Pataskala Church of the Nazarene
February 28, 2010
Conversion and Commitment
Acts 9:1-6
Introduction:
I want to introduce you to a mythical church member that I am going to call Kenny.
When we first meet Kenny he is attending services at First Church but he left because the services were too formal, every one of the platform wore a coat and tie.
He and his family then wandered over to Grace Church because they had a great choir.
But before too long, we hear they are “really happy” at the Christian Worship Center.
But before too long they move their membership to the Community Church because of the Great Bible teaching.
After that the youth program at New Hope catches their eye.
Not at least for the moment, they are at the church uptown, at least until something else catches their roving eyes.
What ever happened to commitment?
-Charles Stanley – Casual Christianity
Charles Stanley, a Great Bible Preacher in my estimation says, “Why do you suppose that there are close to 100 million church members in America yet they are not making more of a moral and spiritual impact?
Why is it that on Sunday morning thousands of churches has more empty chairs than full?
Why is it that the average Sunday school in American has less then 65 in attendance and that the average worship attendance has 84?
Why is it that only 50% of the number on any church membership roll can be expected to attend any given Sunday?
If professing Christian believers really believe in Heaven and a real Hell, how can we be so silent and uncommitted?
Charles Stanley says and I agree with him, “The answer of all these questions is tragically simple! God’s people have made a decision about Jesus …. But they have never made a commitment to Him.”
The Passage of Scripture that I have read to you contains Paul’s first recorded statement as a Christ Follower and one of his last utterances as a veteran soldier of the cross.
Let me take you back to the actual happening and just let you see how God got Saul’s attention on the road to Damascus.
And friend, I am convinced this morning that G OD KNOWS HOW TO GET YOUR ATTENTION.
God showed up and interrupted Saul’s plans.
God shot a laser beam of light out of the throne room of Heaven and knocked Saul to the ground.
Suddenly all of the education, the plans, the hatred, the condemnation that had been controlling Saul was erased in one quick flash and Saul became the accused and the condemned.
The Mighty God of Heaven had hunted down the hunter and felled His prey.
Friends, I want you to hear this, Saul had not really heard the voice of God, he had listened only to the voice of religion and the world in his quest to defeat the Christ followers of his time.
But while he is lying on the ground, all of a sudden he heard a different voice – a voice with such power and authority that it shook him to the core of his soul.
This same voice spoke the world in existence.
This same voice called to Adam in the Garden
This same voice spoke judgment on Satan.
This same voice spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai
It was the same voice who spoke to Lazarus to come out of the tomb.
It was the same voice that cried out, “It is finished” as He paid the price for our redemption on the cross.
It was the same voice that speaks to each of us today, “This is My will for your life, now do it!”
And it is the same voice who will some day say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the Joy of your Lord.”
I want to hear His voice!
I want to be obedient to His call!
I want to be committed to what He says I should be committed to!
I want to recognize His voice!
When that voice came from Heaven, Saul knew this was no ordinary voice, but he didn’t know the Lord and didn’t recognize who it was.
But Jesus came to change Saul’s life, so Jesus said, “I am Jesus, the One you are really fighting against, the One you are really condemning, the One you are really persecuting – Saul, I am Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Creator of this Universe – I Am that I Am!”
And immediately Paul made not only a decision about Jesus Christ, but he made a commitment to make Jesus Lord of his life.
The New Amplified Bible records the translation in verse 6, “Trembling and astonished he asked, Lord, what do You desire me to do?”
Wouldn’t you agree with me that this question should be every follower of Christ’s question?
I. The Question, “Lord, what do You desire me to do?” acknowledges the absolute lordship of Jesus Christ.
Now – It’s so important for us to understand the term used here, “Lord.”
“Lord” does not have the same meaning today that it had during the days of Paul.
For a man to be lord meant many things.
“Lord” was the normal address of respect in every day Greek during those days.
The meaning of “Lordship” in Paul’s day describes absolute possession or ownership.
The highest understanding and use of this term is found in the Greek translation the Hebrew Bible where we use the word “KURIOS.”
This was used as one of the name’s of Israel’s God.
On one occasion, Jesus said to His disciples, “You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.” John 13:13
On another occasion, Jesus rebuked them because they did not assume the responsibilities of His Lordship. “And why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not practice the things I command you to do?” Luke 6:46 Amplified Bible
Paul wrote to the church at Philippi and said that everyone who is a Christ follower must recognize and respond to the Lordship of Jesus.
Philippians 2
“9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master and Lord of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.” The Message
II. The Question: “Lord, what would You have me to do?” was the expression of a surrendered heart.
Let me ask you this morning: Christian believer, have your completely surrendered your heart and life to Jesus?
