Building A Great Life V, A Life of Commitment

You look at the New Year as an opportunity to recalibrate, re-examine your life a little bit. How many of you spent some time in the last week looking into the New Year saying, let's take a look here and look at what needs to change? How many? Not everybody, but quite a few. How many of you made at least one concrete resolution for the New Year? Really, that is impressive. How many of you are determined and it's not going to be like it normally is? And how many of you already tubed the resolution and realized that... Well, today's message is about commitment. And it was interesting. I prepared this message three weeks ago and the Lord just put the brakes on it. We went through, talked about faith. Last week we talked about those ten specific points. And today, as we start this New Year, I want to talk about commitment. Because, friends, commitment is a long-term thing. How many of you watch the stock market? How many people in the room, just out of curiosity, how many just follow the stock market? Help me again here, raise your hand. How many don't care about the stock market? Really? OK, I don't really care that much either, but I can't help but follow it because they always flash in front of me. If you recall, last October, about the middle of October, there was this few days when the Asian markets went down and almost out and people in America got really frightened and looked like we might be going into another one of those crash-type scenarios. And analysts were saying, just, hey, wait, take it easy, don't panic, just stay put and remember that investing is a long-term proposition. And they were right. I want to say that about life. Life is a long-term proposition. And commitments have to do with what you're going to do with your life over the long haul. Look at these two scriptures as sort of a basis for our topic today. First of all, Psalm 37.5. It says, commit everything you do to the Lord, trust Him to help you do it, and He will. I've used the Living Bible several times today because I believe it just captures the essence of these scriptures. Look at the next one, Proverbs 16.3. Commit your work to the Lord and then it will succeed. And then the text that's on the top of your outline, look at this one. The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are, and I underlined it, I want you to circle it, fully committed, fully committed to Him. What does it mean to be fully committed to the Lord? Friends, that is an incredibly important question, one that I want to re-examine as I begin 1998. We live in a culture that tends to be moving away from commitment. Have you noticed that? Commitment is less valued now than it was 10 or 15 years ago. In fact, I was reading about jobs. Interestingly, these days, particularly in high-tech industries, if a person's been involved in a company for 8 or 9 years, it's considered to be a possible red flag. Like, why haven't they moved around more? Ever wondered why so many marriages seem to get just changed over and over? Commitment, they don't know where to really land anymore. Volunteer organizations. Have you watched, like, the local fire departments? Can't find enough people. Nobody's willing to be committed. Even in the church. More people are church-hopping these days than ever before. Why is that? Well, because people are being told, through just this information saturation thing, and the change-oriented culture, that, wait a minute, leave your options open, don't get too committed, because something better may come along, and you won't be able to move on. Now, friends, I just want to say very clearly and categorically, don't be deceived. Nothing really significant in life, nothing really significant happens without commitment. Commitment is an essential, necessary underpinning of everything that really matters. Why? Because, listen, commitment builds focus. Once you're committed to something, you're focused. And focused, over time, builds gradual improvement. And gradual improvement, over time, builds fulfillment. How many of you have children that play instruments? I know I'm giving a lot of hand raises. I'm just getting some aerobics going here. I remember when I first started to play my instrument. Remember how terrible it was, parents? I mean, you said, oh, man. Of course, you said, oh, that sounded wonderful, honey, but really, you were, oh... But when they got committed to it, they got focused on it, and then they, what, they gradually improved, and as they improved, what happened? They enjoyed it more, and they became fulfilled, and now they're up here playing in the worshipping. Remember, that's a key thing to understand about commitment. It builds focus. Focus brings improvement. Improvement brings fulfillment in every area of life. One of the most wonderful parts of this building for me is right through these curtains, right next to the gym. If you've never seen it, go back there after the service. You'll see two huge double doors with about 600 signatures on it. Four years ago, before we launched into this building project, there was about 600 folks that said, you know what? We believe God wants this building to be, and we're putting our names on the dotted line. We're going to give resources. We're going to commit to it, and I was there on New Year's Eve right after the service, and one of the men, I'm not sure if he's in this service or not, was kind of looking on the door for his name, and I said, well, your name's on there, isn't it? He said, yeah. He said, I just wanted to see it again. Just wanted to be reminded that I was part of what made this place come to be. Friends, commitment builds significance. In fact, if you're in the midst of anything that you don't understand, if things aren't happening, commitment changes things. Say that with me. Commitment changes things, and really, when I thought about it, commitment changes me, and then God can take care of