Committed Soldiers - Part 2

Committed Soldiers - Part 2

NKJV

Main Point: As believers, our commitment will often be tested. How will you respond? Will your response help or hinder your testimony in Christ? Paul argues that since we have a new position, we need a new perspective. Permanent change and improvement in the area of COMMITMENT always happens from the inside out. This study will offer several key principles to help us effectively build on our commitment to Christ.

1. Principle #1: REMEMBER YOUR IDENTITY

A. Proven ROLE MODEL

• I HAVE a steel plate in my right leg. It’s a large steel plate that goes from my ankle all the way up to my knee. The plate is in my leg because while I was playing football one day and intercepted a pass, I got hit with a cross body block. My cleat did not come out of the mud so my tibia and fibula. I was taken off the football field and rushed to the hospital to find that my bone had been shattered. I had been hit and hurt badly-hurt to the point where it had broken me in two. But a doctor came along who knew how to correct the problem and went with me into the operating room. He opened up my leg and placed inside of it a steel plate with screws, and then he reconnected bones that had been shattered. Without the doctor intervening that day, my leg would even now be crooked and I’d probably be walking with a limp because of the nature of the break. But somebody who understood the problem came in with a plate, and ever since then that plate has been holding my brokenness together. God has given all of us the scalpel of His Word in order to identify the sin that results in broken relationships. The work of the Holy Spirit is like a steel plate that brings and holds together that which has been shattered.

• Christ never sinned, and yet he suffered so that we could be set free. Jesus suffering was part of God’s plan and was intended to save us. All who follow Jesus must be prepared to suffer. Our goal should be to face suffering as he did-with patience, calmness, and confidence that God is in control of the future.

B. Pure REACTIONS

• If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we have experienced God’s grace, we will want to pass it on on to others. And remember, grace is underserved favor.

• WHEN A woman is in labor, she’s hurting. In this situation, no one ever really knows exactly how long the pain is going to last. The husband is there, holding her hand, wiping her forehead, and patting her back. That’s all he can do. He’s limited. Holding her hand doesn’t change the pain. He’s just there to comfort her. God is birthing something in the life of every believer, and He wants believers to comfort one another, while we go through the birthing process.

1. Principle #1: REMEMBER YOUR IDENTITY

2. Principle #2: RENEW YOUR THOUGHT LIFE

A. Undisciplined MINDS produce CHAOTIC LIVING. Look straight ahead, keep your eyes fixed on your goal, and don’t get sidetracked on detours that lead to sin. , SCRABBLE is a challenging game. It involves the bringing together of letters to form words. Although at first glance this may seem like an easy game to play because there are only twenty-six letters in the English alphabet, these letters come together to form enough words to fill the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Library of Congress, and the World Wide Web! The game of scrabble involves the ordering of items that originally have no implicit order. The words already exist, but the letters must be arranged a certain way to be made into words. The goal of this game is for players to set out letters so that they now make sense. Christians are to live their lives in a way that their actions come together to form the picture of salvation. Salvation is a gift and for the Christian already exists. The goal of living the Christian lifestyle so that it now looks like the existence of a person saved by grace.

B. Disciplined MINDS produce CALM LIVING Under Pressure RESPIRATORS are machines that do the breathing for you. If you are laid down on the hospital bed and there is a problem with your breathing, they put you on the respirator. If you insist on breathing on your own, the respirator does you no good. There’s only one thing you can do with the respirator-cooperate. Now, you are involved because it’s your lungs going up and down. It’s your mouth and nose that are taking in and expelling the oxygen. The two of you are working together but the respirator is doing the work; you are just cooperating with it rather than resisting it. Christ wants to express His life through you and be your respirator. He does not want you being your own respirator because then you don’t need Him. He doesn’t want to do it apart from you, so you must cooperate. You must yield yourself to the person of Christ. We have too many Christians today hyperventilating in the spiritual life.

Single-mindedness is a quality needed by anyone who wishes to do God’s work. Paul was a single-minded person, and the most important goal of his life was to tell others about Christ. God is looking for more men and women who focus on that one great task God has given them to do.

1. Principle #1: REMEMBER YOUR IDENTITY

2. Principle #2: RENEW YOUR THOUGHT LIFE

3. Principle #3: RECOGNIZE YOUR OLD LIFE IS DEAD

3. Principle #3: RECOGNIZE YOUR OLD LIFE IS DEAD

A. This should birth a gentle response when helping the FALLEN. IN IOWA there was a storm that had flooded out a major city. People were gathering their goods to save what they could. One of the policemen saw a sight that touched his heart. He saw a little boy carrying another little boy on his shoulders, all while still trying to carry goods and luggage and everything else. The policeman went over to help the boy and said “My, you’re trying to do too much. You’ve got all these bags and then you’ve got that boy on your shoulders. It’s too much weight for you. It’s too heavy.” The little boy looked at the policeman and said, “ he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.” When you know somebody is your brother, it makes it easier to bear the weight and carry them to safety.

B. This should birth a gentle response when TEACHING others. As a teacher, Timothy helped those were confused Whether you are teaching Sunday school, leading a Bible study, or preaching in church, remember to listen to people’s questions and treat them respectfully, while avoiding foolish debates.

What’s holding you in emotional, physical and spiritual BONDAGE?

2. Principle #2: RENEW YOUR THOUGHT LIFE

3. Principle #3: RECOGNIZE YOUR OLD LIFE IS DEAD

4. Principle #4: RELEASE PAST HABITS

What’s holding you in emotional, physical and spiritual BONDAGE?

1. Principle #1: REMEMBER YOUR IDENTITY

2. Principle #2: RENEW YOUR THOUGHT LIFE

3. Principle #3: RECOGNIZE YOUR OLD LIFE IS DEAD

4. Principle #4: RELEASE PAST HABITS

5. Principle #5: REPLACE THE OLD WITH THE NEW

A. The BLESSINGS it brings. Meekness hardly seems the proper weapon to deal with enemies. God’s warfare must be carried out with calm faith, humility before God, and hope in his deliverance. Jesus also promises a sure reward for those with humble attitudes. ,

B. The Savior it PLEASES THERE’S something I don’t understand about Christmas. Why do we wrap gifts? I don’t understand, and I certainly don’t understand paying folks to wrap them. Trust me, the person you are giving a gift to is not interested in your wrapping. Now, they may placate you by noticing the wrapping and telling you how pretty the bow looks, but in the end they are going to tear it off. Wrapping paper and all the accompanying accessories are a camouflage that disguises what people are really interested in. We get all hyped and geeked when we see people wrapped well. They drive a well-wrapped car; they live in a well-wrapped neighborhood. They work at a well-wrapped job, they wear well-wrapped clothes, and they have well-wrapped money. But God wants to know what the wrapping is covering. He’s interested in knowing what is on the inside.