A newspaper journalist was assigned to Jerusalem and when he got there, he decided to get an apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall. After several weeks of watching out over the wall, he realized that every day, the same old Jewish man would come and spend most of the day praying vigorously at the wall.
The journalist wondered whether there was a publishable story here, so he went down to the wall, introduced himself and said: "I see that you come every day to the wall. What are you praying for?"
The old man replied: "In the morning I pray for world peace; at lunchtime, I pray for my fellow man. Then in the late afternoon, I pray for the future of this earth."
The journalist asked how long the old man had been doing that, and he told the reporter that he had been doing this for about 25 years. The young journalist was amazed and asked the old Jew how it felt to come here every day and pray so much.
"How does it feel?" the old man replied. "It feels like I’m talking to a wall."
I am sure that praying at that wall got old since he was unable to see his prayers being answered, but the old man had commitment. Today, we are going to read where Jesus speaks about true commitment. He is talking about loyalty, allegiance, and dedication.
In MATTHEW 10:34, we read,
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.”
On the surface, these words sound bad. We might think, “But I thought Jesus was the prince of peace? Why would He want to bring a sword?”
The point of the text is that if we are truly committed to Christ, we will make some enemies in this world! Some people will not like us because of our faith in Jesus. Some people hate Christ so much, that’s all the reason they need to hate Christians, too.
The people of Jesus’ day crucified Him because they hated Him. Now, if people were willing to do that to the Son of God, what do you think they will be willing to do to us?
Just this past week, I received an email from a missionary in a Muslim country. She said there was a Christian pastor who had been sentenced by a local village tribe to death by stoning. His offense was nothing more than teaching about Jesus.
She went on to report about those three teenaged school girls on their way to school Thursday before last, and two of them had their heads cut off in a ditch by the dirt road, and the third escaped with deep cuts. Their offense? They were Christians in an Islamic nation.
We are very comfortable in America and sometimes we just don’t pay too much attention to what is happening overseas. Let me tell you point blank that there are more people dying today for their belief in Jesus than we are aware of.
And I fear greatly that what is happening over there will be happening here. It may not be for a while yet, but I do think it will come. And when it does, many Christians are going to be caught by surprise and most will not be ready for the spiritual storm that comes with it.
JOHN 15:18-19 states,
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” Let me see if I can make it even clearer. The world will hate you simply because it hates Jesus.
People cannot say very many bad things about Billy Graham. I don’t think anyone has ever accused him of wrongdoing - of any kind. But down through the years, Billy Graham has received some very nasty mail. Why? Not because he deserved it, but because he took a stand for Jesus and has lived that stand for all of his adult life. That’s all the reason the world needs to hate him.
MATTHEW 10:35-36 reads,
“For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”
Do you know of anyone who may want to come to church but their parents or spouses will not let them come? Jesus did not purposely want to cause trouble within the household. But if a person makes a strong commitment to Christ, it may well cause trouble in the home.
It is quite common for a Muslim to accept Christ and then be disowned by every member of their family. There are even stories of Jews accepting Christ as their Savior and being disowned by their families, too. Not only that, but in some Muslim countries, if a person accepts Christ, their own family will kill them and bury them far away from their house.
What could cause such intense hatred? The hatred that Satan has for Jesus is even more intense than that, but this is where it all comes from.
Do you remember in MATTHEW 10:37 when Jesus said that if anyone loves his father or mother more than Jesus, they are not worthy of Him? He wasn’t talking about hating your family. He was telling us that no matter how much we love our families, we are must be willing to love Jesus even more. That is true commitment to Christ. It means we love Him the most of all and put Him first over all!
A missionary group wrote to David Livingstone once while he was on a mission trip to Africa. They asked him if there was a good road leading to where he was. They said if there is, they wanted to send other missionaries to help him.
Mr. Livingstone wrote this reply: “If you have men who will come only if they know there is a good road, I do not want them. I want men who will come even if there is no road at all.” Mr. Livingstone had a true commitment to Jesus Christ. Not everyone does.
Let’s see where we could use a greater commitment in our lives to Christ.
1. WE NEED MORE COMMITMENT IN WORSHIP
It is said that man can go twelve days without any food, and a dog can go about twenty days.
Even though we humans may be able to go 12 days without food, we won’t! Sometimes, I don’t even want to go four hours without food. We all have our favorite places to eat, too. Martha’s is Cracker Barrel, Joye’s is the Wild Potato, and I love just about anywhere that serves any kind of food.
MATTHEW 6:25 says,
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”
Even though our actions may say that nothing is more important than food and clothing, Jesus said there is more!
