COMMITTED TO JESUS CHRIST
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 119: 33-40
INTRODUCTION:
One hot summer day there was a lady who was cut off by another driver on a busy highway. She went into a classic “road rage”. Laying on the horn, she flipped some obscene hand gestures at the man who cut her off and could be seen mouthing some angry and very unladylike expletive words.
Suddenly she looked in the rear view mirror and lo and behold, there was a police car. The police told her to pull over. She pulled over and the policeman told her to get out of the car. She was ordered to put her hands on the car while a policewoman patted her down. She was read her Miranda rights, and she was arrested and hauled off to the police station in handcuffs.
She was in such a state of shock that she could not talk. When she finally was able to speak, she blurted out,
“What in the world did I do, officer?
The policeman that made the arrest explained, “Ma’am, when I saw all those Christian stickers on your car… you know….
“Honk if you love Jesus”
The sign of the fish
“Have you talked to God today?”
“Jesus is the Way”
“Jesus is coming soon, R-U-Ready”,
“Mother’s for Jesus.”
MOPS
and “
I just knew that you must have stolen the car you were driving,
Christians just don’t behave like that.”
If your behavior or my behavior is inconsistent with our Christian testimony, it is time to take an inventory of our commitment to Jesus Christ.
One of the distinguishing marks of a genuine Christian is our love for people. 1st Corinthians 13 tells us that love is not selfish or rude. It is rather, longsuffering and patient. Genuine holiness takes on an aura of Christ’s likeness.
When I was looking through my hymnal in preparation for today’s service I ran across an amazing prayer by Bryan Jeffery Leech on page 675 of our hymnal, Hymns for the Family of God:
Please take your hymnals and turn to page 675 and follow along with me.
PRAYER FOR THE CONCERN FOR OTHERS
Father, help me to talk like a Christian:
to speak in such as way that I build up another person’s
confidence in himself, instead of tearing down his reputation.
Father, help me to drive like a Christian:
to be watchful and careful lest I cause harm to someone else
on the highways.
Father, help me to give like a Christian:
without thought of return, without anyone knowing what I do,
and with Your approval as sufficient reward.
Father, help me to dress like a Christian:
by not attracting attention to myself for being too fashionable
or too casual; and help me to show by my appearance,
that I want people to know me for what I am inside myself.
Father, help me to sleep like a Christian:
at peace with myself because sin is forgiven;
and at peace because I do not allow my anger to last
through a day.
Father, help me to eat like a Christian:
to eat healthily, to eat moderately, to eat gratefully,
giving thanks to You who provide my food, and for the one
who prepares my food.
Father, keep me from being so pious that I keep You out of the
practical areas of life. Be with me when I am alone, and when I shed my inhibitions, lest in those moments I cancel out all that I seem to
be when I’m on my best behavior.
Father, I ask this because I follow a Master who was never
guilty of the slightest wrong-doing,
and who always showed His love in the small details of living.
Amen.
Folks, this morning I want to build my sermon,
“Committed to Jesus Christ,” around this prayer:
I. Father, help me to talk like a Christian:
to speak in such as way that I build up another person’s
confidence in himself, instead of tearing down his reputation.
Matt. 12:24 “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
James 1:26 “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”
II. Father, help me to drive like a Christian:
to be watchful and careful lest I cause harm to someone else
on the highways:
Did you ever hear someone say, “He drives like Jehu?” It seems that this fellow Jehu had quite a reputation.
II Kings 9:20 says that Jehu drove his chariot like a mad man.
II Kings 10 tells us that Jehu did many commendable things (30), but he was not careful to keep the law of the Lord with all his heart (31)
without thought of return, without anyone knowing what I do,
and, and with Your approval as sufficient reward.
Many of us have a very careless way of giving to the work of God’s kingdom. We think if we toss a few quarters into the offering plate, we are “doing our duty”. What if we all did that ?
How would we support our missionaries, pay the heat , electricity and water bills, or our church custodian, or our secretary, or our organist, and of course your pastor.
Then listen to what the Bible says about giving in Mal 3: 7-12:
“Ever since the time of your forefathers
you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. “Return to me and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty,
But you ask, “How are we to return?”
Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
But you ask, “How do we rob you?”
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,’ says the LORD Almighty.”
There is a direct correlation between our faith and our giving.
Matthew 6:21 says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Christian do you have consistent committed faith? Trust God we have his Promise, does He have your faith or are you holding back because you do not trust Him. He wants to see your commitment so He can bless you.
In Luke 6:38 Jesus says: “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
We were told by Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every Creature. We support missionaries like Juan Carlos Portillo and his wife Joanna, serving in Mexico with the Mission Aviation Fellowship and Scott Gilbert in Siberia with Interact Ministries. They are depending on us to support their ministries. This cannot be done by just throwing a few tokens into the offering. If you are a member of this church, it is expected of you to give 10% of your pre-tax income. We have God’s word on it. He will bless you with more than you gave. WE HAVE HIS WORD ON IT. He just wants us to do His work with faith in his provision. THIS IS THE WAY HE RUNS HIS KINGDOM!! ON FAITH IN HIS FAITHFULNESS.
Part 1
