Old School Commitment

SERMON SERIES KEY VERSE

Isaiah 58:12 NKJV

12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

SERMON SERIES INTRODUCTION

I believe that the Holy Spirit has been leading us recently back to our roots. Back to our foundations. Back to the core doctrines of the faith. Back to biblical Christianity. Back to where it all started nearly 2,000 years ago in an upper room in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. The disciples of Jesus came out of that upper room experience with Holy Ghost boldness and power. Immediately, they began to fulfill the mandate from Jesus to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” They preached the Word of God with boldness and souls were saved. They prayed the prayer of faith and the sick were healed and miracles took place. They stood in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ and those who were demonized were set free. They were not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were not hesitant to use the keys of the Kingdom. They were not afraid to march against the very gates of hell.

The early church had power and authority that was given to it by Jesus Christ. As a result, God moved. Miracles, signs, and wonders happened. And the church should still be operating in the same power and authority today. God should be moving in our churches. Miracles, signs, and wonders should be taking place. We should be seeing souls getting saved. We should be seeing sicknesses being healed. We should be seeing the demonized set free from the powers of darkness. We should be seeing revival break out. We should be seeing greater unity in the body of Christ. We should be seeing lives being transformed.

And we are seeing these things. I thank God for what He has been doing recently in our church and in our families. God has been doing great things. But there is more. Like I said last Sunday night, there is so much more potential that God has for us if we will prepare ourselves to receive it. It is like the Hoover Dam. The water that is stored up behind the Hoover Dam is full of potential. It has the potential to turn a turbine and produce electricity. It has the potential to provide life-giving and life-sustaining water to the areas downstream. But as long as the floodgates remain shut, it is just potential. But God is wanting to open up the floodgates in our lives and in our churches in these last days. He is wanting to pour out a end-times revival that will produce some Holy Ghost power in the church. That will bring life-giving and life-sustaining nourishment to people and places that have been too dry for too long.

That is why I believe the Lord is leading me to a sermon series on Retro Church: Old School Mission for a New Generation. Retro Church is church that is focused on getting back to our roots. That is focused on following the example of the early church. That will position itself to be prepared to be used by God in these last days. That are not satisfied with potential, but want all of God’s power they can get. That is willing to put in the hard work to rebuild the waste places: the places that have been forgotten and neglected. To raise up the foundations of many generations: to get back to old school church. To be a repairer of the breach and a restorer of streets to dwell in: to repair and restore church traditions and prepare the way for the next generation to experience a genuine encounter with God.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

We’re going to focus on this idea of Retro Church over the next few of weeks. We’re going to focus on Old School Fasting, Old School Worship, and Old School Deliverance. But today I want to begin by focusing on Old School Commitment. Because I believe this is where revival is going to have to start. If you look at the early church in the book of Acts you will see a church that was characterized by commitment. They traded convenience and comfort for a cross. The sacrificed their time, energy and in many cases their lives for the sake of the Gospel. The original 11 apostles who helped establish and build the church in years following Jesus’ resurrection were almost all martyred for their faith. Many others, like Stephen, were also persecuted and executed for the Gospel. It took their unwavering commitment to stand in the face of persecution, trials, and even death. If you look at the church at the turn of the 20th century when there was a revival of the fire of Holy Spirit in the church, which gave birth to the modern Pentecostal movement, that church was characterized by commitment. They were committed to prayer. They were committed to studying and obeying God’s Word. They were committed to praise and worship. And as a result, God poured out revival. Souls were saved. The sick were healed. The demonized were set free. And God desires to pour out revival on His church today! But in order to prepare ourselves for revival, there needs to first be a return to some Old School Commitment!

SCRIPTURE TEXT

Luke 9:57–62 NKJV

57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

MESSAGE POINTS

In this passage of scripture, we find three examples of the wrong types of commitment.

The First Man - Hasty Commitment

Luke 9:57–58 NKJV

57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Exegesis - Hasty Commitment

...someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

This man was excited about the idea of following Jesus.

We can see this by the way he approached Jesus.

We can see this by the way he spoke to Jesus.

But this man was overzealous and unprepared.

