Committed in the mind
Notes
Transcript
Big Idea:
Big Idea:
Thinking helps us live as God is worthy of our commitment.
Intro:
Intro:
Good morning. Welcome to Church Online.
All year long, we’ve been focused on “Growing in Christ.” As a church, wherever we are at in our personal faith journeys, we want to grow in our faith and relationship with the Lord. And to help us with this process, we’ve used the theme of Legos.
In January, we started with a series called Duplos, referencing the beginner blocks of the Legos system. In that series, we studied the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), who is the foundation of our faith.
We then moved onto a series on Spiritual Gifts titled, “What’s Included.” This was like opening a boxed Lego set and pulling out the pieces to see what you can build with. In the same way, it’s important to know our spiritual gifts as we “Grow in Christ.”
Recently, we finished the series, “Read the Instructions.” This is similar to opening up the instructions booklet included in each Lego set, which gives us a step-by-step process on how to build what was designed. In this time, we studied the letters of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, a new church that Paul wrote to instructing them on what a healthy church - one that is growing in Christ - looks like.
And this morning, it’s finally time to build! We got the foundation, we got the pieces, we’ve read the instuctions, now let’s build! Our final series for the year is titled, “Master Builders.” Now, let me explain why...
Some of you may recognize this phrase. In the Lego Movie released a few years ago, we’re introduced to a character named Emmet. He’s an ordinary construction worker mini-figure. His life is pretty simple. Same routine everyday. Goes to work. Follows instructions to help build predetermined basic structures. Superficially, life seems good.
Yet… deep down something is missing.
Now, I don’t have time to retell the entire story, so I’m going to sum it up this way:
Eventually, he meets some out-of-the-box characters who believe he is the savior of their world.
And thru the process of many trials and tribulations, he embraces this calling and becomes “The Special.”
And one of the things “The Special” can do is build like a Master Builder. Master Builders are these characters who have a special ability to build in crazy and awesome ways.
And here’s where it connects to our series… Do you know what the difference between regular Emmet and Special Emmet was? It was his thinking. He always had the ability - he just had to change his thinking. When he did, he became a Master Builder.
This is like the Christian life. So much of walking in our new life in Christ involves changing our thinking. Paul says...
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
It’s taking our knowledge of who God is, it’s who God has called us to be, remembering His promises, and applying it to our thinking… letting it transform us… so we live differently. When that happens, I believe we’ll see the power of God in our lives! The Holy Spirit will move in and thru our lives in special ways.
So, for the remainder of the year, each week I’m going to pick a specific topic that’s connected to our new life in Christ - connected to what God is building in His church. And we’re going to look at how how we should think about this topic, so that we can “Grow in Christ.” And our topic for week 1 is: Commitment.
The life God calls us to requires commitment - or maybe a more biblical phrase: faithful. So, what should our thinking be like in order for us to embrace commitment?
Well, let’s start this morning with a story from one of my favorite Bible characters: Daniel. If you have your Bible/app, turn to Daniel 1.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
Daniel was part of the first group captured by Nebuchadnezzar, when God disciplined His people Israel for their unfaithfulness, allowing the Babylonians to conquer them. Daniel was both royalty and a straight-up stud (good looking, good at everything, and super smart - as CJ put it at Youth LG, “He got more IQ.”).
And Babylon had this practice of taking the best of the conquered people and training them for their own purposes. There are a couple of reasons why:
They may have believed all people groups had skills, talents, and experiences that could help their empire grow. And so they were willing to invest in whoever they could find, regardless of nationality, instead of letting great potential go to waste.
They may have done this so native leaders could help them govern conquered regions.
Most likely, they did this to squash any thoughts of rebellion in the conquered people. If Babylon could brainwash the best people and get them to willingly working for the empire, it would crush any remaining hope!
It was like Anakin turning to the darkside - okay, now I’m mixing movie analogies, so I better stop!
So, that’s what’s happen in Daniel 1. Babylon took the cream-of-the-crop and offered them a chance to live like kings: To get the best provision, best training, best food, and the opportunity to become rulers in the world’s most powerful empire.
