INTRO.- ILL.- Three professionals were sitting around a table talking about what the oldest profession was. The doctor said, "Well, the Bible says that God took a rib out of Adam to make woman. Since that clearly required surgery, then the oldest profession is medicine.”
The engineer looked at the doctor and said, "No, the Bible also says that God created the whole world out of void and chaos. To do that, God must surely have been an engineer. So engineering is the oldest profession.”
The politician smiled and leaned forward and said, "Ah, but who do you think created the Chaos?"
I wouldn’t say that politicians have created ALL the chaos in the world today but some of them may have well contributed to it. Man himself has indeed created all the chaos in the world. God sure didn’t cause it.
In the beginning God. Where do you find these words?
In the beginning God. Some people want to know where God came from? God didn’t come from anywhere! He’s always been here! He has no beginning and no end. He was, He is, and He always will be! He is from everlasting to everlasting!
In the beginning, as we know it, there was God. This is what we accept by faith.
Heb.11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Do you want to get on the good side of God? Believe Him. Believe in Him. Believe that He exists. Believe that He lives for our good and wants to bless us.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. We believe in the one, true living God who created the starry heavens and the earth below.
We believe that He created something out of nothing. Again, how could He do that? We can’t explain that. Einstein couldn’t explain it. No human being can explain it.
ILL.- George Lucas and other great movie producers have produced some pretty wild stuff like Star Wars movies. And we think what amazing imaginations man has. No not at all. Man is not that imaginative. Man is not that smart at all. Not George Lucas. Not Steven Spielberg. Not Clint Eastwood. And not the most brilliant minds of the day.
I Cor. 1:20-25 “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”
I love the way this scripture says it. God has made the wisdom of this world to appear foolish! God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom. God’s foolishness. Isn’t that a funny thought? There is nothing foolish about God but if there was it would still be way ahead of anything in the world or anything that man has done.
Because of who God is, how He is, what He is, and what He did and does, we should be fully committed to Him.
PROP.- Let’s consider several different scriptures with the idea of learning how we should be fully committed to Him.
1- We should be committed to glorify God
2- We should be committed to become like God
3- We should be committed to commune with God
I. WE SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO GLORIFY OUR FATHER
Matt. 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine. Be committed in life so as to bring praise to Him.
ILL.- Do you watch any of these TV shows? Dancing with the Stars. Skating with Celebrities. American Idol. Survivor. Do you realize what all of these and more deal with? IT’S ALL ABOUT ME! The star. The singer. The dancer. The survivor. The superior one. And sometimes they think they really are.
ILL.- You may have perhaps heard about Rapper Kanye West. He recently posed for the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine as Jesus Christ, crown of thorns and all. He defended himself by saying, “"In America, they want you to accomplish these great feats, to pull off these David Copperfield-type stunts. You want me to be great, but you don’t ever want me to say I’m great?"
I suppose by appearing as Jesus on the Rolling Stone magazine it is his way of saying, “Look at me! I am great!”
Someone said of West, “It has become a cliche to call Kanye West arrogant. Whether discussing his music or his style of dress, his intellect or his production prowess, he has absolutely no qualms about patting himself on the back.”
Brothers and sisters, the point of what I’m saying is that life no matter how good it gets, and now matter good you are, LIFE IS NOT ABOUT YOU! It’s not about you and it’s not about me! It’s about our Father in heaven!
I Cor. 8:6 “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."
It’s fine to make money in life. It’s ok if you can become a great athlete, ballplayer or whatever. It’s dandy if you can become a star in Hollywood but just don’t get too caught up in it! Just don’t get too sold on yourself because you didn’t make you! God made you and gave you everything good that you have, talent included.
How do we live so as to bring glory to God? We do what is right in life. We live right and then point to the Lord as the author for our right living.
ILL.- Have you ever gone through one of those automated checkstands at Walmart? I mean, the ones where you check out your own merchandise and everything is computerized?
My first experience with one of those automated checkstands was in Hutchinson, KS, where my daughter and her family lived. My son-in-law and I went to grocery store to pick up a few items and then he suggested that we go through the automated checkout.
I checked the items through, put the money in the machine (like a $20 bill) and out came my change. Yeah, out came my change and then some! I GOT 3 EXTRA DOLLARS IN CRISP, NEW DOLLAR BILLS.
Now my son-in-law is standing there, watching me, thinking I’m the greatest father-in-law in the world. WHAT AM I TO DO? I have no choice but to walk to a cashier nearby and return the extra money. And now my son-in-law knows for sure that I am the greatest father-in-law in the world!
No, not really, but had I said something like this to Chris, ”Hey, Chris, I got three extra bucks. My lucky day” and then if I had stuck those 3 bucks in my pocket it would not have looked so good to him OR TO GOD! And perhaps to some other people who might have been watching.
I will admit that I did not say to that cashier, “Because I’m a Christian I want to give back these 3 dollar bills this machine gave me.” However, I suspect she thought well of me because I turned that money in. And who knows? She may have thought, “I bet he’s a Christian.” Could be.
Col. 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
I Cor. 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
We need to do good things in life, to people and for people. And then if and when we are called to account for it we should point to the Lord. “I did it because I believe in Jesus Christ, etc.”
We’re here for Him, to bring glory to Him, to point people to Him! Let your shine before men!