Have you personally experienced and can testify publicly of being Filled with God's Holy Spirit in sanctifying power?
Paul was in Ephesus as recorded In Acts 19:1b-2
"There Paul found some disciples 2 and asked them, "DID you receive the Holy Spirit since you believed?" They answered, "No. we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit?"
Let me suggest to you this morning that there is a difference between making decision about Jesus and making a commitment to Him.
Perhaps this cannot be seen any clearer than it is in the failure rate of marriages in America.
According to statistics at least 50% of all marriages will end in divorce. I don’t say that to upset those in our congregation who have gone through terrible stress because of divorce. We love you and I’m sure if you could say it – you wouldn’t want anyone to have to go through what you went through.
But why is divorce plaguing our nation when most couples take the vow – “until death do us part?”
Charles Stanley says in his book, Confronting Casual Christianity, in answer to that question,
“because these couples made a decision but did not make a commitment. Every person who married made a decision! They stood before the preacher and made promised and recited vows. They made a decision, they kissed each other and walked out together to live but not necessarily “happily ever after” and not necessarily together. So why did they divorce? The answer is that they made a decision, but they did not truly commit their lives to each other. But when a couple marries and makes a commitment to one another that is a different story.”
The same is true in the church.
The reason the church is not making more of an impact in our communities is that many church members made a decision about Christ, but have not made a commitment to Christ.
This is the reason why it is easy to say you are a Christian believer and not necessarily feel the need to be committed to a local church.
Illustration:
I gave you an illustration a couple of weeks ago that compared the church to an airplane.
The only way both can go is forward and upward.
When the pilot of a giant airline is speeding down the runway, there is a certain point where staying on the ground is no longer an option.
When he crosses the line, he is committed to the air, he will take off or a disastrous crash is imminent.
As this point the pilot can no longer change his mind, he is committed.
Unfortunately the church today, I will call it the Laodicean Church, the Lukewarm Church, is filled with members who have never got off the ground spiritually speaking.
Let’s get back to the pilot and the giant airline.
There are Christian believers who have never got off the ground so to speak since they made a decision for Christ.
In answer to the text in Acts 19:1-2, the response of Paul, "they were baptized into the name of Jesus Christ." and then Paul "place his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came on them." vv. 5-6
According to the background here these 12 disciples had believed for 26 years before they heard of the Holy Spirit's indwelling.
In a sense, they have been sitting on the runway gunning their engines, making noise but going nowhere.
They have been planning on it,
They have meant to
They want to
They are trying to
They are going to
They are aiming to
They are hoping to
But tragedy of tragedies, they have never followed through and never got off the ground.”
Would you let me challenge you this morning to “get off the ground spiritually!”
Complete surrender and commitment to Jesus Christ is the only acceptable decision and commitment.
There is a story told about a pig and a chicken. You’ve heart it several times.
The chicken and the pig are walking down the road together.
As they walked along they read a sign advertising a breakfast to benefit the poor.
The chicken said to the pig, “You and I should donate a ham an egg breakfast.”
The pig replied, “That good for you to say, for you it would be a contribution, but for me it would be a total commitment.”
The Pig at least understood that it is not possible to offer a partial sacrifice, and neither is it possible to off a partial commitment.
When Paul said, “Lord, what would You have me do?” Paul was surrendering his life to Jesus.
Have you repented and been willing to surrender your total life to God by making Jesus Lord of your life?
You see – there was a decisive moment when Paul responded with a surrendered heart to Christ.
III. The Question, “Lord, what will you have me do?” was the beginning of a great career for Paul.
Paul actively identified himself with the greatest person and with the greatest cause on earth.
The Person was Jesus Christ
The Cause was the Kingdom of God
What about your commitment to the Body of Christ, His Church?
I want to quote an author, Jerry Bridges, “As I have watched the parade of people through our church, and other churches. I wonder why so few commit themselves to a local body of believers in a significant way. Many sit and soak and do little else, and they flee at the first sign of trouble or pressure. They fail to become involved or they fail to give their tithe and offerings; the priority for corporate worship falls far down on their list. They criticize all that is wrong with a specific local congregation … What can we do besides comment or complain? We need to accept the challenge to commit ourselves to responsible membership.” (Jerry Bridges, Spirit of Revival)
All of us need to answer who we have identified ourselves with.
All of us need to identify what is the greatest cause on earth.
Life is made up of relationships. And we choose to identify ourselves with people of our choice.
And as Paul choose to identify himself with Christ, it would be best if everyone of us would identify ourselves with people who can challenge us to become what God would have us to be.
