SERMON BRIEF
Date Written: March 28, 2007
Date Preached: April 01, 2007
Church: OZHBC (AM)
FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS
Series Title: Doctrines of the Faith
Sermon Title: Jesus Christ
A Picture of Commitment
Sermon Text: Mark 14:32-41
“…13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets…” 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God…"
INTRODUCTION:
Here are 10 Things You Never Hear in Church
• Hey! It’s my turn to sit in the front pew!
• Pastor, I was so interested that I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time.
• Personally I find witnessing much more enjoyable than golf.
• I’ve decided to give our church the $500 a year I was spending on LSU season tickets… I can watch them on TV anytime…
• I want to volunteer to be a permanent leader for the Royal Ambassadors AND I want to teach SS.
• Money should not be the issue...if the ministry NEEDS that much then let’s spend it!
• It is so exciting when we sing hymns I’ve never heard before… I just love it!
• Since God is here, let’s keep going with the service.
• Pastor, we’d like to send you and your wife to a Pastor/Wife retreat and Bible seminar in the Bahamas.
• Do you know that there is nothing that inspires me and strengthens my commitment to God and this church more…than a good building campaign and commitment program!
That may make us laugh, but in the humor I hope that you find some spiritual truth. Every single statement dealt with commitment to Christ and this church’s fellowship!
Every statement exposed the commitment to their personal walk with Christ and revealed that it came first in their lives! For the believer COMMITMENT and DEDICATION to our walk in Christ is the only way we can grow in Him!
For many of us we make what we call a commitment to Christ by coming forward in a service or praying the sinner’s prayer… but really we have simply gone thru the motions and there is NO real commitment on our part… and it is evident in the fruit of our lives.
Well preacher I am involved in church, that means I am committed… doesn’t it? Well let me share with you just what the difference is between simple involvement and total commitment?
I guess the best way to explain this is by way of an example or an analogy. Let’s take the breakfast meal that many of us enjoy. Let’s say we have a plate of bacon and eggs and a large glass of milk.
When we look at that breakfast we can see examples of involvement and examples of total commitment. In the milk and the egg, the cow and the chicken are simply involved in bringing breakfast to your table, but when we look at the bacon we can see that the pig is totally committed.
So we can see that there is a difference in simply being involved in church activities and being totally committed to the call of Christ in your life!
In October of 1981, when Michelle and I got married, we made a commitment to one another and that commitment was sealed by a legal contract—you know it as a marriage license.
But as the years go by, we don’t maintain that commitment to one another because of any contract. The reason that we stay committed to each other is because of the love that has grown out of that very commitment.
That legal document known as a marriage license, issued by the state of Alabama, is now a keepsake in our household and it is NOT viewed as a contract.
Likewise, as a believer, if you are looking at God’s discipline and His requirement to submit to His will as some form of forced contract, you are going to struggle!
If you see God’s desire as something that forces you to wait patiently while God does His thing… THEN you will eventually give up and walk away.
However, if you view God’s discipline in your life as a keepsake, a loving reminder of your commitment to Him and His faithfulness to you, you will wait in faith and remain confident that God’s answer is coming.
In Italy in the 19th century there lived a leader who is still looked upon as a great and mighty leader for their country, his name was Giuseppe Garibaldi and he lived from 1807 to 1882.
He was an Italian patriot, soldier, and hero-figure. He devoted his life to the cause of uniting Italy. His greatest victory was the 1860 overthrow of the Kingdom of Naples.
That event ultimately led to the unification of Italy. In May of that year, Garibaldi had landed in Sicily with a volunteer force of 1070 men (the "Thousand"). Within 2 weeks this force had taken the city of Palermo, forcing the capitulation of an army of 20,000 regulars.
Garibaldi had an incredibly committed volunteer army. But it is the way he got his armies that is so intriguing. Garibaldi would call for recruits on his own terms…he would say: “I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart and not with his lips only, follow me!”
Likewise, Jesus is inviting you to discipleship. But His invitation is not one of convenience or ease, but He lets you know up front that it is a commitment that will cost you something.
Jesus told His 1st disciples, “He who wishes to save his life is lost, but he who wishes to lose his life for My sake, he is the one who is saved!” Salvation is a gift from God that we can have, even though we do NOT deserve it, but it comes with a great price… total commitment to Christ!
No one ever said being a believer was going to be easy, in fact it is possibly the toughest thing you will ever do… but for me to paraphrase the Italian leader Garibaldi, “Let him who loves the Lord with his heart and not with his lips only, be Jesus’ disciple!”
This morning I want us to look at commitment to Christ… commitment to God. How the world views that commitment and how believers view that commitment… but finally today I want us to see the commitment that Jesus Christ had for YOU!
1. The Commitment of the World for Jesus Christ:
Let me just say that from the world’s point of view that there is NO commitment to Christ…
The commitment of society when Jesus was here was not one of great focus. The religious leaders of the day believed Jesus to be a false teacher and it did not matter what He said or did, they were sure that they were right and that Jesus was wrong.
