Your Personal Commitment

Your Personal Commitment

Once there was a great story teller, who only had a fourth grade education. One of his favorite stories was about a chicken and a pig, who encountered a hungry man besides the road. Moved with compassion, the chicken said to the pig, “Why don’t you and I go together and give this man a great ham and eggs breakfast?” The pig pondered the idea for a moment and then replied, “For you, that would be a contribution; but for me, that would mean total commitment.”

The Christian life is a life of commitment.

We are asked, as Christians, to make a personal commitment of prayers, presence, gifts, and service to the work of God through the body of Christ, or His church. Today we will meditate about the power of a personal commitment. As we talk about this, remember that Jesus Christ can give us the power to do anything worthwhile and good. Today our faithful Lord promises us just the power we need to keep our commitments. With Christ at our side, we can even dare to talk about total commitment. Paul put it this way: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1

MAKE A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO PRAY

“Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” - Romans 12:12. When we pray, we must look inside ourselves, not others. ‘It’s me, it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.’ No person can reach their full spiritual potential without the power of prayer. Great leaders of the Bible prayed for their people and their needs. Abraham prayed for Sodom. Moses prayed for the children of Israel. Joshua prayed for guidance. Hannah prayed for a child. Solomon prayed for wisdom. Joseph prayed for understanding. Peter prayed for vision. We cannot do what we are called to do, unless we are people of prayer.

We need to pray for one another; we need to pray for those who are broken and lost. Because, during times of suffering, when your soul is broken, it’s really hard to pray for yourself. You often depend on the prayers of others. So let our prayers for each other be ones full of compassion and understanding. We must first and foremost be a people, who pray for one another. That’s my prayer today.

Let us pray for this church. I thank God every day for the privilege of being here. I am here today only through your prayers, and I hope to continue this ministry through your prayers as well. If the church was a business, we could do more entrepreneurship. If church were a club, we could have more parties. But the church is of God and will only be preserved and strengthened by the prayers of people lifted on its behalf.

Since 2000 I have been leading the church. It was made up of a small group of families, but didn’t have a physical building. In 2007, our church was able to buy our first physical building. We were joyful and blessed. But in 2013, our church faced a huge tragedy. We had lost our church to fire, and, just like before, we held service at other church and school buildings. But, by the grace of God, in April 2014, we were blessed to be able to buy a new church building.

Nothing would please the devil more, than to make us stumble. “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5) Let us never lose courage and faith. Instead, let us humble ourselves in the eyes of the Lord; seek his wisdom; follow his will. First and foremost, let us be a people of prayer. “The steps of a good man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way.” (Psalm 37:23) Thus, our prayer should be to the Lord: “Establish my footsteps in Thy word, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.” (Psalm 119:133)

MAKE A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO BE PRESENT

Here, Paul says, commit ourselves as a living and sacrifice to our God. Or present ourselves to the Holy God. There once was an old man named Charlie Hitt. He couldn’t see or hear, and he didn’t own a car, so he was often carpooled to church. He always sat on the front row and sang about two beats behind the rest of the congregation. Somebody asked Charlie one day— “Why do you bother to come to church? You cannot see or hear, and you need someone for a carpool to come to church. Why are you so persistent to come?” With a twinkle in his eye, Charlie replied, “I come every Sunday, because I want my neighbors to know whose side I am on.”