I. Who is Committed?
A. Show of hands…
1. How many of you like being friends with committed people?
a. Giving your time and effort to a cause or person.
2. How many of you have people in your life that you wish would be more committed?
3. How many of you think you are a committed person?
B. Things we are committed to…
1. The average American works 45 hours a week.
2. We spend 31 hours a week watching TV.
3. 15 hours a week on-line.
4. Keeping up with the Jones’. $10,000 in credit card debt.
5. 60 hours a week sleeping.
C. Things we are not committed to…
1. Over 50% of all marriages end in divorce.
2. 1 hour a week in religious activities.
3. ½ hour a week volunteering in service.
4. 1.5 hours a week exercising.
5. 2.64% of our income given to the church.
D. It’s interesting to see what we will and won’t commit our lives to.
E. God is looking for committed people and wants to help make you a committed to the right things.
1. Giving All You Got
2. Staying Sharp
3. Be Ready for the Motherload
4. Never Forget
F. Right commitment brings right choices which make right people who are blessed abundantly.
G. Prayer
II. Giving All You Got
A. Deuteronomy 6:4-13
1. 4"Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 10"The LORD your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12be careful not to forget the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 13You must fear the LORD your God and serve him.
B. He is God alone.
1. Deuteronomy 6:4
2. Exodus 20:5
a. I am a jealous God.
3. He wants your complete and total commitment to Him and His calling on your life.
C. Three things that we should give our commitment in.
1. Deuteronomy 6:5
D. Our Heart
1. What we believe.
a. Beauty – In the eye of the beholder.
b. Intuition – I just have this feeling.
c. Desire – Put your heart into it.
2. God wants our heart.
a. Ezra 1 – God stirred Cyrus heart to do good.
b. 1 Timothy 1 – God wants to ensure that we have a pure heart.
c. 1 John 1 – Truth should be in our hearts.
3. Our heart will determine what we believe.
E. Our Soul
1. Who we are.
a. The essence of our being.
b. Our consciousness or personality.
c. Hebrew – nephesh – life, vital breath
2. God wants our soul.
a. Luke 1 – Our soul should praise Him.
b. Psalm 116 – Our soul finds rest and rejuvenation in Him.
3. Matthew 16 – Nothing in this world is more valuable than our soul.
4. Our soul is who we are and we should be identified as God’s child.
F. Our Strength
1. How we live.
a. Act, Say, Respond
2. Strength isn’t always about power.
a. Strength in numbers.
b. Strength in mass.
c. Strength in emotion.
3. God isn’t interested in how powerful we are.
a. Although, when we are committed to Him, we will find power we’ve never experienced before.
4. God is interested in how we live our lives.
5. God wants our strength.
a. Proverbs 1 – We should live disciplined, successful lives doing what is right, just and fair.
b. Titus 1 – Our lives should be blameless and faithful.
c. James 1 – Controlling what we say.
d. Ephesians 4 – Not allowing our emotions to cause us to sin or destroy relationships.
6. Our strength is how we live and we will find power in right living.
G. God wants us to commit our heart, soul, and strength to Him and His calling on our life.
H. Right commitment brings right choices which make right people who are blessed abundantly.
III. Stay Sharp
A. We know that just saying that we’ll be committed won’t keep us committed.
1. Some people might be able to do it “just because,” but that isn’t the norm.
2. Marines
3. Perfect practice makes perfect.
B. That’s why I want to help you with some practical ideas to stay sharp and keep your commitment strong.
C. Deuteronomy 6:7-9
1. We need the repletion to stay sharp.
a. 7Repeat them again and again…
D. Use natural moments – v. 7
1. 7Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
2. The rhythm of life.
3. Eating, driving, bedside, shower…
E. Keep reminders around. – v. 9
1. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
2. I post quotes around my desk in my office.
3. Some people put post-its on their mirrors
F. Create awesomeness. – v. 8
1. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.
