Questions I want to examine:
1. What does it mean to be committed to Christ?
2. How does commitment affect my perception of the world and my personal life?
3. How seriously does God take commitment?
4. How is commitment generated?
5. How is commitment sustained?
The first question is easy to answer. Commitment to Christ is simply an abandonment of all my own attitudes and aspirations in favor of God's. It means I renounce any so called right I have to manage my own life and to move it in the direction that I see fit. It means presenting all of my mental, emotional, intellectual, and physical faculties to be used by God for His purposes rather than my own. A person who has committed themselves to the purposes of Christ asks his Father in every situation what He would have him to do, say, and think about everything that is going on. It means yielding control of everything I am and have to the One who owns me.
The second question is harder to answer. When a man commits himself to the purposes of God it has many and varied effects on the way he perceives the world and has very drastic effects on his life. The man who has completely committed himself to God looks decidedly different from his fellow brothers and sisters who are wavering in their commitments and, to a greater extent, from those who have absolutely no knowledge of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Life takes on a different color for the one who has yielded themselves to divine authority. Their thought processes change. They are consumed by a singular goal in every situation which is to bring glory to their Father in heaven. They no longer perceive "significant" or "insignificant" moments in their lives; all moments are alike to them in that they can work for God's purposes. Whether laboring in prayer when alone or loving people whom God brings into their path. They renounce selfish thinking, actions, or words and instead labor to bring God pleasure in all that they say, think, and do. "For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s," says Romans 14:8. This is commitment. We were made for His glory and when we commit to Him we agree with that fact.
The third question is a crucial one and I am convicted that I do not take commitment as seriously as the LORD takes it. Matthew 10:37-39 makes God's standard very clear. This is the Word of God. He puts it very clearly in here. Do you agree with Him? If not, you're not headed towards heaven, my friend. There are certain things God requires of His children and this is one of them. He states it very clearly. There is no room for doubt. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." If that's too vague for you, there's Luke 14:33. "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." That is harsh. That is demanding. But that is God's standard for a Christian life. This is war, people. This is not the time to take it easy and go to parties and rent videos and go to concerts and waste an afternoon watching stupid You Tube videos. We have been called to war! Why are we not fighting?! Our eternities are at stake! We have to HATE our lives! We have to HATE this world! Way too many of us are living comfortable lifestyles, eating, drinking, and being merry and very few of us are fighting sin and the Devil tooth and nail! WE ARE AT WAR! There can be no compromise! And when you really start fighting the devil will try and buy you off at any price! "Everyone can be bought!" he thinks and far, far, far too often HE IS RIGHT! There's a scene in the movie Braveheart where the princess is dispatched with a huge trunk of gold. The king is hoping to bribe William Wallace, the Scottish patriot, to stop burning English cities and making war against England. When offered the trunk of gold, Wallace says "Gold? That I should become a Judas?" The princess replies, "Peace is made in such ways." Wallace's reply is very fast and very angry, "Slaves are made in such ways!" Satan makes it look like he wants peace but he wants slaves and he will try and bribe you as hard as he can! WE CANNOT GIVE IN! When we embrace this truth, that slaves are made by accepting his bribes, we will often lose out on EVERYTHING this world says is important and enjoyable! Paul says that "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men to be most pitied." That means your life should be so hard and painful that everyone feels bad for you from homeless men on the street to Wall St. stockbrokers. Is that true of you? If not, maybe you need to rethink just how committed you are to the cause of Christ. I know these words are harsh and hard to hear but I'm preaching as much to myself as I am to you. To not warn you of these things would be a greater disservice to you because Jesus Christ said that if you're not pursuing Him harder than any other thing in this universe, you are not going to have a part in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 11:12 says "...from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." Are you taking the kingdom of heaven by force? Are you selling everything you own to purchase the field where the treasure that is the kingdom of God is hidden? Be relentless! Satan is relentlessly striving to throw every weapon he has at you to keep you from the treasure that is Christ! He is using every resource he has under the sun to seduce you! He will never stop trying but will exhaust all the resources in the heavens and the earth to keep you fast asleep in his kingdom of false pleasures! If you are going to succeed in this battle you must be as relentless as he is! Don't ever let up, back up, slow up, or, God forbid, give up your relentless, passionate, abandoned hunt for holy treasure! God will not tolerate anything less than every ounce of your energy, every drop of your sweat and your blood, and every tear you cry in your pursuit to know Christ!