Read the following verses:
• Mark 7:5
• Mark 8:11
• Mark 10:2
• Mark 10:22 (Rich Young Ruler)
• Mark 11:18, 27
What we can see in each of these situations is that the Pharisees and the Rich Young Ruler were not focused on who Jesus was, but on what they could do… either to disprove Him or to become His follower.
We cannot come to Him on our terms… we cannot commit to Christ based on what we think or feel. Our commitment to Him must be on His terms and based on His commands.
However, in our society today, there are many who will claim a commitment to higher morals or a higher plane of life… but there are scarce few who will claim a commitment to Jesus Christ!
In fact this world has all but abandoned Jesus Christ and all He represents. They have shunned and denied God and refuse to submit to God’s plan and purpose. Their desire is to live life as they choose and they don’t want to be distracted by what God has to say…
We can see this in almost any area in society today, but it is especially prevalent in the area of Abortion!
It was not too long ago that abortion was illegal and considered to be a heinous and hideous crime against a human life.
In our society, abortion was considered to be murder until January of 1973 when Roe vs. Wade was taken to the Supreme Court and it was determined that abortion was a right that women were entitled to… after all it is their bodies…
When we look at abortion, as believers we call it what it is… murder of a child, but in pagan societies even during the life of Jesus abortion, child sacrifice, and other forms of infanticide were both legal and acceptable.
One of the major signs of depravity in ancient Rome was that its unwanted babies were abandoned outside the city walls to die from exposure to the elements of from the attacks of wild foraging beasts. And the primitive Canaanites threw their children into great flaming pyres as a sacrifice to their god Molech.
Let me ask you a question? Is our society today any less depraved because it delivers many of its unwanted babies to the hospital incinerator instead of the local garbage dump?
Abortion today is even more vicious than the decadent practices of the Romans and the Canaanites since it has been commercialized and is “big business” for certain doctors and clinics.
Our society has lost its fear of God. God has been banished from the affairs of men and women, and the sanctity of human life has been exiled with him. Sovereignty has been abducted by foolish finite leaders championing “man’s law.”
By allowing a woman’s right to choose to take precedent over a baby’s right to live, we may be digging our own grave.
Michael G. Moriarty, The Perfect 10: The Blessings of Following God’s Commandments in a Post Modern World, p. 135
And it is not simply believers that see what society has become. Life and the sanctity of life have almost disappeared. I once read where, Paul Newman said,
"The worst thing about our disposable society is that we can get rid of everything – even people."
But there are also other areas where our society has abandoned and turned its back on God and godly principles.
In society today we have come to think of adultery as kind of a “victimless crime.” And many in our world today do not even really see it as a crime at all. In fact, there are even books being published on how to conduct yourself when you’re in an adulterous relationship.
In 1999, Cameron Barnes’ published a book called, Affair! How to Manage Every Aspect of Your Extramarital Relationship with Passion, Discretion, and Dignity.
The publisher described it as "a thoughtful, detailed discussion of every aspect of considering, preparing for, beginning, and conducting a successful and emotionally fulfilling extramarital affair."
Judith E. Brandt has written a book called The 50-Mile Rule: Your Guide to Infidelity and Extramarital Etiquette. An interview with the Chicago Tribune included this interchange with Ms. Brandt:
Q: You say [in your book], don’t feel guilty. That doesn’t seem realistic.
Ms. Brandt: Guilt is basically something built into society to keep you in line. If you are going about your business in a discreet way and you are continuing to take care of your wife and, most importantly, your children, there is no reason to feel guilt.
The world today shuns guilt and shame. If you feel like doing it… the world will tell you it is ok for you to do! Jesus told His disciples that the world would hate them not because of what they do, but because of who they serve!
The response to Katrina by Southern Baptists was phenomenal to say the least, but even with all the good works, there were many people who rejected us Baptists simply because we proclaimed the name of Christ.
The commitment to God in this world is almost absolutely NONE! In fact, the world has flat out rejected Christ and it is doing all in its power to bring you to that same decision. So I ask you today… what is YOUR commitment to Christ, well let’s take a look at…
2. The Commitment of the Disciples to Jesus Christ:
Usually based on self-reliance and our own power and for our own benefit…
When we look at the disciples of Jesus we can get a glimpse into just what WE are like in our commitment to Jesus.
Here are 12 men who were with Jesus in person for 3½ yrs and they saw firsthand the miracles and heard firsthand the teachings of Jesus. They saw His mannerisms and they heard the compassion in His voice.
They saw the love in His eyes and experienced the friendship… but in spite of all these things, they were human and their commitment was shallow and based on their own self reliance and power.
