(Slide 1) Committed to Commitment 2 Chronicles 16:9

Transcription

1 1 (Slide 1) Committed to Commitment 2 Chronicles 16:9 Pray. Spend lots of time talking to God. Prayer is our lifeline to God. Care. Have you noticed who isn t here today? Who will you call to show them that you care? Commit. Take your hands off the steering wheel of life. Give yourself to God for his use. Pray. Care. Commit. These are three important themes for LBC. On many Sundays, we have talked about commitment. I believe that God wants each of us to turn up our volume of commitment. How would God describe the level of your commitment? Commitment is a theme that God has led me to emphasize to you. On March 25, we looked at Starbucks Christianity. Starbucks mission statement is "Establish Starbucks as the premier provider of the finest coffee in the world, maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow. Are we committed to model our church mission statement after Starbucks? Establish LBC as Brevard County s premier sharer of the finest message in the world, maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow. It s all about commitment. On April 1, we looked at swimming. Do you put on water wings and splash around in the shallow end of Christianity, or have you ventured into deeper waters to swim with the swimmers? It s a matter of commitment. On April 15, we talked about the questions, who are you wearing, sin or the Savior, and if you wear Jesus, how do you wear him? Do you take Jesus off at noon on Sunday and put him back on the next Sunday morning for a couple of hours? Do you wear Jesus casually; it s comfortable and no big deal? Do you keep Jesus close by and put him on if you really need him? Do you wear Jesus like a straight jacket, as a bunch of restrictive rules to keep you in line? Or, do you wear Jesus all the time, as your important everyday garment. The way you wear Jesus shows your level of commitment. On June 3, we talked about lessons from a cantaloupe. God has given a pile of cantaloupes to each of us. If we don't give the first fruits back to God as a tithe, we waste the seeds that God could turn into a crop of additional blessings. When we hold on to our cantaloupes, are hands are not free to receive God's blessings. Commitment includes tithing.

2 2 On July 8, we learned lessons about commitment from snorkeling. Like snorkeling, to enjoy the Christian life fully, you must put your face in the water and get involved. On July 15, we looked at mailbox commitment. Is your lid tied closed, signifying that you are not interested in receiving spiritual things from God? Is your lid open, letting God know you are available to receive spiritual things? Is your flag up, letting God know that you are committed to receive spiritual things and give something to his kingdom. On three different Sundays in September, we looked at the impact of our words. The Bible says that words have the power to bring life or cause death. Are you committed to speak words that give life? On September 30, we opened the door to marital fulfillment. Men, are you committed to let your wife know that you love her unconditionally? Women, are you committed to let your husband know that you respect him? Last Sunday, we discussed being committed to grow a relationship with God through prayer. Praying only when life goes 911 does not foster a relationship with God any more than a 911 call creates a relationship with a 911 operator. Committing to set time aside, go to a quiet place, and get alone with God grows a relationship with God. Are you committed to prayer? On several other occasions, we have looked at commitment in one form or another. God desires your commitment. Let s return to the commitment theme again this morning. (Slide 2) 2 Chronicles 16 (9) For the eyes Eyes allow us to see. We can see clouds in the sky. We can see a bird in midflight. We can see the effect of the wind. We can see an expression on a face. Eyes allow us to notice things. With our eyes, we notice reality. of the Lord God has eyes. His eyes are not like our eyes. Our eyes are part of our body. God doesn t have a body, but he has eyes. Our eyes are limited in their vision. God s unlimited vision sees invisible things like thoughts, motives, desires, and even the volume level of your commitment.

3 3 Our eyes can see the level of mercury in a thermometer. Our temperature level is an indication of our physical health. God s eyes can see your level of commitment in your heart. Your level of commitment is an indication of your spiritual health. God s eyes see you 24/7. You can t hide anything from God s eyes, including your level of commitment. range God s eyes range. What does range mean? God eyes scan the earth. God's eyes roam here and there. He is not limited to one focal point. God observes everything that goes on, including what goes on in your life. throughout the earth The eyes of our God see the entire earth. The highest cloud does not escape the glance of our God. The bottom of the ocean is visible to our God. Our God sees the brightest day and the darkest night. Our God sees every secret in the whole earth. Our God's eyes roam to every person on every square inch of the earth. His eyes see you. to strengthen Our God not only sees; he has a purpose in mind. He wants to strengthen. Now, this verse has my attention. God looks all over the earth for someone to strengthen. Temptation comes; you need strength. Life requires endurance; you need strength. Your body is weak; you need strength. Wave after wave of trouble comes; you need strength. Praise God, the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen. Who does God look for to strengthen? those whose hearts Oh, so it's a matter of the heart. Your heart is your thoughts, choices, and emotions. Do you remember Matthew 12:34? "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." When you shred someone, your heart places the words on your tongue. When you praise someone, your heart produces the words. God looks for a certain type of heart. I hope the heart he seeks matches my type of heart. I need strength, and God gives strength to people who have the right type of heart. Tell me more. What type of heart does God seek? are fully