2. Here’s what I see when I read verse 8…ninjas!
3. Wedding rings and necklaces.
4. Soldiers use tattoos.
5. Your own thing.
a. Build a garden, create a painting, etc…
6. Find something that is awesome and use it as a reminder to commit to God.
G. Rest
1. Nothing keeps commitment and passion strong like rest.
a. Matthew 11:28-30
i. Notice how rest is found.
2. Remember why did it in the first place.
H. Don’t forget God’s role in your commitment.
1. God will never call you to more than you can bear.
2. You are not the owner, but the steward of the commitment.
3. Depend on Him to help you stay sharp.
I. Right commitment brings right choices which make right people who are blessed abundantly.
IV. Be Ready for the Motherload
A. I don’t believe in the prosperity gospel.
B. However, I do believe that God wants to and will bless your commitment.
1. Check out verses 10-11.
a. 10"The LORD your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant.
C. Stories
1. Received $1,000 cash from a complete stranger in the Miami Airport on my way to Haiti after I told him about my work there.
2. I spent a number of difficult years as a single mom; trying to make ends meet to provide for my children and to raise them to be equipped to fulfill the potential that God graced them both with. Through those challenging years God continued to provide for and bless us. When things were so though that I could not see a way through it, I trusted God completely, and He was faithful to provide every need. Now, my oldest daughter is a successful teach who is married to her best friend (whom she meet at church). They have a beautiful brand new baby girl. My youngest daughter is in nursing school pursuing her gift of compassion. And, I’ve been blessed with a wonderful husband who had tragically lost his wife to cancer. Through my husband, I’ve been blessed with an extended family of more sons, daughters, and grandson. I am fully convinced that God blessed me because I was faithful to Him to the best of my ability. Not perfect, but committed. I have learned that He never lets His children down.
D. God is ready to bless you.
E. When He blesses you, it will be more than you ever thought possible.
1. I don’t know what that blessing will always look like, but I know it will be unmistakable.
F. Right commitment brings right choices which make right people who are blessed abundantly.
V. Never Forget
A. One last word…
1. As a church we are experiencing some change.
2. With this change comes some pain and some trials.
3. Things may get hard and the road may get rough.
4. But hear this…
a. Psalm 118
i. The LORD is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
5. God is ready and completely able to see us through this time and give us the victory in the end!
B. Washington D.C.
1. Monuments to where we’ve been and what we’ve accomplished.
C. Today’s passage tells us the same; however, it tells us to never forget the Giver. – v. 12
1. 12be careful not to forget the LORD,
D. Christmas presents.
1. How many times have you looked back on something you’ve been given and forget who gave it to you?
E. We get caught up in what the gift was.
1. The excitement.
2. The relief.
3. The increased power and influence.
F. We need to make sure that we pay more attention to the Giver than we do the gift.
1. God is the one who brought you from where you are.
2. God is the one who lifted you up during the trials and pain.
G. God is always preparing you for the next thing.
H. Maintaining your commitment is more about what God is going to do next rather than what He’s doing now.
1. I received a call to Chaplain ministry 9 years ago, and through those nine years, Billy and I cared for my mom and aunt who both died on hospice. Also, my dad died, and one of my dearest friends Nellie. Through all of this, we continued to work towards the goal we felt God was calling us to. This year I finished a year of residency after seminary, and I am now working as a Chaplain in hospice. I truly feel I am working in my calling. It was very difficult at times, and we were not always graceful in our actions, but we saw this time of preparation through to completion. God is faithful.
I. God is calling you to commitment now, because He’s got something big in store for you in the future.
J. Your success in the future is directly related to your commitment today.
K. The same God that…
1. …delivered Israel from Egypt,
2. …saved Daniel from the lion’s den,
3. …kept 3 men from burning in the furnance,
4. …gave David the power to beat a giant,
5. …raised Jesus Christ from the grave,
L. …is the same God that will honor your commitment and have you emerge victorious!
M. Wrap-Up
1. Giving All You Got
2. Staying Sharp
3. Be Ready for the Motherload
4. Never Forget
N. Right commitment brings right choices which make right people who are blessed abundantly.
VI. Commitment
A. Eyes closed
1. Between You and God
B. Raise your hand if…
