Part three in a series entitled Back to the Future but this is perfectly supported as a stand alone sermon to be preached by itself.
Ful-Philing Your Commitment Acts 8:5-8
Let me see the hands of those of you here today… who have commitments to anyone?
Do you have any commitments to anyone at all…raise your hand?
Probably most of us…(okay put your hands down)
Now…How many of you are just totally unaccountable to anybody?
You don’t have any commitments to anyone?
Well, If you’re a husband or a wife then you have a commitment to fulfill to your spouse.
If you are a mother or father… then you have a commitment to fulfill to your children.
If you are gainfully employed,…. you have a job…. then you have a commitment to those whom you are employed by.
And let’s of course never forget….that if you are a follower of Christ you must take seriously your commitment to Christ….(but do we?)
If you have said “I Do”,…. If you have said “Yes” to Jesus than you have a commitment that comes with your decision to follow Christ.
Jesus is counting on each of us…. as His faithful followers to fulfill our commitment to Him.
I want to speak this morning on the matter of Full Phil-ing Your Commitment to Christ
In Acts chapter 8, Philip was a follower of Christ and it meant He had a commitment to fulfill
Today as we think about fulfilling our commitment…. of following Christ we want to look at this example of an enthusiastic follower of Christ… whose name was Phillip and was fulfilling his commitment.
Here is the challenge to you and I today….When the Lord looks at us. Does he see an individual who is fulfilling their commitment of following Christ.
Could God place your name right there in the blank and say….
that you are a living example of one who is … seeking to fulfill your commitment of following Christ?
We see Philip’s desire because
We see his commitment in that HE SPOKE GREAT WORDS
We see his commitment in that he showed a Holy Spirit filled witness to those who observed him.
We see his commitment was fueled by the fact he Saw the Worth of his WORK for the Lord.
These three things that Philip did which are great examples for us of what we need to be doing as part of full-Phil-ing our commitment to Christ.
I. First let’s notice that Philip spoke GREAT WORDS….but what were his words filled with?
What made his words so great?
verse five tells us about his words…it says
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there.
Philip spoke great words because his words were about Jesus. There can be no better words than words that speak of Jesus.
The verse tells us that as Philip went his way he was proclaiming Christ.
Are our words great words.. ?
We can be certain they are…. if we are speaking to others about Jesus?
Philip was speaking ABOUT Jesus
Who do you talk to people about or What do you talk to people about?
Do you talk to people about….Sports, weather, the upcoming holiday, your family, their family.
All sorts of things….
How difficult is it to mention the Lord somewhere in the conversation of those things.
It really isn’t difficult at all.
In the world of sports how are hard is it to mention the Lord?
If you are talking about the big game that is coming up on Thanksgiving day. Use that as an opportunity to say that your thankful for Christian athletes who aren’t shy about letting the public know they’re a Christian.
If you are talking about the weather…how hard is it to say
“The Lord sure has blessed us with a beautiful day.” Or talk about how only God could make the changing of the seasons as beautiful as they are.
If your talking about the holiday say …“The Lord sure has given me a lot to be thankful for.”
If your talking about your family say…”God sure has been good to us.”
You see Phillip’s desire was natural that he wanted to talk …about the Lord.
When it is my desire and your desire to talk to others about Jesus …then we will be amazed at how nearly every conversation we have with others will provide an open door to say something about the Lord.
As Philip spoke great words…words about Jesus
He was not only speaking ABOUT Jesus but also
He was speaking FOR Jesus.
The Lord has many things he wants us to do.
Read the Bible, Pray, Sing praise to God
But one of the greatest things we can do is be speaking FOR Jesus.
Who do you speak for wherever you go.
If you’re a Rams fan and you’re really on fire about the Rams….then wherever you go around people …your probably saying
“Hey, did you catch the game last week.”
Weren’t they awesome.
They’re four and four let’s hope they make it a win today.
People promote…. what they enjoy…If we enjoy Jesus then not only will be talking about Him but will be speaking for Him POSITIVELY. Because after all HIS is the greatest winning team.
Philip new that and we wasn’t just speaking to people about Jesus but Philip was speaking in support of the life change …the win win situation that following Jesus gives to our lives.
