INTRO.- ILL.- One day, when one of his secretaries suggested dropping work for a diversion which he knew would appeal to President Woodrow Wilson, he replied, “My boss won’t let me do it.”
“Your boss?” questioned the friend, wondering who could be the boss of the chief executive of the United States.
“Yes, I have a conscience that is my boss,” said the President. “It drives me to the task, and will not let me accept the tempting invitation.”
Did you ever have any diversions that kept you from fulfilling your obligation to work? Did you ever stop work just so you could go play? Or do something else you preferred to do?
I appreciate the fact that Woodrow Wilson was committed to his work as President instead of stopping to play golf or whatever it is that many Presidents often do.
Granted, everyone needs some kind of diversion, hobby, etc. And I know that it’s been said, “All work and no play makes Jack a dully boy.” But it’s also true that “all play and little work” means that little work gets done.
Many people are more committed to play than they are work. Most can’t wait for TGIF, “Thank God it’s Friday,” because then they are off work and ready to go play.
I like to play as much as next person, but as we grow in Christ we must be about the Lord’s business in life. We must make hay while the sun shines, because it may not shine much longer for some of us and perhaps, for all of us.
Romans 13:11-14 “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Put away sin and foolishness and put on Christ, which means to do His work in this world. We are rightly more obligated to Him than we are to self or anyone else in this world.
Ephesians 5:15-17 “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
James 4:13-17 “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
These scriptures pretty well tell the story. Life is short. We must live for Christ. We are obligated to Him, not to this world.
PROP.- We are obligated in many ways in this life as Christians.
1- We are obligated to men
2- We are obligated to preaching
3- We are obligated to faith
I. WE ARE OBLIGATED TO MEN
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
ILL.- The world was shocked when actress/singer, Whitney Houston, was found dead in her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday, February 11th, 2012. Many different people either sang or spoke at her funeral service at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. One of those who spoke was actor, Kevin Costner, who played the part of her bodyguard in the movie, “The Bodyguard.” Kevin Costner started by saying that he and Whitney had something in common. He said something to the effect, “She’s a woman. I’m a man. She’s black and I’m white. So what do we have in common?” He said, “We were both raised in the Baptist Church.”
Costner went on to tell about his life as a child in the Baptist church and compared his life to Whitney’s in the Baptist Church. And of course, said some very nice things about her when she auditioned for the part in the movie and her life in general and in regard to the New Hope Baptist Church. No one says anything bad about the deceased at their memorial service, OR NOT OFTEN.
While it is true that Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston had a common heritage in the Baptist Church, they also had something else in common. What was that? They were both human beings on planet earth.
All of us (male, female, rich, poor, white, black, etc.) are involved in the brotherhood called mankind. We’re all in the same boat and that boat is sinking. DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS? It’s called sin. That was one thing comparison that Kevin Costner did not make when talking about Whitney Houston. They were both sinners and in need of salvation that only Jesus could give them! I really wish that he’d said something about that. He did mention that she had stumbled in life. I guess that was his way of saying she had problems with drugs. Whether it’s drugs or something else, we’ve all stumbled in life. We’ve all stumbled when it comes to sin.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Because we’re all in the same boat and that boat is sinking, we are obligated to one another. How so? We are obligated to help one another. But, of course, that doesn’t always happen.
ILL.- On 13 January 2012 Costa Concordia struck a rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea just off the shore of Isola del Giglio, near the western coast of Italy. This tore a 160-foot-long gash in her hull. With water flooding in and listing, the ship drifted back to Giglio Island, where she grounded, lying on her side in shallow water.All but 32 of the 3,229 passengers and 1,023 crew were saved. How did that salvation come? With great difficulty!
One article stated: Survivors who escaped a luxury cruise liner that ran aground and tipped over off Italy’s coast recounted a chaotic and terrifying evacuation through the ship’s upended hallways on Saturday, as divers searched the submerged part for any people still unaccounted for in the confusion.
What I’m saying and what I think took place on that ship was “it was every man, woman and child for themselves!” I’m sure there were some people (and perhaps many) who had no regard for anyone else. They were going to get off that ship asap and no one had better get in their way! Now the other side of the coin was that some people were very courteous and thoughtful of others, such as women and children.
Brothers and sisters, are you more interested in your own salvation or the salvation of others? It’s ok to be interested in your own salvation but are you interested in the salvation of others? Do you care about people? Do you want to see people, all people saved and come to a knowledge of the truth? We obligated to care for others. We are obligated to try to get people to see the light of the gospel of Christ and be saved!