II. WE SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO BECOME LIKE OUR FATHER
Matt. 5:48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” What a tall order.
Be committed to imitating Him. Holiness is a great grasp. An eluding grasp. We all fall so short.
ILL.- One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the evil that was going on. He decided to send an angel down to Earth to check it out. So he called one of His best angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time.
When the angel returned he told God, yes it is bad on Earth, 95% is bad and 5% is good. Well, God thought for a moment and said "Maybe I had better send down a second angel, to get another point of view."
So God called another angel and sent him to Earth for a time too. When the angel returned he went to God and told Him yes, the Earth was in decline, 95% was bad and 5% was good. God said this was not good.
So He decided to E-mail the 5% that were good. He wanted to encourage them.
Do you know what that E-mail said? You didn’t get one either, huh?
ILL.- There is a 1988 comedy movie entitled, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” starring Steve Martin and Michael Cain. Both of these men tried to con women out of money. They were both dirty rotten scoundrels.
The truth is: I think we all are dirty rotten scoundrels. That is, by comparison with Jesus we are dirty rotten scoundrels. This is something of a problem since Jesus said to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
I Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
Heb. 12:14 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men AND TO BE HOLY; WITHOUT HOLINESS NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD.”
Sounds to me like we have a very serious problem. On the one hand we are dirty rotten scoundrels and on the other hand we are called to be holy like our Father. Sounds like the impossible dream, doesn’t it?
ILL.- If you wanted to become a good baseball player whom would you choose to be your teacher? Someone from the old school of baseball or someone from the new school of baseball? Either way, you’d probably choose someone who is pretty good, maybe like a big Mac, Mark McGwire or someone else. You certainly wouldn’t choose an amateur. AND SO IT IS WITH HOLINESS.
We are called on to be our like our Father and the only way it will happen is to hang out with our Father. If we would ever become more like our Father we must spend time with Him. Time alone. Quality time. Time to talk, visit, listen, and love.
III. WE SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO COMMUNE WITH OUR FATHER
ILL.- A sales manager in Houston, TX, was driving around town with his boss. When they happened to pass the sales manager’s home, he asked his boss if he would like to stop by his house and meet his family. He said that his wife had baked an apple pie and the kids would soon be coming in from school.
The manager said, “Let’s get one thing straight right now. I’m not interested in your family. I’m not interested in your wife or your children. I’m not interested in you personally at all or any of the circumstances of your life. All I’m interested in are results. All I’m interested in about you is your sales record.” Whoa!
That sales manager said to his minister in telling him
about his boss, “That really hurt. I felt as though someone had slapped me across the face.” I guess so.
Brothers and sisters, unlike that boss, GOD IS INTERESTED IN YOU PERSONALLY! He is interested in everything about you! Why? Because He’s your father!
Matt. 7:11 “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
ILL.- Children lined up in the cafeteria of a religious school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The teacher made a note: "Take only one, God is watching." At the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A boy wrote a note: "Take all you want, God is watching the apples."
God is watching us but not because He’s interested in hurting us, but rather in helping us. Again, He’s our Father who loves us more than life itself. He wants us to commune with Him.
Matt. 6:6-13 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "This, then, is how you should pray: "’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Do you know what these words sound like to me? They sound like we can talk to God about anything and everything. We can praise Him and we can petition Him. We can thank Him and we can ask of Him. He is interested in us and wants to hear from us.
ILL.- I sometimes think children understand this better than we adults. They are so open and honest in talking to God. Here a few prayers of children, for example.
Dear God, Did you mean for the giraffe too look like that or was it an accident? - Norma
Dear God, I went to a wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay? - Neil
Dear God, Thank you for my baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. - Joyce
Dear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. - Bruce
Dear God, I want to be just like my dad when I get big, but just not with so much hair all over. - Sam
Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all the people in the world. There are only four people in my family and I can never do it. - Nan
Dear God, If you watch me in church Sunday, I’ll show you my new shoes. - Mickey
Dear God, We read that Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday School, we learned that you did it. So I bet he stole your idea. - Donna
Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel wouldn’t have killed each other if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother and me. - Larry
God loves us so much that He is interested in everything about us. He wants to hear from us.
We should talk to Him every chance we get and be very honest with Him. WE ARE HIS CHILDREN.
CONCLUSION---------------------------------
ILL.- Jan 23,2006. Lassie rescues 90 year-old farmer. SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - In a case of life imitating fiction, a 13-month-old cattle dog named "Lassie" helped to rescue its injured master after he fell from a horse in eastern Australia.
George Crowther, a 90-year-old farmer from Queensland state, broke his pelvis when he was pitched from a bucking horse and his foot became caught in the reins. Crowther’s dog, Lassie, came to the rescue, snuggling in next to Crowther to keep him warm.
When darkness fell, Crowther’s wife came searching in the woods with a flashlight, but couldn’t hear his feeble cries.
"The dog ran to her and she said ’Where’s George?" Crowther said. "And she (Lassie) toddled off, leading my wife to where I was. And the rest, of course, is history."
Crowther was recovering in hospital Tuesday after having 37 screws inserted into his pelvis and hip.
While this is something of a heart-warming story, we need to remember that God is greater still. He is greater than any animal. Greater than any human. He is God, our Father who wants to be close to us, protect us, bless us, and care for us. And we need to be more committed to Him than we are to anyone else.
I Cor. 8:6 “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live."