In MATTHEW 4:4 Jesus was hungry after fasting 40 days and nights. Satan was trying to tempt Jesus with food and Jesus replied “man does not live by food alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
If we do not read the Bible, we do not let the Word of God in, and by keeping it out, we become spiritually malnourished. Why don’t we read as much as we should? Because we let ourselves get too busy to read it. Busyness is a spiritual killer.
And even though we may pray with some regularity we must also read regularly. Communing with God is not a one-way street. We must not do all the talking as if we had all the answers. We need to be listening as well, because God is the One who has all the answers.
Douglas Macarthur had the right idea. He said that “no matter what”, he always read the Scripture before going to bed every night. That is a true commitment to the Lord. Not a day should go by that we don’t read a portion of God’s Word, and then ponder over what we read, trying to figure out how to use it in our lives.
We all need a deeper commitment to Jesus. We all need to walk closer to Him than ever before. It would do us good to make Jesus our very best friend. What would your definition of a friend be? Would it be someone who loves us in spite of ourselves? No matter what definition you come up with, Jesus fits it perfectly.
Talk to the Lord throughout the day - continually whispering prayers of all kinds; asking, seeking, blessing others, praising Him for His goodness and gifts. Were you aware that the more you bless Him, the more He will bless you?
The young man poured out his heart’s devotion on paper as he wrote to the girl of his dreams: “Darling: I would climb the highest mountain, swim the widest stream, cross the burning desert, and I would be willing to die at the stake for you. P.S. I will see you on Saturday, if it doesn’t rain.”
That sounds like some people when it comes to going to church. If it rains or if there is any kind of bad weather, let’s just stay home. Or if there is something else we’d rather do, let’s go do it. Sometimes, I wonder if down deep in our hearts, we aren’t really saying, “I love you, Lord, but not enough to actually put You first.”
When President James Garfield first took the office of the Presidency, a member of Congress insisted that he have a personal meeting with him at 10 a.m. the following day, which was Sunday, to handle a matter of grave importance.
President Garfield said that he had something to do at that time. The congressman insisted that the President break his previous engagement. When Garfield refused to break it, the congressman demanded to know who was more important than he was.
Garfield replied that his meeting was with the Lord. He said he keeps a regularly scheduled appointment to meet the Lord in His house every Sunday, and sit down at the table of Communion with Him. The congressman sheepishly accepted that explanation and they rescheduled it for another day.
That’s the kind of commitment that we all should have when it comes to our worship of the Lord! He should be first – no matter what.
2. WE NEED MORE COMMITMENT IN OUR WORK
The boss said to the employee, "How long have you been working here?" The employee replied, “Since I heard you coming down the hall.”
It is true that some people only work when they know the boss is around, and it is also true that some Christians only worship when they think the boss is around. They would be surprised to realize that our boss, the Lord, is ever present and He sees and knows every action, thought, and word we have.
Our jobs in this life are to work for Christ. We are His. We are His representatives and not just in church. Consequently, He rightfully expects us to perform our best work for Him. I believe in the old philosophy: ‘If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.’ I don’t like half-done work, poor customer service, or have-baked bread. As representatives of Christ in this world we must do our best and our best is to simply put Him first in our lives – all the time.
Do you know why worry kills so many people? It is because more people spend their time worrying than working. Thomas Edison said there is no substitute for hard work. And there is no substitute for being a truly committed Christian, either.
It is said that each day in America, 50,000 people quit their jobs. In a recent survey of workers, nearly 85% said that they could work harder of the job. More than half claimed they could double their effectiveness if they wanted to.
What does God say about the type of worker we should be?
JAMES 1:22 says,
“But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only.”
ROMANS. 12:11
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
C.T. Studd, the famous member of the English cricket team, gave away his vast wealth and became a missionary. His slogan was, "If Jesus Christ is God, and if He died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to give for Him.”
He was committed to being the best Christian he could be. Are you?
Will the Victory Singers please come back onstage?
An African preacher was killed after he refused to renounce Jesus. The night before they killed him, he wrote the following lines on a scrap of paper:
I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I’ve stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with living low and having worldly goals.
I no longer need prosperity, promotions, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I walk by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is Heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, but my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice nor will I negotiate at the table of the enemy. I won’t give up, shut up, let up, or burn up, till I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
And when He comes to get His own, He’ll have no problems recognizing me. My love for Him will be pure.”
ROMANS 12:1
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
You go to church, you sing the songs of worship, and you hear the sermons I preach. You do all that and more. But in your heart of hearts, are you willing to offer your body as a living sacrifice to God? Are you willing to put Him first – even above your family and friends?
He did that for you.
INVITATION