changing things. Let me share with you very quickly four things about commitment. Number one, there's great power in our commitments. The Bible tells us that three things will happen when we make our commitments clear. First of all, they will show what we value. Commitments show our values. That's the first blank, please. Matthew 6, 24. Commitments show my values. In other words, I can tell you what's really important to you by you telling me what you're committed to. If a man says, you know what? I get up at 5 o'clock so I can get into Pittsburgh by 6 to get ahead of everyone else in my office, and I stay until 7 because I want to be there after everyone leaves just to show my boss how hard I'm working. That man's telling me something. He's saying, I'm committed to work. Now, he could tell me, hey, I'm committed to my family. I'm committed to God. I'm committed to exercise. I'm committed to my spiritual health and all those things, but if he's putting 14 hours a day in his job and he's giving no time to his family and little time to anything else, I'm telling you what's really important to him is his career. And I don't mean that as a judgment. I'm just telling you that's the value that his commitment is displaying. Friends, this is... I mean, you can say whatever you want. The fact is our lives show it. Singles, if a person says to you, hey, I love you, but they won't make a commitment to you, then they don't love you because the essence of love is a commitment to one person. That's what love is about. Now, in contrast, the uncommitted life is basically saying, hey, nothing's important to me except me. The uncommitted life is the epitome of selfishness as far as I'm concerned. It's someone saying, I'll do what is in my own best interest without asking what my lack of commitment might mean to someone else. Not long ago, we had a project that 15 guys committed themselves to. Well, on the day of the project, eight guys showed up. Seven didn't. Now, you know what that meant? Without thinking, and I don't know why they didn't show up. I didn't get any kind of response. Somehow, without thinking about it, those other seven guys doubled the workload on the other eight. Well, they got the project done, but I wonder if they thought about what their lack of commitment meant. Friends, let's understand something. Selfishness, in essence, is not being committed to anything. It's saying, I'm just going to watch out for me. I won't consider what I might be able to bring in order to benefit somebody else. Now, I know this isn't going to endear me to everyone here by any means. In fact, I might have a few of you just say, you know what, that's the last service I'm going to. But if you're not committed to anything else around here, if you're not committed to anything other than Sunday morning, if you're not in a group, if you're not in a ministry, if you're not part of the vision, if you're not part of the challenges that come along, if you don't avail yourself of something, why not? What's holding you back? We're starting a new year. It's time to make a new commitment. I wish you could have heard Chuck and Nancy Dunkle talk powerfully about what happened in their life because they have been committed over the years to a small group. And to hear that small group come to their side in the midst of their tragedy. Friends, you've got to understand there's value in this. It's time. Now, I know you don't want to hear me say this. And I know some of you say, well, you know, I've heard you talk about this, Pastor Jay, and I know I should, but I'm so busy. Well, I'm just going to provoke you. In fact, the Bible says I can provoke you. Do we have that scripture? I'm going to provoke you. According to Hebrews 10, 24, here's what I'm allowed to do. It says this. Let us consider how to. I want you to poke someone and say, get provoked. Provoke, all right? I'm going to provoke you now to love and good deeds. You've got to see this. This is so important. Now, so number one, commitments show my values. You can be committed to too many things. We'll talk about that in a moment. But for most of us, the key is finding what it is we're to be committed to. Second, my commitments shape my life. I become what I'm committed to. You morph into your commitments. In other words, you change. Show me a person's commitments. If you sat down with me and told me, well, these are the things, Jay, that I'm committed to. This is what I spend my time doing. I can basically tell you what your life is going to look like two, five, 10 years down the road. In fact, if you stick with those commitments, I can pretty much tell you what your life will look like all the way through because the dynamics that your commitments set in motion determine the essence of your character. Do you hear that? The dynamics that your commitments set in motion determine the essence of your character. And your character determines who you are. It's the essence of life. And so that's why letter three or number three there, my commitments determine my destiny. You know, aren't you glad there have been some people that have been committed to our destiny as a nation? How many of you served in the armed services? You see, those hands that are raised will tell you that there's people who said, wait, I was committed to this nation. And if you went to war, I'm grateful for people who at some point shed blood for the fact that this nation stood for something and because they believed in it, we stand here today with the freedom to talk about the things of God because someone believed in it. Well, in a personal way, it's the same thing. Our commitments determine our eternal destiny. And you know what, friends? I just wonder, you know, as another year rolls, and I look out there and I've known some of you 15, 20 years, we're rolling the calendar, aren't we? Life's going on and, you know, we're getting older and grayer and in some cases chubbier and in some cases