Commitment
Romans 6:15-23
Commitment
Getting straight for 08 is going to call for commitment. Getting straight in 08 is going to call for commitment (obligation) dedication and prioritization. The last time I stood before you I explained that in order for Shiloh to move forward. In order for her to go where she has never been before, this bride of Christ, the church called Shiloh will and must mature. Maturation is a process. It does not just happen one matures either intentionally by doing and acting as a mature person. Paul said it like this 1 Cor 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
The time has come for us to lay aside childish ways. Childish ways include thinking that we are in competition with one another. Some of us have had familial experiences that have messed up your relationship and experience with God. You see some of you had parents that taught you the tarnished rule. They were supposed to teach the golden rule but instead it was a tarnished rule you learned, lived and now languish from. The tarnished rule says do you boo! The tarnished rule says Do unto others before the do you! The tarnish rule says get while the getting is good for there won’t be enough for everyone. That is the tarnished rule. The golden rule spoken by Jesus on the sermon on the mount says love your enemies. That’s golden. Do good to those who hate you. Golden. Do to others as you would have them do to you. That’s golden. Treating others in the manner that you’d want to be treated, that is the golden rule. Jill Scott has a song Golden. Some of the lyrics include I'm strumming my own freedom
Playing the God in me
Representing His glory
Hope He's proud of me! Living my life like it’s golden. If you live a life like it is golden then you will put away childish ways of revenge, self-centeredness, selfishness, small mindedness, and stubbornness.
You see some people grew up with parents whose love was limited. For various reasons their parents love was limited because of alcohol or drugs, their parents love was limited because of a history of abuse and abandonment. Their parents love was limited because of secrets and shame. So when they hear a preacher talk about our Father and the love that He has for his children. They start to think about their childhood and resort to their childish reasoning, they resort to their childish speech and start yelling and having temper tantrums. When the preacher says our Father in heaven will meet all our needs childish ways will have you thinking that some how our Father in heaven doesn’t have enough for all His children. So I have to get mine and get more before you get yours. Childish ways will have you thinking we are in competition with other ministry groups, other churches even each other. Don’t you realize that there are more than enough hungry souls for the Bread of Life that you and I feast upon? There are more people in this community who are seeking desperately a healthy relationship with God and they need someone to show them how that can be done. In order for their needs to be met they need to have an encounter with a committed Christian.
I told you that in order to get straight in 08 we have to live into our obligation. Paul was writing to the church in Rome about making and living a life of commitment. Listen to the text /15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? [1]/
To who are you enslaved? I know that is a hard word for people of color. I know some of us get real sensitive when we hear enslavement and in your limited 21 century mind you say you are enslaved to no one. You are a free black man, a free black woman. You have degrees and pedigrees. You live in posh zip codes and drive luxury cars with foreign emblems. These are not signs of a slave. But I offer to you the face of your slave master instant gratification and mindless pursuit of pleasure. Your slavemaster is the rage that is whipping you from the inside out with hypertension and ulcers. Your slave master is the war against children, when adults are afraid of the children. (fear of parents in this congregation) You are a slave to the falsehood of independence and self made-ness. You are a slave to your inability to commit to one person at a time. All of this is leading to death. Death of the individual, death of families and death of the community. You are enslaved to the one you obey. Some of you are more afraid of uncle Sam, American Express, Mastercard and Visa then you are of GOD Almighty. Stick a pin there, we’ll come back to that.
You feel obliged to pay your credit cards before you give your tithe. You say you can’t tithe. I say it is not a matter of ability it is a matter of prioritization.
Martin King understood this idea of enslavement so much so that he was a slave to the cause of freedom for all. He was a slave to the advancement of the community of negroes. He understood that we are not individuals but we are a universal community connected by John 3:16, God so love the world. God so loved the world, not the white world, the world. God so loved the world, not the black world but the world. Not the rich but the world. God so loved not only the poor but the world. God so loved the world not only the heterosexual but the homosexual, the transsexual, the bisexual and transgender. God so loved the world not the Christian right or the Christian liberal but the world. Rev. Martin luther King Jr. understood that that love called us not to be individuals but to be our brother and sisters keepers. Listen to Dr. Kings words in a letter from a Birmingham jail: Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.[2]
So we are either going to be a slave to the ruler of this world or be a slave to our Father in heaven, a slave to our Savior and elder brother Jesus Christ. We are to be enslaved to our own selfish passions or a slave to Holy Spirit who wants to lead and direct our lives. IN order for us to live a life of commitment to Jesus Christ then we have to begin to change our priorities. Remember I asked you to stick a pin earlier, lets go back to get that point. I stated that you are enslaved to the one you obey. Some of you are more afraid of uncle Sam, American Express, Mastercard and Visa then you are of GOD Almighty. You feel obliged to pay your credit cards before you give your tithe. You say you can’t tithe. I say it is not a matter of ability it is a matter of prioritization. If you really believe that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift than you can’t help but not give God the first 10th. If you really believe that God is my provider. Than I have to give Him what is first and not what is left. IF I really believe that God is a way maker than I have to start changing the priorities in my life. Is God number one in your life?
Have you really made a commitment or is being a Christian simply a matter of convenience. You are not sure about heaven or hell so you play it safe just in case. You see when you are committed to something or someone you go all the way. Commitment means I will be in it when times are good and times are bad. Commitment calls for me to think less of myself and more of other. Commitment is not for the immature. Commitment is for those who are willing to grow, mature and yes even change.
Commitment is not for the faint of heart.
This building was built because in 1957 a few folks were committed to the cause. In 1957 there were some who said it couldn’t and shouldn’t be done but Christian commitment said otherwise. In 1957 there were those who said Jamaica had enough churches and didn’t need another building but Christian commitment said there needs to be a sanctuary in bricktown. Christian commitment will cause you to go when everyone else stops. Christian commitment calls you to trust when no one else will trust. Christian commitment will have you love me despite of my faults, my fear, my fat, or my false teeth. Christian commitment will have you love your enemy.
How can I become more committed you ask yourself?
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[1] The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989, S. Ro 6:15-16
[2] Letter from a Birmingham Jail Stanford papers online