He was overzealous and caught up in the thrill of following Jesus.

He was unprepared for the level of commitment required to follow Jesus.

...Jesus said unto him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Jesus didn’t reject this man as a disciple, He simply gave him a reality check.

The man expected convenience and comfort, but Jesus said His followers can expect to be inconvenienced and uncomfortable.

He had excitement, but he did not have the level of commitment required to produce endurance.

Remedy for Hasty Commitment - Count the Cost

Luke 14:28–33 NKJV

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Excitement fades, but commitment sustains.

Don't confuse enthusiasm with endurance.

Discipleship isn’t emotional; it’s intentional.

The Second Man - Hesitant Commitment

Luke 9:59–60 NKJV

59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

Exegesis - Hesitant Commitment

Then He said to another, "Follow Me.”

Jesus called another man to follow Him.

Jesus must have seen potential in this man and had a divine appointment for him.

But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

The language that this man used in the original Greek indicates that his father had not recently died. He was saying that he wanted to go back and stay with his family until his father died, then he would come and follow Jesus.

This could have been an extended, undetermined amount of time.

This man was delaying or procrastinating.

It was an excuse to delay making a commitment.

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

Jesus was essentially saying, “Let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead.”

This man was putting his personal priorities ahead of following Jesus.

Kingdom urgency trumps our priorities.

Jesus was calling that man to abandon religious formalism for Spirit-driven mission.

Remedy for Hesitant Commitment - Understand the Urgency

Mark 1:16–20 NKJV

16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him. 19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

The Call of Christ demands an immediate response.

Delayed Obedience is Disobedience

Hesitation reveals misplaced priorities.

Urgency isn’t about panic, but purposeful pursuit.

God’s timing is strategic; delayed decisions can cause missed opportunities.

The Third Man - Half-Hearted Commitment

Luke 9:61–62 NKJV

61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Exegesis - Half-Hearted Commitment

And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

On one hand there was nothing wrong with this man wanting to say goodbye to his family.

In the book of Genesis, Rebekah said goodbye to her family before leaving to become Isaac’s wife.

In the book of 1 Kings, Elisha said goodbye to his family before leaving to become Elijah’s disciple and successor.

But this man’s statement highlighted that he still had an emotional attachment to the things of this world. This attachment was more important to him that following Jesus.

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus uses the analogy of a farmer plowing a field to show that we can’t look back.

“Putting your hand to the plow” = starting the journey of discipleship.

“Looking back” = Half-Hearted Commitment | Divided Heart | Leaving the journey of discipleship

“Not fit” = unviable | unusable | unaligned

Application of the Plow Analogy:

The farmer must have a firm grip on the plow (Spiritual Strength).

The farmer must keep their eyes looking forward at all times (Fix Your Eyes on Jesus).

The farmer often focus on something in the distance to align themselves (The Hope of the Rapture).

Looking back is not only inefficient, it is destructive.

Following Jesus is a forward-only journey.

There is no reverse in the Kingdom of God.

Remedy for Hesitant Commitment - Burn the Backup Plan

1 Kings 19:19–21 NKJV

19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

You can’t move forward while looking backward.

A divided heart is a disqualified heart.

God wants full-time followers, not part-time fans.

CALL TO ACTION

Church, the Holy Spirit is calling us back to Old School Commitment. Back to a commitment that is not based on feelings or convenience, but on surrender. A commitment that counts the cost, understands the urgency of the hour, and burns every backup plan.

Ask yourself today:

Have I made a hasty commitment—started strong, but without counting the cost?

Have I been hesitant—delaying my obedience because of other priorities?

Have I been half-hearted—trying to follow Jesus while still looking back?

If so, now is the time to make it right. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Now.

Like Elisha, it’s time to burn the plow and follow Jesus with no turning back.

Count the Cost

Understand the Urgency

Burn the Backup Plan

Let’s get back to that kind of commitment—the kind that built the early church, fueled the Pentecostal revival, and will position us for the outpouring of God’s Spirit in these last days.

The altar is open. The Holy Spirit is calling. Will you answer with Old School Commitment?