Commit

so we're in these Wednesday night bible study and prayer nights I know you know that so I don't have to remind you of that we've spoken on the topic of renew agree engage own and last week when Brother jury spoke about own we went through the resource planner I would like to just encourage you to make sure you are working your way through the devotional books and you also take that resource planner and go through it Page by Page and ask the Lord to show you ways that you can give to this campaign over the next 36 months that you may not have even thought about our Sundays look like this this coming Sunday not my exact title but to commit to God's revelation to be able to hear what God is saying to us there's a lot of voices in our head and in our world and we want to hear the voice of God Samuel heard the voice of God but he didn't recognize the voice of God so we want to hear recognize and respond to the voice of God in this Sunday Lord willing that's what I'll be preaching about brother Jerry mentioned next Wednesday night he'll be ministering and uh our family will not be here is the plan right now that's my wife's 65th birthday oh I'm sorry it's her birthday I forget which one it is we may or may not be fasting on that particular day I love you but I love my wife more and so 45 years of marriage this year I want to keep it going on so we're just going to turn it over to brother Drury next week and he's got it I think the Victoria's anniversary might be tomorrow in fact I know it is really but anyway but they're not 45. sister Holly I don't think so next week tonight has not been on the schedule as far as the title or theme of this but I'll introduce that in a minute and then on the seventh I'm being a little redundant we've talked about this but on May 7 that Sunday is our commitment Sunday what we're asking is that you work through that resource planner that you take the commitment card you pray about it and on that Sunday at the end of the service we'll make a commitment over a 36 month period of what we can do it might be bi-weekly monthly a one-time commitment annual commitments believing God for Supernatural miracles in your life wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to be a part of an exponential miracle that God did for you so you could also be a blessing to the kingdom of God we heard some tremendous stories this past Sunday from brother Marvin Mitchell true stories from the church in Columbus Indiana that he shared with those people's permission the 14th on Mother's Day we're going to have Mother's Day here you'll see the article that will come out Sunday we're going to talk about planting our children in truth and then all we'll do that Sunday is announce what the commitment was from the seventh and then on the 21st on that Sunday we're asking that whatever you're able to do that it would be a generous sacrificial offering not a commitment over 36 months but that day and we've worked through the ideas if you give online and how will that be reported but it's an offering that will come in on that day or what's come up into that day from past commitments that are going to be coming in to set this campaign in good shape and then that's the end of the public part of the campaign the services and the focus and once a month after that we're going to remind you of the campaign just like we do Mission Sunday to keep it in front of us and every year we'll make sure we just have a renewal because there will be new people coming to the Lord and coming to Atlanta West and we want them to join what God is doing living here and then I'm very excited to just tell you I just decided to put this in my notes Memorial Day weekend if you're new to Atlanta West we have a really big picnic we're excited about our Memorial Day picnic and we have special guests this year brother DJ sister Natalie Hill he's going to be preaching that's also Pentecost Sunday Memorial Day weekend and we're going to have a great time then amen so the theme of tonight is commit commit to commit is to put in charge to put in trust it's like making a deposit into a financial institution that you trust that your money is going to be in good care I know that's not always the case we've had a few Banks fail recently but that's what committing is you deposit and then you trust that they're going to take care of your money you're committing money to that institution if you commit is to obligate yourself to something is to bind yourself to that commitment to that contract the Bible says that we shouldn't swear at all by Heaven and Earth by Temple by the throne by the altar but our yes should be yes and our no should be no our word should be our bond amen we should tell the truth and keep our word even if you swear to your own hurt you change not you keep your word you keep your commitments that's what this means it's in some sense to obligate like you would be in a contract biblically based marriages are based on commitments one man Faithfully joined to one woman for life that's the biblical model for marriage commit and when we commit ourselves to Jesus Christ it is the same we are binding ourselves to the altar of faithfulness and submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ we are committed to him We're binding the gift of Our Lives to the altar there's a Psalm Psalm 118 27 that the Bible speaks of binding the sacrifice with cords even to the horns of the altar have you ever climbed on the altar of sacrifice and then climbed back down have you ever told the Lord you'd do something and then had second thoughts might have been a commitment of prayer or fasting or giving and so this scripture talks about taking that sacrifice is going to lose its life and tying it to the horns of the altar so it can't get off that's what commitment is it's saying to God and making sure that you're accountable for what you say you're going to do you're making a commitment but that level of commitment to Jesus Christ is also reasonable Romans 12 and 1. I beseech you therefore Brethren and sisters by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service it is not