For someone who’s land had just been destroyed and was now technically a slave… that’s a pretty sweet deal.
Yet, look at verse 8...
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
Daniel being a smart guy… saw right thru this. He knew Babylon was trying to erase his identity as a child of the God. So, he refuses. And I love that word, “resolved.” It means to “set upon your heart.” At this crucial moment, Daniel remained deeply committed to His God.
And I want us to take a moment to think about how significant this commitment was. It wasn’t an irrelevant situation where somebody asks, “Who is a Christian?” And we raise our hands without any real fear of consequence. Again, think about Daniel’s situation...
Babylon (a pagan nation) had just defeated Israel (the people of God). From a human perspective, Israel’s God - who had this huge and powerful reputation - would’ve been seen as a fraud. Unable to save His people from the gods of Assyria and Babylon.
Think what that would’ve done in Daniel’s mind. It must’ve been a faith-crisis. I believe Daniel was raised in a godly home, even if the majority of Israel was faithless at the time. I believe Daniel knew God, believed God, and hoped in God. He knew God’s power and promises. And yet, he was likely thinking, “How could God let this happen?”
Furthermore, now Babylon was offering Daniel a new, circumstantially-better future! You don’t have to be a slave. You can have the best housing, best education, best food, and the best future! All you have to do is compromise - just assimilate to Babylonian culture. Give up that Yahweh- identity. Obviously, that’s not working out. Why hang onto it?
So, when Daniel resolves in his heart to remain committed to God, that’s the context he’s making the decision in. And by doing so, he’s not just turning down some visibly great circumstances, he’s also putting his life on the line.
When Daniel refuses to defile himself by eating their food, which was likely sacrificed to idols, one of the Babylonian overseers says, “Man, you’re not only hurting yourself, but you’re going to get me killed. Nebuchadnezzar don’t play around!”
Why would Daniel do this? What was he thinking that led him to this kind of commitment?
I believe when we continue to read the book of Daniel, we see at least 3 things stand out about Daniel’s beliefs. 3 principles that influenced Daniel’s thinking:
1. Daniel believed God was worthy.
1. Daniel believed God was worthy.
In the book of Daniel, the phrase, “Most High God” is used 13 times. It literally means “The Highest God.” To Daniel, there was nothing higher than God. Therefore, there was nothing more worthy.
Daniel was not willing to trade God for anything. Nothing!!!… not a nice house, not a superior education, not the best food, not the best job, and not all the riches in the world… nothing was more worthy than God.
Daniel’s name actually means, “God is my judge.” And combining this with the meaning of the word “resolved,” it’s like verse 8 is telling us, “Daniel was committed to allowing ONLY God to sit on the throne of his heart, as judge of his life, because ONLY He is worthy.” In the fullest way, Daniel was living up to his name.
In Daniel’s mind, he remained faithful, because he believed he was choosing the Most Worthy Option.
2. Daniel believed God was sovereign.
2. Daniel believed God was sovereign.
That means, no matter the visible circumstances, no matter how he felt, Daniel believed God was completely in control. Therefore, He trusted God and remained committed.
When Israel was defeated and Jerusalem destroyed (including the temple of God), God was in control.
When his life was in danger because he refused the king’s brain-washing process, God is in control.
If they would be thrown in the fire because they refused to worship Babylon’s idols, God is in control.
If they’re thrown into the lions den, God is in control.
Or... if they show him great favor, promote him to the highest positions in the land - it’s because God is in control.
No matter what, Daniel believed God was sovereign and nothing could change his commitment to God.
3. Daniel believed his decisions for God mattered.
3. Daniel believed his decisions for God mattered.
It mattered when Daniel decided to live by faith. It mattered when Daniel sought to please God instead of people. It mattered when Daniel remained committed to the personal relationship he had with God, in the same way a husband and wife commit when they say, “till death do us part.” Daniel believed his commitment MATTERS!
And it also mattered to the world around him. God has always desired to reach the entire world. His plan started off with choosing the nation of Israel as His covenant people, but He always intended to offer salvation to everyone.
He told Abraham, the father of Israel...
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
The prophet Isaiah said...