Look in Mark 9:33-34 with me…READ
In this passage we see the disciples arguing who is going to be the top dog in the kingdom. They simply do not understand what Christ is calling them to… they have not fully committed to Christ as He has called them to… they are doing it all under their own power and for their own benefit
And I find that the church of today is NO different from these men, as we seem to always try to do things under our own power and we cannot seem to fully commit to Christ and give Him all of who we are… it seems to me that in the church today we have begun to accept the marginal instead of seeking the will of God.
In speaking to church leaders Dallas Willard said, “The leading assumption in the American church today is that you can be a Christian but not a disciple.
We see a church that knows nothing of commitment. We have settled for the marginal, and so we carry this awful burden of trying to motivate people to do what they don’t want to do.”
SOURCE: Dallas Willard Contributed by: Andrew Hamilton
Marginal thinking and a marginal approach to Christianity is NOT a committed and devoted disciple. Without commitment we are simply doing things out of obligation or tradition. Our efforts on behalf of the church have become empty and hollow.
This past week I read a statement by a man who was NOT identified but he said this…
I think one of our big problems is that many of us are just “going through the motions” when it comes to living out our commitment. It’s not demonstrated in our lifestyles…
Before the DC Talk song, “What if I stumble” the lyrics say something very profound: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Contributed by: Timothy Smith
For the believer, our commitment to Christ is to be total and absolute. To serve God as you should, your life should be totally dedicated to Him and sold out to what He has called you to do.
So often we want to claim the promises of God but we find ourselves falling short in doing what God has called us to do! We claim that we have faith in Christ, but do we really? I want you to listen to what Christian theologian William Barclay has to say about faith and commitment.
Faith is not only a commitment to the promises of Christ; faith is also a commitment to the demands of Christ.
— William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter
What I am saying to you this morning is that as disciples, our commitment has to be to what God has called us to do, and how God has called us to live. The promises of Christ are the benefits for living out the demands of Christ!
3. Jesus’ Commitment to this World:
It is real and everlasting…
In John 3:16 Jesus reveals the commitment of God to the world through His Son Jesus Christ.
In Phil 2:5-11 the Apostle Paul relays the commitment that Jesus had toward His creation and opening the door of salvation to the lost and dying world…
In John 1:1-3, 14 John shares with us WHO Jesus was and the fact that even though He was God, He made the choice to come and live with us and reveal truth to us…
In Mark 14:53-62 we read about Jesus being tried by the religious leaders of His day. They brought in false witnesses and made up things about Him. But when it came down to revealing His commitment to us… Jesus never wavered as He proclaimed His Lordship to the council, knowing this would lead to His death…
In Romans 5 Paul tells us in very plain and simple language that the only way we can have peace with God… and not be God’s enemies is when we place our faith in Christ.
God desires to grant us peace and forgive our sin because of His great love for us that is revealed in Rom 5:8, “…but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…”
All throughout the Bible we have living proof in the life of Jesus of His love and commitment toward humanity… toward YOU!
We also have proof of His commitment to providing a way of salvation in His death on the Cross and in His victory over death when He was raised on the 3rd day!
Jesus is committed to loving and saving you, are you willing to turn away from your life. Are you willing to submit and commit to Him today?
Rev 3:20 tells us that Christ is standing at the door and knocking… and desiring to come in and abide with us… what is your answer going to be?
CONCLUSION:
John Maxwell—in his book “Be a people person”-- it states—“Until I am committed, there is a hesitancy, a chance to draw back. But the moment I definitely commit things begin to erupt.”
All manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings, persons, and material assistance which I could never have dreamed would come my way begin to flow toward me—the moment I make a commitment
Contributed by: Michael Gibney
What does being fully committed to Christ mean? It means that what He calls us to do… We DO!
Coca-cola is one product that has far outgrown its humble beginnings. In 1886, Dr. John Pemberton first introduced Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia. The pharmacist concocted a caramel-colored syrup in a three-legged brass kettle in his backyard. He first "distributed" Coca-Cola by carrying it in a jug down the street to Jacobs? Pharmacy.
After little more than 100 years, surveys show that 97% of the world has heard of coca-cola. 72% of the world has seen a can of coca-cola. 51% of the world has tasted a can of coca-cola.
All due to the fact that the company made a commitment years ago that everyone on the planet would have a taste of their soft drink.
We should stand up and take note here...97% of the world has heard of this sugar and water concoction while 1.7 billion people world-wide have no access to the good news of Jesus Christ! It is estimated that 17 million people die every year without having heard the name of Jesus!
When I hear those facts, I think about the commitment of the church and our call by Christ to Go ye therefore into the world preaching and teaching and baptizing disciples! If Coke can be that committed… shouldn’t we?
I don’t say these things so that you will hang your heads in despair and shame. Instead, we should be challenged and motivated, and inspired to a new and higher level of commitment in sharing the message of Jesus Christ
Are you committed to Christ today? As bro jerry comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation I want you to know that He is committed to you! He has totally sold out for YOUR salvation…are you willing to accept Him and what He has done?
As we begin to sing… I pray that you will surrender to HIM this morning and make a true commitment to Him. Come as we sing…