II. WE ARE OBLIGATED TO PREACHING
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
ILL.- I like that old story about the mother who had two boys and one of them had a real problem with saying bad words. The mother was talking to a neighbor lady about the problem. She told her that she’d tried nearly everything to get the boy to stop saying bad words. She had paddled him, grounded him, taken things away from him, made him sit in a corner, etc. The neighbor lady said that she back hand him.
The next morning when the two boys came for breakfast, the mother asked the older boy, “What would you like for breakfast?” He said, “I want some of those blankety-blank Post Toasties.” His mother just hauled off, back-handed him and knocked him to the floor. She then asked her second son, “What would you like for breakfast?” He said, “I don’t know but I sure don’t want Post Toasties.”
Getting children to obey their parents has always been a challenging task. What child gave you the most trouble and how did you teach him or her to obey you?
Remember when we were little and questioned something our mom or dad told us to do and they said, “Because I said so!” They were all-authority in the house and what they said was supposed to be obeyed. What makes us think it’s any different with God? Sometimes we are so flippant when it comes to what God says in His Word. We often think we can “take it or leave it,” when it reality God means for us to obey Him.
Why are we obligated to preach the gospel? Because God said so! Spreading the gospel is a big deal to God! And He wants us to carry out His great commission. Why? Because God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. God is not a respecter of persons. God doesn’t look at age, rank or serial number like we do. God doesn’t care whether someone is rich or poor, black or white, American or otherwise. HE WANTS ALL PEOPLE TO BE SAVED! He is the greatest lover of the human soul there is! We need His heart for people.
Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When empowered, how can we not witness?
I Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
We are obligated to preach the gospel anyway we can: in person, one to one, on the internet (facebook, tweeting, email, etc.), on the radio and TV, etc.
ILL.- In the North Pacific lies the little island of Iwo Jima. Its dry surface of volcanic ash has been likened to a landscape on the moon. For this tiny but vital piece of land we paid the price of some 21,000 casualties in our war with Japan. For the men who took it, it was never a question of a feeling of adequacy or inadequacy, courage or lack of it. They took it in obedience to a command. And we need to take the gospel to all people in obedience to God’s command.
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. AMEN!
III. WE ARE OBLIGATED TO FAITH
17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Righteousness from God comes by faith. It’s the only way it comes and eventually, of course, leads us to heaven.
ILL.- A politician went to heaven and was put in the front of the line. Someone said to Peter, “Why did you let this guy go to the front of the line? After all, we have preachers, evangelists, and Sunday School teachers up here.” Peter replied, “Yes, I know, but we only have one politician up here.”
Do you believe any politicians will make it to heaven? More importantly, do you believe you’ll make it to heaven? That’s the real question. Do you believe, do you trust God by faith that you’ll see Him and heaven?
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” We are obliged to live by faith. We MUST live by faith!
ILL.- A friend tells of overhearing two little girls, playmates, who were counting over their pennies. One said, “I have five pennies.” The other said, “I have ten.” “No,” said the first little girl, “You have just five cents, the same as I.” “But,” the second child quickly replied, “my father said that when he came home tonight, he would give me five cents, and so I have ten cents.”
Do you believe your Father’s promises?
ILL.- Martin Luther wrote: “God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.”
II Corinthians 4:16-18 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
II Corinthians 5:1-9 1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
We are obligated to live by faith. We don’t have to live by faith but by far, it’s the most intelligent way to live and the only way to die!
CONCLUSION-----------------------
Life is full of obligations: to mom and dad, to our job, to our boss, to our mate, to our children, and there is more!
ILL.- Charles F. Kettering (An engineer, industrial pioneer, and first as an independent inventor and later as General Motors Corporation's research chief) said: “I often tell my people that I don’t want any fellow who has a job working for me. What I want is a fellow whom a job has. I want the job to get the fellow and not the fellow to get the job. And I want that job to get hold of this young man so hard that no matter where he is the job has got him for keeps. I want that job to have him in its clutches when he goes to bed at night, and in the morning I want that same job to be sitting on the foot of his bed telling him it’s time to get up and go to work. And when a job gets a fellow that way he’ll amount to something."
Guess what? That’s the kind of obligation we should have toward God, Christ and Christianity!
Steve Shepherd, shepherd111@hotmail.com