unreasonable it is reasonable some translations say it is your rational worship it's nothing that is out of the ordinary commitment is reasonable because Jesus Christ first committed himself to us amen my response and commitment to Jesus is a result of his commitment to me the Bible said love is not demonstrated that we gave ourselves to God but that he gave himself for us that's what real love is and who are we to not give ourselves back to him for him laying down his life for us and saving us from our sins he trusts us as well God believes in us that was a revelation for me I grew up believing in God I knew the Lord loved me but I wasn't sure how much he believed in me how much confidence he had in me I wasn't sure how big of an assignment he would give me in my life I didn't really think he would be very big at all because I didn't know how much God believed in me the Apostle Paul wrote about God's commitment in us he entrusted us First Corinthians 9 17. for if I do this thing willingly I have a reward but if against my will Paul said a dispensation of the Gospel is committed unto me now I'm going to spare you all these verses from the screen but it's amazing second Corinthians 5 19 he's committed to us the ministry of reconciliation First Timothy 1 11 the gospel which was committed to my trust First Timothy 6 20. Paul says to Timothy to keep that which is committed to thy trust Titus 1-3 God has manifested himself through preaching which is committed unto me Paul said according to the Commandment of God our savior God believes in us and he's committed himself to us and he's given us a partnership in this gospel work and he's allowed us to be committed back to him so the least we can do and realize all we can do is to completely commit ourselves back to him so what does that look like what does total surrender look like to be committed to Jesus Christ years ago I read and tried to live this out that the cross when Jesus says take up your cross and follow me of course he picked up his cross he went to the place of death of total commitment to the will of God and when we take up our us it is a test of total obedience total obedience to the will of God so that saying no Lord is not something you would ever say you don't ever tell him no whatever he would ask because you're committed to Jesus Christ so there are four ways that I'd like to speak about being committed to him first of all is to commit your way Psalm 37 5. commit your way to the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass here's a kind of a commandment with a promise a challenge with a promise the context of this is amazing in Psalm 37 verse 3 says trust in the Lord and do good so shall thou dwell in the land and verily Thou shalt be fed Delight thyself also in the Lord and He Shall give Thee the desires of thy heart and then commit thy way unto the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass these three verses are interesting trust delight and commit trust in the Lord delight yourself in the Lord and then commit yourself to the Lord the acts of commitment and Trust function like a trigger of releasing God's capacity to act in our lives my life verse is Proverbs 3 5 and 6. so I want to read it here tonight Proverbs 3 5 and 6 trust in the Lord with all thine heart all thine heart and lean not until thy known understanding you say but I have a really high IQ the Bible doesn't care God doesn't care lean not into thy known understanding but I'm really educated lean not unto thine own understanding in all thy ways all your ways are committing your way to the Lord in all thy ways acknowledge Him make God apart don't leave him on the outside looking into your life while you make your decisions and chart your own course and choose your own path when you commit your way to the Lord then you're trusting in the Lord with all your heart you're not leaning to your own understanding and in every facet of your life all your ways every relationship every decision whatever it is it has to do with your life you invite God in and let him be the Lord of that area of your life and then there's the promise in verse 6 and he shall direct thy paths all of us want God to direct our way to Prosperity success eternal life but their contingencies to that and those are the contingencies of commitment that you trust that you've done not lean to your own understanding that in all your ways you acknowledge Him and then you have the promise that God will direct your paths Proverbs 16 7 says that when a man's ways please the Lord everybody say your way when a man's ways pleased the Lord he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him so the way that we commit to the Lord are the paths of life that we choose with his Direction I really don't believe that as a servant of God a steward of the resources of God that I can make my own decisions and ask God to come along quietly I believe that I should seek the Lord find his Direction and then I should do what he says and then the past it I choose with his direction or pass it he can Bless but when I talk about committing your way those are the paths you choose they are the decisions you make and this Commandment that in this Psalm is he shall bring it to pass commit your way to the Lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass whatever it is that you're seeking God for when you commit your way to him to walk in his past he will direct your paths and he will bring it to pass the second commitment I want to talk about is to commit your works now I believe that way kind of charts out the direction of your life and that works are what you do along that path all of these are interconnected of course and they're interrelated commit your Works to him Proverbs 16 3. commit your Works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established amen so the ways you choose lead to the works you perform in your life I've learned that direction determines your behavior the people you run with you know The Company You Keep the way you choose then affects your behavior it's hard to be in a really bad environment in a bad way a place and then