DO IT! DO IT NOW! DO IT RIGHT!
DEUTERONOMY 6:4-6 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart"
Introduction: As I read our text, I observed that implied in this powerful statement by Moses as to who God is and of our relationship and commitment to Him three imperatives that can be summed up in three simple sentences. Do it. Do it now. Do it right.
I. Do It! ("thou shalt - you must)
A. If God is the Sovereign of the universe, the Word of God true, and Jesus Christ is the crucified, risen and coming Son of God then it is imperative that you to heed His call in your life.
B. I Kings 18:21 "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word."
C. Luke 6:46 "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
D. E. STANLEY JONES, LEADERSHIP, VOL. 17, NO. 2. "IF YOU DON’T MAKE UP YOUR MIND, YOUR UNMADE MIND WILL UNMAKE YOU."
E. Indecision is debilitating and contagious; it not only results in loss to the individual but it transmits itself to others.
F. The Call to Surrender
1. To Christ as your personal Savior
a. A BOLD UNBELIEVER WAS LECTURING A GROUP ON THE FOLLY OF RELIGIOUS FAITH IN GENERAL AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IN PARTICULAR. AT THE CLOSE OF THE PRESENTATION, THE SPEAKER INVITED PEOPLE TO PROPOUND ANY QUESTIONS THEY MIGHT HAVE. IN THE AUDIENCE WAS THE TOWN DRUNKARD, WHO HAD BEEN CONVERTED TO CHRIST. IN RESPONSE TO THE INVITATION THE CONVERTED ALCOHOLIC CAME UP FRONT, TOOK OUT AN ORANGE, PEELED IT, AND ATE IT WITHOUT COMMENT. THE SPEAKER ASKED IF HE HAD A QUESTION FOR HIM. AFTER DOWNING THE LAST SEGMENT OF ORANGE THE CONVERT TURNED TO THE INFIDEL AND ASKED, "WAS THE ORANGE I JUST ATE SWEET OR SOUR?" ANGRILY, THE SPEAKER REPLIED, "YOU IDIOT, HOW CAN I KNOW WHETHER IT WAS SWEET OR SOUR WHEN I NEVER TASTED IT?" TO THIS THE CONVERTED DRUNKARD RETORTED, " HOW CAN YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CHRIST IF YOU HAVE NOT TRIED HIM?"
b. Psalms 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him."
2. To Christ as Lord of every area of your life.
a. JOHN RUSKIN - ANYTHING WHICH MAKES RELIGION ITS SECOND OBJECT MAKES RELIGION NO OBJECT. GOD WILL PUT UP WITH A GREAT MANY THINGS IN THE HUMAN HEART, BUT THERE IS ONE THING HE WILL NOT PUT UP WITH IN IT - A SECOND PLACE. HE WHO OFFERS GOD A 2ND PLACE OFFERS HIM NO PLACE AT ALL.
b. Philippians 3:7-8 "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,"
c. If God is kept out of any area of your life, then there is something wrong in that area of your life.
G. The Call to Obey
1. Many claim to be praying or seeking God’s direction in various aspects of their Christian experience which are clearly spelled out in Scripture - baptism, church membership, church attendance, giving, witnessing and serving. Obedience to God removes pretense from our prayers.
2. Faith and obedience are bound up in the same bundle. He that obeys God trusts God; and he that trusts God, obeys God.
3. ERWIN W. LUTZER - "OBEDIENCE TO REVEALED TRUTH GUARANTEES GUIDANCE IN MATTERS UNREVEALED."
4. D.L. MOODY - "OBEDIENCE MEANS MARCHING RIGHT ON WHETHER WE FEEL LIKE IT OR NOT. MANY TIMES, WE GO AGAINST OUR FEELINGS. FAITH IS ONE THING, FEELING IS ANOTHER."
5. I John 2:3 "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments."
H. The Call to Serve
1. Mark 13:34 "For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."
2. God didn’t call you into the vineyard to eat grapes but to get busy and hoe. He is not concerned about our ability or our inability, but about our availability.
3. THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY GOD WOULD NOT WANT YOU, BUT DON’T WORRY. YOU’RE IN GOOD COMPANY! - MOSES STUTTERED. DAVID’S ARMOR DIDN’T FIT. JOHN MARK WAS REJECTED BY PAUL. HOSEA’S WIFE WAS A PROSTITUTE. AMOS’ ONLY TRAINING WAS IN THE SCHOOL OF FIG-TREE PRUNING. JACOB HAD A HISTORY OF LYING. DAVID HAD AN AFFAIR. SOLOMON WAS TOO RICH. ABRAHAM WAS TOO OLD. DAVID WAS TOO YOUNG. TIMOTHY HAD ULCERS. PETER WAS AFRAID OF DEATH. LAZARUS WAS DEAD. JOHN WAS SELF-RIGHTEOUS. NAOMI WAS A TOO POOR AND A WIDOW. PAUL WAS A MURDERER. SO WAS MOSES. JONAH RAN FROM GOD. MIRIAM WAS A GOSSIP. GIDEON AND THOMAS BOTH DOUBTED. JEREMIAH WAS DEPRESSED AND SUICIDAL. ELIJAH WAS BURNED OUT. JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS A LOUDMOUTH. MARTHA WAS A WORRYWART. MARY WAS LAZY. SAMSON HAD LONG HAIR. NOAH GOT DRUNK. DID I MENTION THAT MOSES HAD A SHORT FUSE? - SO DID PETER, PAUL. BUT GOD DOESN’T REQUIRE A JOB INTERVIEW. HE DOESN’T HIRE AND FIRE LIKE MOST BOSSES, BECAUSE HE’S MORE OUR DAD THAN OUR BOSS. HE DOESN’T LOOK AT FINANCIAL GAIN OR LOSS. HE’S NEITHER PREJUDICED NOR PARTIAL, JUDGING, GRUDGING, SASSY, NOR BRASSY, NOT DEAF TO OUR CRY, NOR BLIND TO OUR NEED. SATAN SAYS, "YOU’RE NOT WORTHY." JESUS SAYS, "SO WHAT? I AM." SATAN LOOKS BACK AND SEES OUR MISTAKES. GOD LOOKS BACK AND SEES THE CROSS. SURE--THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY GOD SHOULDN’T WANT US. BUT IF WE ARE IN LOVE WITH HIM, IF WE HUNGER FOR HIM MORE THAN OUR NEXT BREATH, HE’LL USE US IN SPITE OF WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE’VE BEEN, OR WHAT WE LOOK LIKE.
4. Joshua 24:15 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
II. DO IT NOW! (THOU SHALT - YOU SHALL - YOU MUST = PRESENT TENSE)
A. Yesterday’s Gone
1. Philippians 3:13 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,"
2. F.B. MEYERS "IT IS A MISTAKE TO BE ALWAYS TURNING BACK TO RECOVER THE PAST. THE LAW FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING IS NOT BACKWARD, BUT FORWARD; NOT FOR EXPERIENCES THAT LIE BEHIND, BUT FOR DOING THE WILL OF GOD, WHICH IS ALWAYS AHEAD AND BECKONING US TO FOLLOW. LEAVE THE THINGS THAT ARE BEHIND, AND REACH FORWARD TO THOSE THAT ARE BEFORE, FOR ON EACH NEW HEIGHT TO WHICH WE ATTAIN, THERE ARE THE APPROPRIATE JOYS THAT BEFIT THE NEW EXPERIENCE. DON’T FRET BECAUSE LIFE’S JOYS ARE FLED. THERE ARE MORE IN FRONT. LOOK UP, PRESS FORWARD, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!"
B. Tomorrow Never Comes
1. LATER NEVER EXISTS. AN OLD ENGLISH PROVERB SAYS, "HE WHO IS NOT READY TODAY WILL NOT BE READY TOMORROW."
2. James 4:13-14 "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away."
3. SATAN DOES NOT CARE HOW SPIRITUAL YOUR INTENTIONS, OR HOW HOLY YOUR RESOLUTIONS ARE, IF ONLY THEY ARE FIXED FOR TOMORROW - J.C. RYLIE
C. Today Is the Day
1. For salvation - II Corinthians 6:2 "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"
2. For obedience - Matthew 21:28 "But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard."
3. For Service - Joshua 24:15 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
4. If God is diligent, surely we ought to be diligent in doing our duty to him. Think how patient and how diligent God has been with us!
