Title: Time to Commit to God
Subject: It is time that we see a real commitment to God, church and community.
Introduction: Israel ignored God for years, God raised up judges and priest to lead them. There were sporadic times of Revival for them but they were continuously oppressed because they refused to continue in serving the true God. One incident sees them taking the Ark to a specific place and appointing a specific person to care for it. It remained there ignored for 20 years. We see in 1st Samuel 7:1-4, 1And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. 2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. 3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. 4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.
Core: Prepare your hearts unto the Lord was the charge from Samuel. Commitment to serve God, to study His word to seek His will isn’t that what a prepared heart requires. Four Sundays from today we will begin a group of meetings we call a revival, understand that you must prepare your heart for revival. A prepared heart for service to God, commitment to God, church and community is needed in order for revival to be kindled and for the revival fire to spread. Revival needs to spread across our community, the state and the nation and finally spread around the world. You need to prepare your hearts unto the Lord and commit to serve Him alone.
Body:
I. Our nation was founded by men of Faith and with independence came religious freedoms.
A. Through the centuries of this young nation there have been periods of revival
1. Last year 2014 the theme for our church was renewal
2. Renewal of Heart
3. Renewal of Soul
4. Renewal of Strength
B. Was that accomplished?
1. You must search your own heart
2. Your own soul
3. To decide if you gained Strength
4. Real deep down Spiritual strength
C. We started with a Revival last year
1. Bro. Gary came we had great attendance
2. But how much of that remained how many really continued to attend faithfully
3. To be faithful to God
4. To serve Him and do His will.
D. Yes we had a few new members to join and our average attendance did increase slightly this past fiscal year.
1. When it was time to set the budget for 2015 though
2. We had to adjust down by several $1000
3. We do now have a few children in Sunday School off and on now
4. But not like it should be.
II. So where are we heading in this year of 2015
A. Commitment at least that is the Theme for the year
1. Commitment starts in your heart and mine
2. A heart that was to be renewed last year
3. Renewed to serving God 1st Samuel verse 3 tells us Samuel said to the people of Israel “If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts”
4. You see that is a renewal of Heart but what is that heart to be renewed to according to Samuel, he says “Prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only”
B. Prepare for service
1. Commit to serving God
2. Serve God alone
3. Don’t serve sin
4. Don’t serve the cares of the world
5. Don’t get caught up in worldly lust
6. To serve the living God, Hebrews 9: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
7. Galatians 5: 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
8. Walk in the Spirit, Commit to confession of sin as you commit it in order that you are filled with the Spirit.
III. Three challenges can be seen here in 1st Samuel 7
A. These are:
1. Commitment to serve God Alone verses 1-4
2. Commitment to Corporate Confession and Prayer 5-9
3. Commitment to Confident Action 10-13
4. All these are part of a commitment to God, Church and Community.
B. Israel ignored the Lord’s presence for 20 years
1. How long have people in our nation been ignoring God
2. Ignoring the God of our forefathers
3. Ignoring God’s blessings
4. Ignoring the God we are said to trust in
5. How long have people who are members here been forsaking the assembling of ourselves?
6. How many have you called and visited?
C. At the end of that 20 year period for Israel God raised up a man who would serve Him
1. Samuel came to be the priest
2. The Spiritual leader
3. God ensured Samuel would be heard look at 1st Samuel 3: 19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
4. God can raise up another man like that,
5. For local churches as well as this nation and the world.
6. Billy Graham was that man for our time
7. God has a man prepared right now to step in and become that man
8. This 21st century man God has prepared to proclaim Him
9. We may have him in our midst, we need to prepare our hearts to Serve God and to commit to Serving Him fully
D. It takes removing anything that will hinder your service
1. What is more important to you than serving God?
2. What is it in your life that hinders you from
a. Attending Sunday School
b. Attending Church on Sunday Morning faithfully, not just periodically
c. Attending Sunday Night Services yes we have Services Sunday night services here at 5:00 P.M., we are studying Revelation.
d. Attending Wednesday Night Services yes 6:30 P.M. Wednesday we have a service in that service I take random questions from a box where you can drop in a question for me to answer and prepare a message on that question.
3. What is hindering you from faithfully giving a portion back to God of all He prospers you with?
4. What is hindering you from bringing unchurched and unsaved to church and even witnessing to them and gaining a soul winners crown?
E. Whatever that may be you need to follow Samuels advice “prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only”
1. There was a promise connected to the commitment
2. Samuel said they would be delivered from their enemy
3. When you commit to Serving God He will deliver you from those things that hinder you
4. He will reward your faithful service
F. Verse 4 says the people responded
1. They responded to Samuels message
2. How will you respond in this year of Commitment?
3. Will you commit to serving God
4. Serving the Church and Community.
IV. What is Revival, here is a definition I picked up for it, “A Christian revival, or revivalism, is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a church congregation or society, with a local, national or global effect.”