for your Works to not be the same amen because if you're where you shouldn't be you're probably going to do what you shouldn't do amen no works or your actions and your interactions commit your Works to the Lord amen whatever decisions you make and actions you choose and see that what you do is commanded by the Lord and make sure that you follow that path in your life Psalm 127 1 tells us except the Lord build the house they labor in vain to build it except the Lord keep the city The Watchmen wake it but in vain I'm talking about works right now whatever type work you do whatever decisions you make with your life of your actions the values you adopt so many areas of your life if God is not involved in that if you've not committed your Works to the Lord you're going to be trying to build a house work on a house that's going to collapse under its own way but if the Lord is involved in that and you've committed your Works to the Lord then the Lord is going to bless but you do we commit our way and we commit our works now this next idea needs a little more explanation and a little more scriptural support commit your resources I'd like for you to look at Luke 16 10. Luke 16 10. he who is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much here is a principle and he who is unjust in doubt which is least is unjust also in much and I'll break these down after I just read through them therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous Mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches and if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's we are stewards so everything we have belongs to God if you're not faithful in that which belongs to someone else of course this is caution the idea of a servant and a master or an employee with an employer who will give you what is your own now Jesus here is teaching on faithfulness and commitment and he teaches it faithfulness is a character trait you either have it or you don't you're either faithful or you're not you reveal your character not by how you respond to big things but to small things that's what this first first verse says if you're not faithful and little you're not going to be a faithful and much and any good supervisor who is watching an employee if he sees that an employee can't handle small tasks can't be Dependable doesn't care is it going to follow through that person is probably not going to get a promotion and they wonder why they've been there 20 years and they're still at the bottom making the same as they did maybe with a little cost of living raises along the way but Jesus said if you're not faithful in a little you're not going to be faithful and much so why would anyone want to give you more if you have him in faithful and live but I've also observed people over my lifetime if you give people a small job and I don't believe it's my role to test people I've never tried to test people I feel like that's God's business not mine but I've watched people you know the Bible is very careful that you should not put a novice in a position and the things that you've heard and seen in me Paul told Timothy commit to faithful people so you have to be faithful to something before you're entrusted with more in the kingdom of God and whether it is in a church or a business or a family it's foolish for someone in leadership to trust someone who has not been tested and tried in small things that the first thing a person wants to do is preach a sermon that's probably not what's going to happen around here first thing they want to do is sing a solo that's probably not going to happen around here at least if God was in charge he would make sure it didn't happen so you reveal you reveal your character by how you respond to small responsibilities amen and if you're responsible in small things you this character trait called faithfulness that you're committed to being faithful we're talking about our resources now we're talking here in this case about money somebody's given this servant money like the men that had five two and one Talent OR pounds in the other Parable that Jesus told he's watching to see what you do with what you have and if you're not productive not faithful with the little that you have in God's kingdom he takes the one Talent away from the unproductive servant and gives it to the guy with 10. there's no entitlement there he doesn't deserve anything because he's not been faithful amen so a good way to learn the character of a person is to give them a little bit of responsibility and watch you know if a person has a job and they only make ten dollars an hour and they do not tithe then they're probably not going to tithe if they're making 100 an hour now I know that the tithe on ten dollars is not that much but if it's a hundred dollars or a thousand dollars or ten thousand dollars or a million dollars the tithe is the same God has an amazing plan for his people in the kingdom of God and if you grow up learning to tie on your first job whatever yours was mine was a dollar sixty five an hour and you learn to tithe on that then tithing is just what you do it's a train so this point is about committing your resources and what Jesus says if you're not faithful in that which is natural who's going to commit to you true riches so this point tonight is about committing your resources to God in stewardship we always teach that it is time it is Talent it is treasure it is money and when God gives us time and abilities gifts and he gives us any amount of money whether it's the Widow's might or whether it is the wealth of the people who cast in much in the offering plate our faithfulness is determined by how we commit ourselves to doing the right thing based on what God has given us amen now I want to just do this is not as fine print this principle does not mean that if you're faithful with the minimum wage job that God's going to make you a millionaire that's not what that means but this scripture is talking about true riches Eternal riches spiritual things and God uses money to test people amen this discussion is not about money but it is about the principle of faithfulness but