our fellowship this morning is a fellowship of God’s children. Therefore we should be glad to express our joy and our sincere gratitude to God our Father for giving us the privilege to know Him, to love Him, to worship Him, and to serve Him.

B. Last Sunday our message was about New Year’s resolution. Although most of us do not actually make New Year’s resolutions, but if we have one, then it must include spiritual wellness. As your pastor I would encourage everyone in this church to plan and do something to deepen your spiritual relationship with God. And don’t forget, spiritual wellness does not come automatically. It is something that we need to work on. It is something that we must desire, decide, plan, and commit to do.

C. In connection to that message, I’d like to speak on the subject of commitment this morning. Well, I presume that each of us have already made a decision about Jesus –that is, we believed on Him, we have accepted Him, and we have acknowledged Him for Who He is as He claimed to be. But it does not end there. Listen to this: God is calling us to stand up and make a commitment to Him.

Look at Exodus 19: 4-6. God asked the new generation of Israelites to make a commitment to Him. By the way, at this point of time, the Hebrew people followed Moses for almost two months already. They have already spent nearly 50 days in the desert depending on God for their food and water. They walked through the Red Sea and through the desert following a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night as God had guided them to this mountain. Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not! This was not a casual relationship God was asking of Israel. What God asked was a lifelong commitment. God said, “Now IF you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession….”

And God is saying to us right now, “IF you’re willing to accept what I’m offering… you’ll have everything I can give.” How we like God to give us everything He can give to us…but, are we willing to totally commit ourselves to Him?

D. Now, let’s turn our Bibles to Romans 12: 1-2 and see what Paul says about commitment to God.

I. Commitment Is Reasonable

Paul tells us here that to commit our life to God is our “reasonable service.” Meaning, it is our logical and sensible response to the goodness of God. Paul reminds us that the motivation of our commitment to God is to be remembering the “mercies of God.” Perhaps, you might wonder what Paul is referring to when he says of the “mercies of God.”

First of all, it refers to what God has done to our lives explained by Paul in the first 11 chapters of Romans. Let’s take a brief summary of it. In chapter 3 Paul told us of our miserable spiritual condition. We are under God’s divine wrath because “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In chapter 4 he explained that “No one is justified by the Law and by the works of the flesh” leaving us helpless and hopeless no matter what we do to resolve the problem of sin. But light and hope dawned in chapter 5. Paul said that “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In chapter 6 he says that the “Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul told us in chapter 8 that the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross gives us the assurance that “There is now no condemnation to those who live in union with Christ Jesus.” In the same chapter, Paul told us that God puts in us His Spirit that testifies that we are His children, the Spirit who guides us to the truth, who helps us in our prayers, and who strengthens us in our weaknesses. In the same chapter Paul told us that we are more than conquerors, and nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God. Indeed, because of God’s mercies, He saved us from the bondage and penalty of sin and initiated a love relationship with us.