Commitment and Truthfulness
If you cannot view the embedded video, see it here… http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7552505
Here are my rough notes from this study…
Commitment and Truthfulness
NAME SOME THINGS THAT YOU ARE COMMITTED TO…
NOW TELL ME THE CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTING YOUR COMMITMENT…
I find it amazing that in this day and age, we have such a hard time with commitment.
The amazing thing is that we commit to things that are not important and we reject commitment to Christ or things associated with His church.
Matthew 5:33-37
33″Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Here is the problem we live in today.
We get saved and thus agree to follow the commands of Christ.
God gives us a list of things he expects and it is written out in front of us.
We know his expectations, yet we reject them readily. We say God expects too much. So often we do this with anything associated with Church, but let’s look at the other side of the coin and see what would happen if we did the same things to the world that we do to God.
Talking to God – Never talk to a friend, significant other, club member, or co-worker
Attendance in the house of the Lord – What if you attended school or a job like you attend church?
Doing the work of the Lord – Same scenario as above
Sin – What if you disobeyed a teacher, boss, or parent the way you disobey God?
Through out some other stuff…
Matthew 16:24-26 (New International Version)
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Here is the thing… This comment tells us that our old way of thinking needs to go away and we need to develop a Christ centric method of thought. Some of us have hung on to or developed a new, old way of thinking. It is time to be sold out to Christ. See what Christ said… He did not say to check in periodically with him when it fits our schedule. No, he said, take up the cross and follow him, indefinately.
WE ARE SO UNCOMMITTED WHEN IT COMES TO CHRIST.
WE ARE SO COMMITTED TO THIS WORLD AND ITS SIN!
We will readily skip quiet times, Bible Study, and church to do anything, but we will rarely skip anything of this world to spend extra time with God.
What has happened? Why are we so uncommitted to God in this day and age? Why is anything of God up for question, rejection, and so easy to bail out of?
How can we raise the bar?
Realize that God is jealous…
Deut 6:13-15
13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.
TRUTHFULNESS
Colossians 3:9-10 (New International Version)
9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
PEOPLE THINK A LITTLE LIE CAN PROTECT OR HELP? No, do not lie to each other.
John 3:19-21 (New International Version)
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
IF YOU ARE DOING THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO HIDE, THINK ABOUT IT! Good and light are not compatible with lies and the dark.
