Commitment in Measure

I. Commitment to God commanded
1 a Address zI appeal to you therefore, brothers,1 by the mercies of God, ato present your bodies bas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
b Characterization which is your spiritual worship.2
2 a Command cDo not be conformed to this world,3
b Command but be transformed by dthe renewal of your mind,
c Purpose that by testing you may ediscern what is the will of God,
d Characterization what is good and acceptable and perfect.4
II. Commitment is proof of complete love & obedience
Possess or Possessed?
We seek religion that is real rather than a sham. Charles Kingsley remarked, “What I want is not to possess religion but to have a religion that shall possess me.”
The Christ equates obedience with love:
III. Commitment is hallmarked by pleasing worship
VI. Commitment to God brings blessings
3 Examples of commitment to God
1. Abraham:
2. David:
3. Hezekiah:
A lady once asked John Wesley that suppose he were to know that he would die at 12:00 midnight tomorrow, how would he spend the intervening time. His reply: “Why madam, just as I intend to spend it now. I would preach this evening at Gloucester, and again at five tomorrow morning; after that I would ride to Tewkesbury, preach in the afternoon, and meet the societies in the evening. I would then go to Rev. Martin’s house, who expects to entertain me, talk and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at 10 o’clock, commend myself to my heavenly Father, lie down to rest, and wake up in Glory.”
V. God’s commitment to His people
So What?
The Baltimore Sun conducted a contest, and the following poem received a prize for the best answer to the question, “What would you do if you had one more year to live?”
“If I had but one year to live;
One year to help; one year to give;
One year to love; one year to bless;
One year of better things to stress;
One year to sing; one year to smile;
To brighten earth a little while;
One year to sing my Maker’s praise;
One year to fill with work my days;
One year to strive for a reward
When I should stand before my Lord,
I think that I would spend each day,
In just the very self-same way
That I do now. For from afar
The call may come across the bar
At any time, and I must be
Prepared to meet eternity.
So if I have a year to live,
Or just one day in which to give
A pleasant smile, a helping hand,
A mind that tries to understand
A fellow-creature when in need;
’Tis one with me—I take no heed.
But try to live each day He sends
To serve my gracious Master’s ends.”
—Mary Davis Reed