Have you given this any consideration?
What drives you? What motivates you?
Where does the church fit into your priorities?
The local church is the first level of commitment outside of our personal relationship with the Lord.
The local church with all of its imperfections is still the Lord's Body of believers through which He accomplishes His work.
The local church gathers for worship, teaching, preaching and fellowship to gain the power of the Holy Spirit so we as the Body of Christ can take the Gospel of Christ to the world.
The Hebrew writer said in chapter 10:25,
22-25 So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.
Thus, the member who "Forsakes the assembling together" the Hebrew writer says forfeits the power that is found in the church and they also lose sight of a future Day coming when Jesus will come again.
Some people have drifted so much in their relationship with Christ that they no longer see church attendance or spiritual discipleship as important.
Hebrews 2:1-2 "It's crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we've heard so that we don't drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation?" Message
It's so easy to drift. But why do we drift?
One could answer it simply by saying, "The world, the flesh, and the devil" and be correct.
There are four things here we need to be cautioned so we won't drift in our spiritual commitment to Christ and His church:
1) We have a built in tendency to sin.
Even the Born again Christian sometimes has a tendency to do that which is against the will of God.
The devil will continue to tempt us so we will not make the decision to commit to Christ and His Church.
Unless we make the decision to surrender our lives totally to Christ and be baptized with the Holy Spirit we will fail to be what He intends for us to be.
2) Sometimes we ignore the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Many who have come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior have not continued on be sanctified completely.
When a believer is saved the Holy Spirit comes into their spiritual life.
But unless we invite Him to take full control of our spiritual lives, we will drift away because that's how important the Holy Spirit is to us.
If we are not careful what happens then is we follow a course of drifting away from God's will and God's way.
3) When we drift we neglect the means of spiritual growth.
When we are saved at our conversion experience we become a spiritual infant.
We have some growing to do in the spiritual process of moving towards spiritual maturity.
When you make the decision to neglect the means of spiritual growth it becomes detrimental to your spiritual life.
A devotional study of the Word of God is the milk and the meat by which the child of God grows.
Paul wrote for our understanding in I Cor. 3
1-4But for right now, friends, I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You're acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I'll nurse you since you don't seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything's going your way? When one of you says, "I'm on Paul's side," and another says, "I'm for Apollos," aren't you being totally infantile?
Peter spoke on the same subject matter
1 Peter 2:2 (Amplified Bible)
2Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto [completed] salvation,
Communion with God is to pray. Jesus said, "Pray without ceasing."
And Fellowship with God's people in the church is as necessary for the growth of the soul as is the love of a family for the development of their child.
4) Spiritual drifting can come upon us from clinging to some secret sin.
The Proverb writer said, "Only a fool will treat sin lightly, for sin will destroy a person." Prov. 14:9
Sin is the soul what infection is to the body.
For a believer to tolerate and practice secret sins encourages drifting and eventual backsliding from God.
Drifting is deadly!
Several years ago there was a group of fishermen in Kentucky below a dam that lost their lives.
While they concentrated on fishing they failed to hear the horn that warned them to get away from the Dam overflow.
They frantically tried to start the boat motor and were not able to get it started.
The current of water took them and overturned their boat and all the men perished.
A lack of spiritual commitment to Christ will result in spiritual drifting that can be even more deadly.
The backslidden believer can drift over the precipice of death into eternity unprepared to meet God.
IV. Last, the Question "Lord, what is it you want me to do?" opens the door so that the will of God can be known.
The will of God is not something to be feared.
It is something to be discovered and understood.
The will of God is not something that will lead you down a road of unhappiness.
Rather the Will of God invites us to enter into a spiritual state of holiness and a perfect plan for our lives.
Believe friend, I want you to know when you are in the Will of God the Father, you will live life at its fullest and best.
Paul described the Will of God as good and perfect in Romans 12:2 when he said, Romans 12:2 (Amplified Bible)
2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
Conclusions:
Have you made a decision for Christ?
Have you personally asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and you know without a doubt that He has become your personal Savior ?
If you haven't - the altar is open this morning for you to come and invite Jesus into your heart and forgive you of your sins.
Then the next question is this: Have you had a relationship with Jesus where you can call Him Lord?
You've surrendered all to Him and He has sent His Holy Spirit to baptize you completely!
There are steps of Grace here:
1) First, you must know you are a Born Again Christian.
2) Second, you must go on to the Second Work of Grace called Sanctification - Being Filled and Baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Invitation:
I'm going to ask you to come and pray.
(Source outline: Pastor’s Annual 2009)