4 4 God seeks hearts that aren t divided. God seeks hearts that are fully, completely, and wholly established. Those hearts are single-minded. Those hearts don't waiver from position to position. Those hearts have firmly established thoughts, choices, and emotions. OK, I'm getting it. The eyes of the Lord scan the earth. He's looking to give strength to people with fully established hearts. What I don't get is this. What kind of fully established heart is God looking for? Is he looking for a heart fully established on family values? What about church attendance, truthfulness, hard work, a healthy diet, exercise, or wise spending? God is looking for fully established hearts. What kind? committed to him Yes! I see it. That's the missing piece to the strength puzzle. God is looking for hearts that are fully committed to him. God wants to give strength to people whose hearts are fully committed to him. Does that describe your heart? Is your heart fully committed to God? Are your thoughts, choices, and emotions, fully committed to him? Or, do you retain control over those areas? Commitment. That's a theme for LBC. That's a focal point for LBC. Time after time, God directs the Sunday message to commitment. Do you want to know one reason why God so often directs the sermon to commitment? The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are full committed to him. God is looking for commitment, and when he finds it, he pours out strength. Today, I challenge you to be committed to commitment. Today, I challenge you to set your heart on a path that leads to full commitment to God. Here are a few ways you can turn up the volume of your commitment to God. (Slide 3) Commit to come to church each Sunday. This is a great place to start a journey toward full commitment. Sometimes you may be tired on Sunday morning. Come to church. Sometimes you may have something else that you want to do. Come to church. Sometimes you may feel too sinful to worship. Come to church. Sometimes you may be upset at a church member. Come to church. Commit to come to church each Sunday. Commit to read your Bible daily.

5 5 Your spirit and soul need fuel to propel you toward full commitment. The Bible says that food feeds our bodies only. God s Word is the food of your spirit and soul. You will be spiritually undernourished without a daily meal from the Bible. Your Bible is meant for daily use. Your Bible should show wear and tear from regular use. On a daily basis, your Bible should be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. Commit to read your Bible daily. Commit to come to Sunday School. After you read your Bible daily, come to Sunday School for explanation and application of its truths. Sunday School will help you to understand what God says in the Bible. As a plus, it s a fabulous way to meet people and make friends. A small group setting offers relationships that cannot be developed during our worship time. Commit to come to Sunday School. Commit to pray several times each day. Prayer is a two-way conversation with a loving God. It s a privilege to talk to the ruler of the universe. It s an honor to have the attention of God. Each day, pray early, and pray often. Prayer is the foundation of every successful Christian endeavor. Prayer is the reason for our progress as a church this year. God has blessed us in every area because of the faithfulness of some of our members to pray. Commit to pray several times each day. Commit to speak godly words. The tongue has the power to give life or cause death. Our future progress as a church will be closely related to the words we speak. Will you be complimentary rather than critical? Will you encourage instead of dishearten? Will you be positive rather than negative? Will you avoid harsh, rude, angry, biting, and ungodly words? Will you police your tongue, allowing it to speak godly words only? Commit to speak godly words. Commit to get involved at church. God s kingdom is staffed by people like you. There is something for everyone to do. We have people to greet as they arrive, classes to teach, grass to cut, a prayer sheet to pray over, things to be fixed, walls to paint, offerings to count, songs to sing from the choir loft, a building to clean, kids to love and guide, visitors to welcome and

6 6 contact, people to visit in the hospital, audio and video equipment to run, members to pick up to bring to church, a youth group to transport to events, and hundreds of other things for you to do. What does God want you to do here? Commit to get involved at church. Commit to care. Who isn t here this morning? Who will you call to show that you care? People don t like isolation. People come to church to have friends. They want to be noticed and accepted. They want people to care about them. Who in this room knows that someone cares because they know that you care? God wants us to care about each other. God wants us to care for each other. It takes a little time to notice who needs care. It takes a few minutes to make a phone call. The positive effect of the call may last a lifetime. People respond to care. Commit to care. Commit to seek God s leading. We love to do our own thing. We like to be boss. We like to pull out the road atlas of our lives and chart our journey. Most of us need to put our desires aside and seek God s leading. It s easy to make decisions based on what we think, but what matters most is what God thinks. God doesn t want volunteers who have accepted a position because someone has asked them to do something. God wants people who have answered his call to particular service. God doesn t want someone who thinks, Somebody needs to do it, so it might as well be me. God wants someone who will seek and follow his leading. If you are open to God s leading, he will direct you to do specific things for him. The Christian life is about seeking God s leading. The life of LBC is about seeking God s leading. God wants you to seek his leading for your life. Commit to seek God s leading. Conclusion: Are you committed to commitment to God? Will you turn up the volume of your commitment? Will you commit to come to church each Sunday? Will you commit to read your Bible daily? Will you commit to come to Sunday School? Will you commit to pray several times each day? Will you commit to speak godly words? Will you commit to get involved at church? Will you commit to care? Will you commit to seek God s leading?

7 7 (Slide 4) Let s go back to where we started. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says (9) For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. God is looking. He s looking for people who are fully committed to him. When he finds a fully committed person, he pours out his strength. Abundant strength. Sustaining strength. Uplifting strength. That s what I want. I want God s strength, so I m going to commit fully to him. Receiving God s strength is up to me, because I choose the volume of my commitment. It works the same way for you. When you choose your commitment level, you determine the amount of God s strength you will receive. So, how s the volume of your commitment? Is it a whisper of commitment or fully amplified commitment? I have great news for you. God s strength will find you if you will commit your heart fully to him. Are you committed to commitment to God? Let s pray.