Theme: COMMITTED TO THE FATHER
Text: 1 Corinthians 8: 6
Introduction
A. In our message last Sunday the closest disciple of Jesus, John the Beloved, told us what it means to be a committed follower of the Lord. It is to be committed to the claims of Jesus about Himself, committed to live as Jesus lived, and committed to the Mission and works of Jesus. If we compress that message into one thematic phrase it could be “Commitment to the Son.”
B. This time, we will talk about commitment to God the Father.
First of all, let’s look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8: 6. He said: “…yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live.” Paul is saying here that because of who God is, what He is, what He did and what He does, we should be fully committed to Him. And since only the Son of God knows the Father exactly and completely, it is through Christ that we know how to live our life for God’s glory. His word and example are crucial in understanding the real meaning of commitment to God the Father.
C. Now let’s consider several scriptures where our Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us the idea of how or what we should be fully committed to God the Father:
I. COMMITTED TO HIS GLORY
In Matthew 5: 16, Jesus says, “Let your light so shine before men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Our Lord says here that as children of God we should be fully committed to live our life in a way that brings praise to our heavenly Father.
Today, too many people have gotten into thinking that they are great, that they are they are superior than others, that they are somebody, that they are the superstar –that life is about them. So they are committed for their own glory and fame. We’re watching T.V. shows like Filipino Idol, Pinoy Pop Superstar, Shall we dance, etc. It’s all about “Me.” The star. The singer. The dancer. The superior one.
But here, the Lord makes it clear that life is not about us. Life is about God, it’s about the Father who made us. We are originally and intentionally created for His glory. It means, no matter how good we get in life, no matter how good we are, it’s not about us, it’s about our heavenly Father. We should live in a way that brings glory to Him. We’re here for His glory. We’re here to bring Him glory.
Understanding this divine principle, Paul, the great apostle of Christ, admonished us that whatever we do, we must do it to the glory of God. Yes, even in simple things like eating and drinking, he told us to do them “to the glory of God” (1 Cor.10: 31).
Now, how do we live so as to bring glory to God?
Do what is right. Not what you think is right. Not what other people say is right. But what God says is right. Do what God says, and like the divine Son, obey God at all costs.
Live like His Son. Like Him, Jesus wants us to be a light and a salt of the earth. He wants us to let our light shine before men. Doing what is right and good in the eyes of God and men. We should go right on living the faith regardless of what people say, do or don’t do. Think what the Son of God did to glorify the Father:
He is the Bread of Life, yet He started His ministry hungry.
He is the Living Water, yet He ended His earthly life and ministry thirsty.
He is our Rest, yet He experienced being weary.
He is the King of kings, yet He paid tribute.
He casts out demons, yet He was accused of having a demon.
He wipes away our tears, yet He wept.
He is the Redeemer, yet He was sold for thirty pieces of silver.
He is the Shepherd, yet He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter.
He is the Life and He destroyed the power of death, yet He died.
He is our Joy and Comfort, yet He suffered.
He is the Lord, yet He came to serve.
Let’s be like Him –bringing glory to the Father. One preacher says, “We’re here for Him, to bring glory to Him, to point people to Him! Let your light shine before men!”
II. COMMITTED TO HIS FELLOWSHIP
In Matthew 6: 6-13, we find the teaching of our Lord about prayer. He teaches us here that prayer is not some religious ritual. Instead, prayer is a wonderful way to enjoy fellowship with our Heavenly Father.
First, Jesus makes it clear that God the Father wants us to have fellowship with Him. We can even talk to Him about anything or everything. Our heavenly Father is interested in us and wants to hear from us. God wants us to draw near Him.
The idea that God desires our fellowship is taught throughout the Bible. You will find it by way of commands, exhortation, calls, and even with marvelous promises. One does not need to read the whole Bible to be aware of it. In the pages of the Bible, God is calling everyone to come to Him. The prophets of old and the preachers of today have one common call to the people: repent and return to God. Though God is perfect and complete, our fellowship with Him must be very valuable and seriously important to Him because it caused Him to give His Son to die at the cross to bring us sinners back to Him. One Bible scholar had a radical comment about it and said: “God is crazy for us.”
Indeed, God is so passionate about us. He wants us more than anything else. He even made the greatest investment for us, and He never planned to give up on us. What then should be our response to Him? Isn’t it incumbent for us to draw ourselves closer to God? We are doing that every time we come to Him in prayer. This is the second thought Jesus is teaching about prayer.
When the Lord says, “When you pray,” he does not suggest that He is agreeing with occasional, infrequent, insincere prayer. Rather, it implies that believers are expected to set aside meaningful time to have communion with God –it might be personal or in a group. That’s why we have prayer meeting every Sunday afternoon. That’s why we encourage everyone to set aside and spend time alone with God. Prayer is our way to commune with our loving Father. If we are committed to the Father, then we must be committed to prayer, because in this way we can be in communion with Him. Then, last thought, don’t forget, every time we do prayer, we must be sincere, honest and confident to God.
III. COMMITTED TO HIS HOLINESS
Matthew 5: 48 says, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is indeed a tall order from the Lord. But since His Word is authority our responsibility is to listen and obey. This is a command that we should resolve our mind to be like our God. Peter made the same call to all believers: “Be ye holy because God is holy” (1 Peter 1: 16).
Holiness, however, is an eluding grasp. We all stumble. Experience tells us time and time again that we fall short from becoming like Him.
One day, according to a humorous story, God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the evil that was going on. He decided to send an angel down to Earth to check it out. So he called one of His best angels and sent him to Earth for a time.
When the angel returned he told God, yes it is bad on Earth, 95% is bad and 5% is good. Well, God thought for a moment and said "Maybe I better send down a second angel to get another point of view."
So God called another angel and sent him to Earth for a time too. When the angel returned he went to God and told Him yes, the Earth was in decline, 95% was bad and 5% was good. God said this was not good.
So He decided to write a letter to the 5% who were good. He wanted to encourage them. Do you know what the message of the letter was? Just forget it, after all, you hadn’t received one either.
Now let’s face it. The command is seemingly impractical, isn’t it? So, did Jesus give us a command that is impossible to do? Did Peter call us to do something unrealistic? The answer is “no.” The Lord knew that we are far from being perfect. That is, by ourselves we can never pass God’s standard for holiness, no matter how high we can attain. Now let’s understand it in light of its context.
This teaching of Jesus was addressed to His disciples and Peter’s letter was addressed to the believers. It means that both teachings were not addressed to people who never knew the Savior yet, people who have not been saved from their life of sin, people who have not been born again, or people who have not been made righteous through faith in Christ. Therefore the command here to be perfect or holy is not about a sinner to save himself from sin and to attain holiness by his own merits. It is about the sinner who, being made holy by God through faith in the merit of Christ, strives to live on the state of holiness by which he was called.
If we do a closer look at the context of Jesus’ and Peter’s teachings, it’s not your spiritual standing before God that they are concerned about, but it’s how you live your life being a believer. Jesus said: “Love your enemies.” Sinners are enemies of God, but He loves them without bounds. Did you? Peter said: “Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct.”
The question here is this:
Are you living in the freedom God has given us?
Are you rejecting evil urges?
Are you living in purity?
One more question: What do you want to commit to our Heavenly Father this morning? Do it now for He is gladly and excitedly waiting.