Jesus talked about money a lot because where your treasure is there will your heart be also Luke 16 13 this this passage continues we're in the same passage about if you're faithful and a little you'll be faithful and a lot and all of that verse 13. no servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other right or else he will hold to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God in Mammon a Mammon is that something that you trust in typically it's a player to money in the context seems to be money and if you look at the next verse then you're pretty easy to say that Jesus is talking about money and the Pharisees also who are covetous heard all these things and they derided him they got mad at Jesus for talking about money I got mad at Jesus for talking about faithfulness they were condemned because they were greedy they were Covetous people and so they did not understand the principle of commitment to meet your way commit your Works commit your resources and finally it's just kind of an all-encompassing idea is to commit your spirit and it's a pretty heavy verse here because it's Jesus on the cross Luke 23 46. and when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice he said father into your hands I commit the King James says commend I commit my spirit having said this he breathed his last do you remember Jesus saying that no one takes my life from me that I lay it down of myself at the end of the day before Sundown the Roman soldiers came to ensure the death of the three men on the cross they came to the thief on one side he was still alive they broke his legs with a mallet he sagged on the cross and died the thief on the other side of the Cross still fighting for his life they broke his legs he sagged on the cross and died and typically in crucifixion a person died a crucifixion by asphyxiation sagging no longer able to breathe because of exposure and weakness but when they came to Jesus the Bible said he was dead already because they did not have to force him to submit he lived a submitted life and in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said not my will but thine be done he settled the issue of the Cross of becoming sin and laying down his life and so his last words into your hands I commit my spirit was a life lived to the last breath and if you're committed in your way in your works and your resources then in your life when the greatest test comes then you can say Lord into your hands I commit my spirit you could say that Jesus was saying I deposit my soul into your hands trusted you all my life Lord so now I trust you with death and I trust you as we would say with eternity amen that's the ultimate commitment to Jesus Christ to pay whatever price it costs to do whatever he Wills to Praise Jesus did in Luke 22 as I've already said not my will but thine be done committing ourselves can be stressful amen and he's stressful I remember a very big decision at a general conference when I was a teenager had just come back from a mission's trip to Korea that changed my life in a good way and I had twenty dollars to eat on I felt like the Lord wanted me to give 10. thankfully he didn't make me give 20. but I wrestled over that ten dollars because I was not sure how I was going to eat for the rest of General Conference but so it doesn't matter the amount is kind of where we are in life that that commitment can seem enormous to us because that did I didn't have a credit card it was just cash you know but Jesus lived this way first Peter 2 23. speaking of Jesus who when he was reviled revile not again when he suffered he threatened not but committed himself to him that judges righteous righteousness so sometimes when we take things in our own hands in this particular verse you're reviled some of them mistreats you and you're gonna most of us can't afford to give anybody a piece of our mind we won't have that much left okay so it's just sinking in I might be talking to you so Jesus reviled not again he didn't answer in kind he committed himself imagine Vision campaign is ultimately not about money but it is about commitment money is just one measure of commitment the Lord I found will never ask me to give something I do not have but there may be times in our lives when he asks us to give everything we do have and whatever that is whatever that looks like between you and God commitment is all about that and I believe that if we get spiritual commitment right we give them our lives that's what Paul said the macedonians did they committed themselves first To Us by the will of God and then they gave their money that's what we want to do if we get that right but I've also learned that God will never be in debt to you my pastor taught that to me all my growing up that God will never owe you anything he will always bless you beyond whatever you give to him if you're able I'd like you to stand right now please and we're going to enter this time of prayer we're going to pray a while the ground rules are like this if you need to leave before we finish praying you're welcome to go there are tables here at the front we invite you to come take a prayer request card you can write a prayer request leave it on the table you can circulate around pick up prayer requests from the front or the back you can write them at any table you can leave them on any other table at the end of the night I like to ask that you take some prayer requests home so that there are none left here for people who prayed and asked the Lord to help them I wanted to just give you one other verse though about commitment the Apostle Paul wrote this this is on the screen second Timothy 1 and 12. for the which cause I also suffered these things nevertheless I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed and in persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day I believe Paul is talking here more about his soul his life but as I said spirit is all-encompassing it's our entire being so as we pray tonight with the requests that you have I would like to ask that you pray and ask God to help you be committed to him in every dimension of your life amen