Commitment to Jesus and His Church

After Brett asked us to come over I began looking & praying for a scripture or a topic that the LORD would want me to share. At the same time I was preparing two sermons for when Connie & I would be in Cambodia. One day I sensed the LORD say COMMITMENT, but that is all I was given at the time. After our 2nd Sunday service I turned my focus to November 15th, today.

Spiritual commitment is modeled by Jesus. In John 13:1b we read “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” We read in Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus never changes. We can rely on Him ALL the time. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

My scripture focus is Matthew 19:16–22 “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” You notice here the young man recognized he was still missing something. Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

This verse is not saying that we cannot have wealth and also follow Jesus, this verse is leading us to examine where our heart is focused. Is it on what we have or is it on following Jesus and being willing to give it all up for Him. What is more important wealth or eternal life. I heard a story about a man who worked hard all his life, his wife stayed home took care of the kids and the house. He would give her money for groceries and other necessities, he took care of all the finances. When he was nearing the end of his life he called his wife in and reminded her of his hard work and how the money was his … he set aside a bank account for her, which was contained $100,000, which he calculated she would need for the next few years. He then went on to ask her to promise to bury the balance of his $10-million with him when he died. She promised him she would. On the day of his funeral she went to the coffin to say her final good-by and then slid a check for $1-million in his inside suit pocket and closed the lid.

Now this a fictitious story but this is a similar attitude that the rich man had. It’s mine and no one else gets it.

If it were not for money given by others Connie & I would not be able to take numerous trips to Cambodia to minister. Money is a necessity in our life. Jesus is saying that we cannot allow wealth to interfere with or take the place of a relationship with Him.

This story is about money but I also believe we can make a strong correlation to the use of our time. Each person has 86,400 seconds each and every day. When a second goes by we cannot get that second back. Time does not stop or let us rewind and start the day over, unlike the movie Groundhog Day suggests. Most of us have probably sat down to establish a financial budget. I know for some that “B” word is a bad word. But once you establish a budget you can look back and see how beneficial and freeing it can be. I believe we / I should establish a time budget. Just like a financial budget I believe I would see and experience freedom. Both of these budgets require a commitment, this commitment should be one that places time with God at the top. The word tell us to take the first fruit and give it to the LORD. Setting time with God and committing our time will be hard at first but like other things in life as we persevere we will be strengthened.

You may say Roger, I am not a morning person to that I would say when are you at your best. I want to encourage you and I want to encourage myself to willing sacrifice time to be with the LORD. For some it may mean waking up an hour earlier in the morning, for others it’s turning off the electronics (TV, computer, phone) for an hour, for some it will include fasting. I know it’s not easy to change but I am confident that the LORD will honor our commitment to draw closer to Him. Sometimes our trials come from others but I also believe some of our biggest trial are self-imposed because of our selfishness.

James 1:2–4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Jesus said on different occasions; “come and see” or “come, follow me.” Jesus is wanting us to be active in our walk with Him. Even when the LORD said “wait” He was not using in a manner that time would not stop but would cause us to take action; in prayer and in finding strength. Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Other versions use the word ‘wait’ instead of hope. Putting our trust in the LORD and allowing Him to renew gives us strength as we commit our ways to Him.

Jesus told the 120 to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promised gift. They did not just sit around they went about God’s business; they spent their time in prayer and the appointment of one to take Judas’ place as an apostle. The disciples and followers of Jesus were committed to obedience to Jesus’ instructions and waiting for the promised gift, which was the Holy Spirit, who gave them power and boldness to serve the LORD, do I dare say NO MATTER WHAT?

Connie & I separately committed our lives to Jesus at a very young age. Did we fully understand what that would mean? No! But as we have stayed committed to obediently following Him we have grown, we have seen the LORD’S hand on our lives.

I wonder how the life of rich young man would have changed if he changed his commitment from personal comfort to following Jesus.

Being committed to Jesus means being committed to His church the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

A husband and wife who love each other are in essence the love their family. You say you love Jesus, then you are saying you love the church. Loving the church brings unity in the body, yes there will be differences but as you come together focused on honoring Jesus differences can be overcome. Ephesians 4:16 “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

You are needed, we are needed because each of us are a vital part to the body. We all need to do our part, use our God given gifts, abilities, time, and money to unify and build up the body.

When Christians are committed the world will take notice. I believe we have seen glimpes of this over past years; 9/11 people came together many were looking to the church for guidance. Charlie Kirk’s murder people took notice of how the message of salvation did not stop with Charlie’s death. It has actually increased and caused a new level of commitment among believers. The world is taking notice.

Following Jesus is not always easy, Jesus tells us that if the world persecuted Me they will also persecute you. The world did and the world is. Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Jesus is telling us that if we profess Him as our Savior we must COMMIT our ways to Him every day.

A verse I learned a several years ago came to my mind: Hebrews 10:24–25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

This verse is a reminder that we need one another. Being committed to the church is not an easy road, would you agree? That is why the writer of Hebrews encourages or should I say admonishes to spend time together.