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
Both these verses prophetically point to salvation through Jesus, but I also believe they reveal God’s plan for Israel to be a blessing and a light to the world around them. Their faithfulness was designed to point people to One True God.
That was true for Daniel. In fact, the phrase, “Most High God,” that’s used 13 times in the book of Daniel… 7 of those times it is used in connection with king Nebuchadnezzar’s life. And Daniel’s commitment to the “Most High God,” impacted Nebuchadnezzar’s life. So much so, that the king himself eventually makes the following statement...
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,
for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
Daniel knew his decisions of commitment mattered; not just in the present, but in eternity. Not just personally, but to all the earth and for God’s Kingdom purposes.
And I believe these 3 things:
Believing God is worthy.
Believing God is sovereign.
Believing our decisions for God matter....
...are important for us! They should influence thinking.
Because we can relate to...
Life not going the way we think it should. Our world falling apart around us. Sometimes due to our own sin… And sometimes NOT! Daniel wasn’t in Babylon by his choice. He loved God! And when this happens, it’s easy to give up on God or abandon our faith if our thinking isn’t right.
And we can also relate to something circumstantially better coming along during our faith-crisis. And let’s not be naive about our enemy (Satan) who loves to capitalize on our crisis. He’ll tempt us to compromise our faith in exchange for something that seems temporarily better.
Maybe it’s more comfort.
Maybe it’s more money or success.
Maybe it’s a person (who is not your spouse) that offers you the attention you don’t “feel” like you’re getting at home...
All of these “better” things can be yours, if you’ll just exchange your identity as a child of God.
And we can relate to doubting our decisions really matter. I mean, why would they? Who am I? Why would my life matter? What difference does it make in the world or to God? Who’s going to even notice - everyone else is compromising.
But that’s exactly why our thinking needs to be right! Because...
God is worthy of our commitment! There is nothing more important than giving our entire life over to the King of the Universe.
God is sovereign. He is in complete control. And we can trust Him - we can commit our lives to His lordship and care - because He loves us, He is good, and nothing happens outside His control.
And a practical step to changing our thinking regarding this is practicing our response. Whatever we face in this life, our response should be, “God is in control.” We need to say that ourselves. Say it to one another. Repetitively, so it grabs hold of our thinking. Not as a cliche, but because we truly believe it.
And our decision do matter. Our decisions impact the world. Right now, there are people who are watching our lives to decide whether or not they want to follow God. And when we decide to wholeheartedly follow “The Most High God,” it won’t be long until they see God’s goodness and say...
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Response:
Response:
Growing in Christ takes commitment - to living as faithful servants. And our willingness to commit is related to our thinking.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
The “heart” in this verse refers to the place of our thinking. Essentially, it’s saying what we’ve been discussing, that “thinking impacts our living.”
When we “think” that...
God is worthy.
God is sovereign so we can trust Him.
Our decision for God matter - it’ll make an eternal difference in the people around us.
…we will “live” more fully committed to the Lord Jesus. And we will “Grow in Christ!”
So, my question for us this morning is, “Are you ready to resolve in your heart to follow God?”
Maybe for the first time.
Maybe you’re renewing your faith after having walked away for a season.
Or maybe, you’re like Daniel, and ready to continue building on the faith you already have.
Wherever you’re at take this moment to respond to God in the privacy of your heat. He can hear you, even if no one else can. Tell Him, “God, I’m ready. I’m ready to stop compromising. I want to follow you with all that I am. I’m resolving to be faithful. Come sit as King on the throne of my heart.”
Let’s pray...
Father, we want to live fully committed to you. You are worthy. You are in control. And we can trust You. Please transform our thinking, so our lives will be transformed. Let Your word go deep into our hearts. And help us to be bold, courageous believers in the world, so that we can be light to those looking for hope in this world. That our decisions would make a difference in our community, pointing people to the hope of Jesus. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, amen.
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Have a great day - God bless you!
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As we take this communion, as we remember what Jesus did for us on the cross - body was broken and blood poured out for the forgiveness of our sins - how He was faithful to us… take a moment to talked to God about your own commitment and faithfulness.