A. You see Revival can have a global effect
1. But it takes a renewed commitment to Confession and Prayer
2. Look at verses 5 and 6 of 1st Samuel 7, 5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. 6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
3. The conditions for a true revival here at South Dayton and our community should be in place
4. We should have found renewal of Heart, Soul and Strength last year
5. We should be ready to commit to God, Church and Community this year.
6. Samuel prayed and the people responded and confessed their sin.
B. That is what our community needs
1. That is what our state, our nation and our world needs
2. We can get the spark going, it only takes a spark to get a fire going the song says.
C. Our nation has been in this situation before
1. Samuel interceded in prayer for the nation
2. Commit to interceding on the part of our nation
3. Commit to interceding in prayer for this state
4. Commit to interceding in prayer for our community and the community that the Association covers.
D. Dr. A. T. Pierson once said, "There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer."
1. Coming out of the American Revolution period this nation was in dire straits
2. Moral Bankruptcy was occurring
3. Christian students at Christian colleges met in secret and kept minutes in code
4. How did the situation change? Through Prayer
E. Fast forward to 1857 I told about Jeremiah Lamphier in a message earlier in the year.
1. He started a prayer meeting in the upper room of the Dutch Reformed Church in Manhattan, he committed to a prayer meeting, 6 people of a million showed up for the first prayer meeting.
2. The next week 14 then they decided to meet every day and by late winter the Dutch reform church was filled to capacity, then the Methodist church was filled, followed by the Trinity Episcopal church
3. In February and March of 1858 every church and public hall was filled and 6100 men were counted praying in a one hour period with that people began to be converted, 10,000 a week in New York City alone.
4. The movement spread to New England and the Baptist caught fire and they cut holes in the ice in order to Baptize converts
5. The Revival fires spread to Chicago and Dwight L. Moody started teaching a bible class. Then on to Europe
6. Commitment to pray for the community should be a priority
7. That is what the Men’s prayer breakfast here should be about we should be packed with the men of this church Saturday for the Prayer Breakfast.
8. Maybe we need to expand it and invite men from other churches in the association to come here for prayer.
F. In the TRBA newsletter Bro. David states “that there are more than likely 35,000 lost people in the area of TRBA.”
1. That the association needs to establish new churches now
2. That of the 41churches in the association “even if we filled all 41 existing churches to capacity, we could not reach the 35,000 lost of our community.”
3. Attendance is down in our churches, of the near 70,000 residents in the association’s area “our 41 churches reported 7422 resident members therefore the association penetrates only 10% of those in the area.
4. Of those 7422 resident members the churches are reporting “3921 in worship that is fewer than 6% of the people on any given week.”
5. That shows a lack of commitment to God, to church and even to the community
6. We need to make a commitment to reach folks this year.
V. Bro. David further states “I’ve heard some say we need to fill up the churches we have before we plant new ones.”
A. To which he answers “If we wait until that happens, we will never plant a new church.”
1. Commitment means being proactive not reactive
2. We need to be actively working to reach others
3. While also ensuring God can give us an increase.
4. God has great plans for this church
B. But in order for Him to fulfill His plans it will take our Commitment to Him.
1. It takes confession and prayer too
2. God won’t use us if we will not confess our sin
3. He cannot use us if we do not Seek His face
4. Commit our ways to Him
C. It takes your commitment to church too, Hebrews 10: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
1. Attending services should be priority 1
2. Prayer and confession All are a part of Commitment to church
3. We must commit our ways to the Lord
4. And Prepare our Hearts before Him
VI. In verse 10-13 we see confident action by the Israelites
A. We need not be looking at our circumstances with too much alarm
1. If we do they will cripple our commitment and spiritual growth
2. They will cripple us emotionally and physically as well
3. If we gain true revival through a true commitment we can walk calmly in assurance and hope that no matter how great the enemy attacks us we can depend on the God we have committed to serve to see us through
4. By Faith we can accomplish Great things, with commitment we will see “He shall bring it to pass”
B. Think about our spiritual victories so far
1. God has been working through renewal this past year
2. God has given us a little increase
3. Problems that came have gone by the wayside
4. The things that caused problems have dissipated
C. Now is the Year of Commitment
1. With commitment to Church this year we can see even greater attendance
2. With Commitment to Community we can see souls added to the Kingdom and the Baptistery being used.
3. With commitment Revival can spread throughout Church
4. Through our Community, State to our nation and beyond
D. It will take commitment to Prayer
1. Commit to praying for Revival
2. Commit to Praying for lost souls to be saved
3. Commit to prayer for the believers who are away from God and the church
4. Commit to prayer for our nation and its leaders
E. Commit to studying God’s word
1. Daily bible reading
2. Daily time spent in the study of God’s word
F. Commit to bringing unchurched and unsaved to church
1. To the Revival
2. To church every Sunday including Sunday School.
3. Think about it like this if we have 20 people attending and each one brings one guest each Sunday that is 40 people in service.
4. There are 52 Sundays in a year that is 2080 folks in attendance.
5. If 10% of those visitors begin to attend each Sunday we would pick up 2 people per week.
6. That would be 104 additions for the year that is one point in the Evangelism explosion series.
7. God can work if we commit to Him
8. Our church can grow if we commit to it and we can reach souls if we commit to community outreach.
Conclusion: Remember our verse for the annual theme, Psalms 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Do you see it? Trust God for the increase and He shall bring it to pass. When we “prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only” He will bring to pass what He has in store for our church. It takes commitment, are you willing to commit to God’s will and way? We need to be committed to serving God, to the Church and Community in order to accomplish all that God has for us.
