Your Personal Commitment
Once there was a great story teller, who only had a fourth grade education. One of his favorite stories was about a chicken and a pig, who encountered a hungry man besides the road. Moved with compassion, the chicken said to the pig, “Why don’t you and I go together and give this man a great ham and eggs breakfast?” The pig pondered the idea for a moment and then replied, “For you, that would be a contribution; but for me, that would mean total commitment.”
The Christian life is a life of commitment.
We are asked, as Christians, to make a personal commitment of prayers, presence, gifts, and service to the work of God through the body of Christ, or His church. Today we will meditate about the power of a personal commitment. As we talk about this, remember that Jesus Christ can give us the power to do anything worthwhile and good. Today our faithful Lord promises us just the power we need to keep our commitments. With Christ at our side, we can even dare to talk about total commitment. Paul put it this way: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1
MAKE A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO PRAY
“Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” - Romans 12:12. When we pray, we must look inside ourselves, not others. ‘It’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.’ No person can reach their full spiritual potential without the power of prayer. Great leaders of the Bible prayed for their people and their needs. Abraham prayed for Sodom. Moses prayed for the children of Israel. Joshua prayed for guidance. Hannah prayed for a child. Solomon prayed for wisdom. Joseph prayed for understanding. Peter prayed for vision. We cannot do what we are called to do, unless we are people of prayer.
We need to pray for one another; we need to pray for those who are broken and lost. Because, during times of suffering, when your soul is broken, it’s really hard to pray for yourself. You often depend on the prayers of others. So let our prayers for each other be ones full of compassion and understanding. We must first and foremost be a people, who pray for one another. That’s my prayer today.
Let us pray for this church. I thank God every day for the privilege of being here. I am here today only through your prayers, and I hope to continue this ministry through your prayers as well. If the church was a business, we could do more entrepreneurship. If church were a club, we could have more parties. But the church is of God and will only be preserved and strengthened by the prayers of people lifted on its behalf.
Since 2000 I have been leading the church. It was made up of a small group of families, but didn’t have a physical building. In 2007, our church was able to buy our first physical building. We were joyful and blessed. But in 2013, our church faced a huge tragedy. We had lost our church to fire, and, just like before, we held service at other church and school buildings. But, by the grace of God, in April 2014, we were blessed to be able to buy a new church building.
Nothing would please the devil more, than to make us stumble. “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5) Let us never lose courage and faith. Instead, let us humble ourselves in the eyes of the Lord; seek his wisdom; follow his will. First and foremost, let us be a people of prayer. “The steps of a good man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way.” (Psalm 37:23) Thus, our prayer should be to the Lord: “Establish my footsteps in Thy word, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.” (Psalm 119:133)
MAKE A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO BE PRESENT
Here, Paul says, commit ourselves as a living and sacrifice to our God. Or present ourselves to the Holy God. There once was an old man named Charlie Hitt. He couldn’t see or hear, and he didn’t own a car, so he was often carpooled to church. He always sat on the front row and sang about two beats behind the rest of the congregation. Somebody asked Charlie one day— “Why do you bother to come to church? You cannot see or hear, and you need someone for a carpool to come to church. Why are you so persistent to come?” With a twinkle in his eye, Charlie replied, “I come every Sunday, because I want my neighbors to know whose side I am on.”
I Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
A commitment of presence creates a sense of certainty. We are reminded each Sunday that the God who promised to be with us is still with us for eternity. Families, churches, countries depend on such accords. We are not butterflies fluttering here and there in search of the latest nectar. We are human beings capable of making promises and keeping them. That is hard; it is tough. Your time is being more pressured now in this modern era. Put our trust in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
We have made a commitment in this congregation to multiple missionary services, such as worship team, prayer team, Sunday school team, etc., Just as grocery stores offer a variety of food, churches also are called to have a variety of ways and resources for its congregation to worship and kindle their relationship with God. Even though we are a small church, we still have:
Worship Service and Sermon on Sunday
Men’s Prayer Fellowship
Women’s Prayer Fellowship
Fasting Prayer Meeting
Cottage Prayer Meeting
Sunday School & VBS, etc
I ask you today, will you make a commitment of your presence? Will you be in church every Sunday, unless you are ill or out-of-town? Will you become a missionary with us, so that we can reach a whole new world of people? For the sake of Christ, God needs you today. God needs your presence in His house. Psalmist says in Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” There is a power in the presence of God, there is a joy in the presence of God, there is a hope in the presence of God. New living translations say, “dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.” (Romans 12:1) NLT
MAKE A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO GIVE
Paul says, “here not only we present our bodies a living sacrifice but give ourselves to God.” (Romans 12:1) Give our belongings to God. Martin Luther once observed, there are three conversions necessary in everybody’s life. They include the conversion of the heart, the mind, and the pocketbook. In a B.C. cartoon, one prehistoric character asks the other, “How much should I give to charity?” His friend replies, “I don’t know, give until it hurts.”