III. Do It Right! (With all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.)
A. Don’t Do It Half-hearted
1. ANDREW CARNEGIE (1835-1919) THE AVERAGE PERSON PUTS ONLY 25 PERCENT OF HIS ENERGY AND ABILITY INTO HIS WORK.
2. II Chronicles 25:2 "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart."
3. A LAWYER SERVING ON A DRAFT BOARD HAD OCCASION TO HELP A YOUNG IMMIGRANT MAN FILL OUT HIS QUESTIONNAIRE. HE EXPLAINED THAT AS AN ALIEN HE WAS ENTITLED TO CLAIM EXEMPTION. THE YOUNG MAN STRAIGHTENED HIMSELF, AND WITH A HIGH LOOK REPLIED, "WHEN I CAME TO AMERICA, I CAME ALL. IF AMERICA NEEDS KARL KLAUSEN, KARL KLAUSEN IS READY!" SHALL WE NOT DO AS MUCH FOR CHRIST?
4. Total commitment commands the greatest respect of mankind. A wavering, vacillating, half-hearted Christian does not get the respect of the church or of the world.
5. Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with thy might..."
6. Colossians 3:23 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;"
B. Don’t Do It Half-baked
1. Revelation 3:1-2 "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God."
2. Doing things by halves is worthless. It just might be the other half that makes the difference.
3. COLONEL GEORGE WASHINGTON GOETHALS, THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE PANAMA CANAL, HAD BIG PROBLEMS WITH THE CLIMATE AND THE GEOGRAPHY. BUT HIS BIGGEST CHALLENGE WAS THE GROWING CRITICISM BACK HOME FROM THOSE WHO PREDICTED HE’D NEVER FINISH THE PROJECT. FINALLY, A COLLEAGUE ASKED HIM, "AREN’T YOU GOING TO ANSWER THESE CRITICS?" "IN TIME," ANSWERED GOETHALS. "WHEN?" HIS PARTNER ASKED. "WHEN THE CANAL IS FINISHED."
4. Galatians 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
C. Don’t Do It Half-off (in bits and pieces or second best)
1. Haggai 1:4-5 "Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; consider your ways."
2. It is our best that God wants, not our dregs. He prefers quality to quantity.
3. There is a wide gap between doing your best to glorify God and doing whatever it takes to get by. Christ deserves our best not second best.
4. ADMIRAL "BULL" HALSEY - "MEDIOCRITY IS A SIN. DON’T DO YOUR BIT; DO YOUR BEST."
5. HEAR YE THE MASTER’S CALL, "GIVE ME THY BEST!" FOR, BE IT GREAT OR SMALL, THAT IS HIS TEST. DO THEN THE BEST YOU CAN, NOT FOR REWARD, NOT FOR THE PRAISE OF MAN, BUT FOR THE LORD. EVERY WORK FOR JESUS WILL BE BLEST, BUT HE ASKS FROM EVERYONE HIS BEST. OUR TALENTS MAY BE FEW, THESE MAY BE SMALL, BUT UNTO HIM IS DUE OUR BEST, OUR ALL. © 1949 LORENZ PUBLISHING COMPANY (A DIV. OF THE LORENZ CORPORATION) CCLI LICENSE NO. 754427)
6. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. (1929-1968) - IF A MAN IS CALLED TO BE A STREET SWEEPER, HE SHOULD SWEEP STREETS EVEN AS MICHELANGELO PAINTED, OR BEETHOVEN COMPOSED MUSIC, OR SHAKESPEARE WROTE POETRY. HE SHOULD SWEEP STREETS SO WELL THAT ALL THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PAUSE TO SAY: "HERE LIVED A GREAT STREET SWEEPER WHO DID HIS JOB WELL."