Overwhelmed? Discouraged? Frustrated with yourself? I surely would be were it not for the grace of God. It's all of grace from beginning to end! Praise God! He does not expect us to whip ourselves up into a frenzy of passionate pursuit. Doubtless you have tried this before as I have. The thing that keeps us trying is that it produces effects for a very short period of time. The flesh loves a good challenge and it delights in finding righteousness in itself. And when we try hard enough we can feel righteous for a short period of time. But it never lasts, just as I was saying. The fact of the matter is that when we whip ourselves up into these spiritual frenzies WE are the ones that get the glory. When, by the grace of God, God draws us to deeper commitment, GOD gets the glory. Commitment is begun under the grace of God and that is how it is sustained. Commitment begins at justification which is the work of God. That is why Paul instructs Timothy to pray that God will grant repentance to unbelievers. For what is commitment but repentance from mediocrity and lukewarmness? It is God who grants repentance and draws us to a deeper, more passionate pursuit of Himself. Do you desire deeper commitment? It is God who has placed this desire in you. When was the last time you were able to force yourself to like something (I mean GENUINELY like something) that you hated? It is God who places desires in our heart if they are in any way, shape, or form Godly desires. And when God places the desire in you, it's so much easier to commit yourself to Him. What is it called when God places Godly desire in you? It's called grace. The Christian life is about grace from the beginning to the end, if there ever could be an end. Grace draws us to deeper commitment and grace sustains that commitment. Grace sustains us on the days where we wake up and every thought in our mind seems to be pleading with us to cave in and accept Satan's latest bribe. Grace sustains us when every muscle in our body feels like it's on fire from the persecution we suffer in countries that are opposed to God. Grace is every beat of our heart and every ounce of blood that flows in our veins and arteries. It is grace that keeps our lungs breathing air. We don't deserve grace but God lavishes it on us. Why? Because when His grace sustains us, He gets ALL the glory; every last ounce of it. And He wouldn't have it any other way. If you are committed to Christ, praise God! If you desire to commit yourself to Christ, praise Him! Dedication to the purposes of God can only ever be about grace. You would never desire the things God desires but for His grace. You would never hate the things God hates but for His grace. Your thoughts would be futile and dark and all your motives would be self-centered and filthy but by God's grace. It's the cross. That's the blazing center of God's grace. God's grace will carry you over every stone until He brings you home to Him. There is NOTHING God's grace cannot overcome. God's grace slams the heck out of everything that rises up in opposition to it. If God's grace rests upon you you will make it home no matter what obstacles may arise in your path. When you're in Christ and drunk on God's grace, Satan can do nothing to you. Martin Luther's famous hymn so beautifully captures that. "And though this world with devils filled / Should threaten to undo us / We will not fear for God hath willed / His truth to triumph through us! / The prince of darkness grim / We tremble not for him! / His wrath we can endure! / For lo his doom is sure! / One little word shall fell him!"
So go encouraged. Dedicate yourself to Christ for His purposes cannot fail. We know the end of the story. "Those who endure to the end shall be saved." If you are Christ's you cannot but endure! And the Holy Spirit testifies in our hearts that we are His! Praise God!
Overwhelmed? Discouraged? Frustrated with yourself? I surely would be were it not for the grace of God. It's all of grace from beginning to end! Praise God! He does not expect us to whip ourselves up into a frenzy of passionate pursuit. Doubtless you have tried this before as I have. The thing that keeps us trying is that it produces effects for a very short period of time. The flesh loves a good challenge and it delights in finding righteousness in itself. And when we try hard enough we can feel righteous for a short period of time. But it never lasts, just as I was saying. The fact of the matter is that when we whip ourselves up into these spiritual frenzies WE are the ones that get the glory. When, by the grace of God, God draws us to deeper commitment, GOD gets the glory. Commitment is begun under the grace of God and that is how it is sustained. Commitment begins at justification which is the work of God. That is why Paul instructs Timothy to pray that God will grant repentance to unbelievers. For what is commitment but repentance from mediocrity and lukewarmness? It is God who grants repentance and draws us to a deeper, more passionate pursuit of Himself. Do you desire deeper commitment? It is God who has placed this desire in you. When was the last time you were able to force yourself to like something (I mean GENUINELY like something) that you hated? It is God who places desires in our heart if they are in any way, shape, or form Godly desires. And when God places the desire in you, it's so much easier to commit yourself to Him. What is it called when God places Godly desire in you? It's called grace. The Christian life is about grace from the beginning to the end, if there ever could be an end. Grace draws us to deeper commitment and grace sustains that commitment. Grace sustains us on the days where we wake up and every thought in our mind seems to be pleading with us to cave in and accept Satan's latest bribe. Grace sustains us when every muscle in our body feels like it's on fire from the persecution we suffer in countries that are opposed to God. Grace is every beat of our heart and every ounce of blood that flows in our veins and arteries. It is grace that keeps our lungs breathing air. We don't deserve grace but God lavishes it on us. Why? Because when His grace sustains us, He gets ALL the glory; every last ounce of it. And He wouldn't have it any other way. If you are committed to Christ, praise God! If you desire to commit yourself to Christ, praise Him! Dedication to the purposes of God can only ever be about grace. You would never desire the things God desires but for His grace. You would never hate the things God hates but for His grace. Your thoughts would be futile and dark and all your motives would be self-centered and filthy but by God's grace. It's the cross. That's the blazing center of God's grace. God's grace will carry you over every stone until He brings you home to Him. There is NOTHING God's grace cannot overcome. God's grace slams the heck out of everything that rises up in opposition to it. If God's grace rests upon you you will make it home no matter what obstacles may arise in your path. When you're in Christ and drunk on God's grace, Satan can do nothing to you. Martin Luther's famous hymn so beautifully captures that. "And though this world with devils filled / Should threaten to undo us / We will not fear for God hath willed / His truth to triumph through us! / The prince of darkness grim / We tremble not for him! / His wrath we can endure! / For lo his doom is sure! / One little word shall fell him!"
So go encouraged. Dedicate yourself to Christ for His purposes cannot fail. We know the end of the story. "Those who endure to the end shall be saved." If you are Christ's you cannot but endure! And the Holy Spirit testifies in our hearts that we are His! Praise God!