Please understand, I’m not putting anyone down. Jesus said, (read Mark 12:41-44) “There is power in the widow’s small amount.”. We are called to give to our heart’s contentment; to be true to the integrity of our hearts. There is a difference between a tip and a tithe.
Tithing is an Old Testament concept. The tithe was a requirement of the Law, all tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S. It is holy to the Lord. (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5). However, the New Testament is different. The New Testament talks about the importance and benefits of giving. We are to give as we are able. We are not required or forced to give the tithe. Sometimes that means giving more; sometimes that means giving less. It all depends on the ability of the Christian and the needs of the church. Every Christian should diligently pray and seek God’s wisdom in the matter of tithing (James 1:5). Above all, all tithes and offerings should be given with pure motives and an attitude of worship to God and service to the body of Christ. “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Dear brothers and sisters, to those who may not understand, the church is not a business. It does not make a profit for itself. It is only through the offerings of its people can a church pay its utilities and support outreach and international ministries. God wants you to have a commitment of giving, so that the body of Christ can be strengthened and expanded.
MAKE A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO SERVE
Look at the verses Romans 12:5-6. “so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith.” It is in the diversity of gifts that makes us one in Christ; one body with many functions.
Some of our members are musically gifted by God and contribute their talents in our worship ministry. Some of our members are socially gifted and contribute their talents in our outreach ministry. Some of our members are compassionately gifted and contribute their talents in our Sunday School ministry. And these are only a few examples. God calls upon His children to serve for His glory. Each and everyone of you have been gifted with a special talent. Use it to serve God’s kingdom.
Not only within the church, but God calls you to serve Him in the world. Be an example of a Christian and shine the light of His glory onto others who may not have heard His word. All must tune our hearts to the cry of the needy. Many of America’s children are already left behind, forgotten, or broken. Join hands to save the children here and around the world. And like the children, there are many who are homeless, addicts, and prisoners. There are many who are broken in this world. We must share with them the love of God. Last week, our brothers and sisters joined in providing clothes and supplies for the homeless in the Houston area. Jesus clothed the poor, and He loved them. As Christians, we are called to serve God like Jesus; clothe the poor, fix the broken, save the lost, and love the forgotten. There is a beautiful encouragement word in Galatians 6:9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.”
Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling you. Will we rise up and follow? Will you commit to serving Him for His kingdom?
There is a church in Rome with a statue of a Christ without arms. When you ask why, you are told that it shows how God relies on us. His human partners are called to do His work for Him. God waits upon us, and relies on us to carry out His ministry.
CONCLUSION
We are God’s Workmanship ( Ephesians. 2:10). We are His workmanship, which means we are not our own. Paul told the churches at Corinth: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) We are His people, created in Christ Jesus for good works. These works flow from the life of Christ into our lives. “for it is God who is at work in you; both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
The Christian life is a life of commitment, a devotion to our heavenly Father. To our youth especially, God wants you to make a commitment to Him. To devote your life to Christ and not follow the ways of the world. God wants His children to set themselves apart from the world. But He also wants you to devote your life to Him. He wants you to make a personal commitment to Him and the body of Christ.
Make a personal commitment to pray. For prayer is a powerful weapon against evil. We are called to pray to strengthen our relationship with Christ and to pray for others, who are broken and weary. Make a personal commitment to be present in church. For the Lord your God said to keep the Sabbath day holy. Submit a day to the Lord and be present in His house. Make a personal commitment to give and support the body of Christ. For the Lord loves a cheerful giver, who loves the church. Make a personal commitment to serve as a working member in the body of Christ. For each of us are given a blessing and talent, it is your calling as a Christian to use those talents for the glory of God’s kingdom.
Will you make these personal commitments to the Lord? Will you devote your time and life for His kingdom? God is calling upon you. God is calling upon the youth. Commit yourselves to the Lord. Amen.