Not only was Philip speaking
ABOUT JESUS and also
FOR JESUS
But additionally Philip was speaking knowing he was filled with the power of Jesus.
So he was speaking with the Power of Jesus.
Remember what Jesus had said back in Acts 1:8
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."
It was great Philip to know and for you and I know that when we speak ABOUT Jesus and when we speak FOR Jesus that we do it knowing that we have power from Jesus.
His Holy Spirit gives our words strength.
I know that if you are behind someone in line at the Save- A Lot grocery store it can be awkward to smile at a total stranger and say “Hasn’t the Lord given us a beautiful day” ...
but guess what God’s power is with you when you speak those words to give testimony of the Lord.
So Philip was ful-Philing his commitment to Christ
As he SPOKE GREAT WORDS about Jesus
But also he was ful-Philing his commitment as he
II. showed a Holy Spirit filled witness to those who observed him.
Everything from the words you say…
to the attitude you have toward others and toward God.
to the way in which you respond to circumstances…… and your outlook on life in general…
all of it
either gives credibility or takes away from how much the Holy Spirit may or may not be working in your life….. It is always evident to others around you.
Part of our commitment as followers of Christ is that we allow the Holy Spirit to have control of our attitude, our actions,…our ideas and essentially every area of our life.
As a Christian it is the Holy Spirit that I count on to guide me to right choices and to be what Christ would have me to be.
I know that Acts 1:8 says Jesus wants me to be HIS witness….
and I can only do that effectively as the Holy Spirit is working in my life through whatever I am doing.
Working through my actions, my attitudes.
My words and my ways of doing things.
We see this with Philip because as others looked at him it was obvious that he was filled with the spirit…filled with God’s power.
The people saw it and they took note of it.
Look with me at Chapter 8 verses 6-7
6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said.
7 With shrieks,…. evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.
It was obvious to those around Philip that God was at work in him.
You and I also are to
Show the example of a Spirit Filled Witness to those who observe us.
You mean when we are at church on Sunday?
No I mean more than just that.
I mean …and God means that people should be able to look at those who are true followers of Christ and their lives ought to consistently show that we are under God’s guidance.
Obviously God does not give to us the same power that he gave to Philip to heal the sick and cast out deacons but God does want people to look at us and see that his love is alive in us.
The way we respond to peoples needs.
The way we respond to difficulty and trials.
The way that we get along with others.
All of it says something to those around us.
The message people ought to be getting is that God is in control of the lives of all who truly have made a commitment in following Christ.
III. The third thing that I believe Philip saw was Worth of his work for the Lord.
Now lets look at the result verse 8 tells us
8 So there was great joy in that city.
Philip had made a conscious decision about his commitment to follow Christ.
He would speak words to others
Words of Jesus.
He would live under the direction of the Holy Spirit of God. It was showed those around him he was lead by the Lord.
The end result was that Philip could see the goodness that his commitment was bringing.
Philip understood the value of what he was doing.
He gave the people of that area JOY verse 8 says …there was great joy and it wasn’t because of Philip it was ultimately because of Jesus.
I am sure the people were glad to see the demons cast out and physical healing done…but the real joy came from the promise of Christ of which Philip proclaimed.
Philip believed in who he was in Christ.
That he had special value and ability because Christ was alive in him.
DO we believe that about ourselves….?
DO you believe that about yourself that you have special value and worth and ability because the Lord is with you?
You should believe that because its true if you have made a true commitment to be a follower of Jesus.
Philip was a vessel of the Lord.
His words were a message of Hope
The Lord used him to minister to people’s needs and made him a minister of help.
And because of Philips love for Christ and his faithfulness to the commitment he had made the result was that it brought a multitude of happiness.
People who hear me now….
Understand my words ….
This is our calling.
This is our commitment to keep…
To
Speak Great Words about Jesus
A message of hope.
To
Show a Holy Spirit filled witness to those around us.
As we are ministers of help to those in need.
To
See the worth of our work for the Lord
The multitude of happiness
We can bring to others…
To the Lord…
And to our own life
By fulfilling our commitment to follow Christ.
How are you going to do it?
Speak Great Words
Show the Holy Spirit in Your witness
See Your Worth.
