Thank God For Committed Christians

INTRO.- ILL.- How many electrical engineers does it take to change a light bulb? None. They simply redefine darkness as the industry standard.

This sounds similar to many things/jobs in life. Many people don’t know how to do the job they are supposed to do or else they don’t want to do the job they are supposed to do so they just re-define the job and do their own thing.

ILL.- And now, the end is near;

And so I face the final curtain.

My friend, Ill say it clear,

Ill state my case, of which Im certain.

I’ve lived a life thats full.

I’ve traveled each and every highway;

And more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

Regrets, I’ve had a few;

But then again, too few to mention.

I did what I had to do

And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;

Each careful step along the byway,

But more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

I’m sure you recognize these lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s old song, "My Way." Well, I’m sorry but that’s not the way the game plays with God. While we may like the idea of doing things our way, it just doesn’t work that way with God. We want to re-define how it’s done and God has already told us how it’s done in the book!

ILL.- PHILADELPHIA, July 14, 2008 - A 22-year-old woman will probably face six years in prison after admitting that she and her boyfriend pulled off a brazen identity-theft scheme that funded trips, fancy dinners and expensive salon visits. Kirsch and Anderton, 25, acknowledge they stole the identities of friends and neighbors in the Philadelphia area in 2006 and 2007 to net more than $116,000 in goods and services - and tried to obtain twice that amount.

"She and Edward Anderton stole the identities from numerous people from all walks of their lives, from co-workers to neighbors, anyone that they encountered," Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen said afterward.

Brothers and sisters, these are two people who tried to do things "their own way" in life. They thought they could live their lives anyway they wanted, despite what the law says and they found out it didn’t go their way.

And the same thing applies to people who think they can live the Christian life their own way. Their idea of commitment and God’s idea of commitment is two different matters. Consequently, doing things their own way will cause them to miss out on many blessings.

PROP.- In our text, we see something of what a committed Christian is.

1- They receive the Word of God

2- They imitate other Christians

3- They suffer for Christ

I. THEY RECEIVE THE WORD OF GOD

13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

ILL.- A student comes to a young professor’s office hours. She glances down the hall, closes his door, kneels pleadingly. "I would do anything to pass this exam." She leans closer to him, flips back her hair, gazes meaningfully into his eyes. "I mean..." she whispers, "I would do...anything."

He returns her gaze. "Anything?"

"Anything."

His voice softens. "Anything??"

"Absolutely anything."

His voice turns to a whisper. "Would you...study?"

ILL.- One day a professor was discussing a particularly complicated concept. A pre-med student rudely interrupted to ask, "Why do we have to learn this pointless information"

"To save lives," the professor responded quickly and continued the lecture.

A few minutes later, the same student spoke up again. "So how does physics save lives?" he persisted.

"It keeps the ignoramuses like you out of medical school," replied the professor.

Did you like school the first 12 years? What was your best and worst years? How about college? I slept through the first grade. My twin sister Sharon said, "Don’t you remember that we had to wake up so you could go home at the end of school?" HOW COULD I REMEMBER? I slept through it.

GUESS WHAT? We’re still in school. We never stop learning in this life. If we do, we’re done.

When we come to church every Sunday, hopefully, we come to learn as well as have fellowship with other Christians, and most of all, we come to praise the Lord! Do you learn anything? Are you learning anything?

13And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.