poor, whatever the case may be, but we're getting closer and closer and closer to the reality of eternity. And aren't you grateful today that whatever this life is about, it doesn't end after 70, 80, 90 years or 34 years, whatever the case may be? One person recently described, our life is like one brick in the mansion of eternity. One little brick, and that's probably an overstatement. It might be a speck of dust. I'm so grateful that God said, we've got an eternal hope that's before us. Jesus said it this way, what will a man give in exchange for his soul? I want to ask that question very clearly in this service. What would you give in exchange for your soul? Volvo recently came out with an ad. I mean, I watch ads like everyone during the football games. I was just stunned as they came out and said, Volvo has now reached a new level of something. We can save your soul. Have you seen that? I put it on mute and I said, no way. What agency would have the kind of audacity to proclaim that a car could save your soul? So I went out and bought one and said, you know, it doesn't work. No, I didn't. I'm just kidding. We give our lives. What will a man give in exchange for soul? Well, listen, we give our lives in exchange for something every day. You know how many days you're going to live? I don't know exactly, but on average, I can tell you, we're going to live 26,500 days. That's kind of, that makes it a little more defined, doesn't it? That's, you know, they're just taking those right off tips. Most of us will exchange every day of our life for something. How many of you exchange an entire day of your life for football? Recently, watching football, huh? For New Year's Day, it was non-stop, right? How many of you exchange a day of your life for returning gifts to the department store? Maybe cleaning up your house after Christmas? If you laid around and did nothing, you exchanged a whole day of your life for doing nothing. One writer has said that time is the currency of the 90s. It is more valuable than money. You can always get more money, but you can never get more time. We all have a certain number of minutes every single day. Wise people used time investing and they invested, wisely rather, and they caused their commitments to reflect what is really important to them. And please remember, friends, what you exchange your life for will determine your destiny. So, the power of my commitments, they show my values, they shape my life, they determine my destiny. The most important commitment anyone can make, and we know this here at North Way, is our commitment to Jesus Christ. Many of you have made that commitment. Some of you are thinking about it. Some of you think you have, but you really haven't. What is the price of the commitment? And I want to land on this today because I think this is very important. I had a gentleman come up after the first service who shared with me, someone from out of town, he said, you know, I never really understood what it cost to be a Christian. What's the price of commitment? Well, Jesus was pretty upfront about it. It's the, in my estimation, the thing that's probably most hidden when the message is given out there about being a Christian. We talk about coming to Christ and letting Him take our burdens, but do we really understand what that means? Look what Jesus said, if you want to be my follower, you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters. Yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. Friends, there's not a dictator. There's not a tyrant in all of history that ever demanded that you love him. Do you realize how radical the statement that is? I mean, people who say, well, Jesus was a good guy and a good teacher, but he wasn't God, then don't say statements like this. No one can ask us, demand that is that we love them unless they're worthy of our love. And Jesus Christ was worthy of our love. Why? Well, because he created us, he designed us, and then he gave the ultimate display of his love for us by dying for us on the cross. That's why he can say, love me because I first loved you. My life was given for yours. Now, you give yours back in exchange for mine. And he says, I will give you a life like you can't imagine. But I must have first place. Friends, what I see happening in Christian circles that really disturbs me is so many people have Jesus be a little part of their pie of life. I mean, this whole casual, comfortable Christian life thing has just got me really riled up. There's just no way that it works. You can't have, well, part of my life is my career pie, and this part is my family pie or slice, and this is my hobby slice, and this is my slice of my finances, and here's the slice of my vacations. And oh, yeah, here's my religious slice. And they don't overlap. Jesus says, no, thank you. I won't be a part of your life. I will be your life. And there's lots of folks who don't get that part. And they wonder, what's going on? You know, C.S. Lewis said it this way. Christianity is either untrue and therefore unimportant. And what are you doing sitting here? If it's untrue and unimportant, let's go have lunch. You buy, OK? Or, he said, it's true and is of ultimate importance and deserves everything we've got because of its eternal consequences and is worthy of our highest energies because there's nothing more important. Then Lewis adds, the only thing Christianity cannot be is moderately important and partly true. Ponder that. It's like being semi-pregnant or half-dead. I mean, you know, it's either on or off. Sometimes these commitments cost us very dearly, don't they? Sometimes commitments are difficult. Being committed to Christ and his people is not always easy to do. I had a major conflict yesterday in my own life. About 3.30, my cell group, by the way, meets at 4 o'clock. I don't ask you to do anything I don't do. I'm in a cell group also. My group meets at 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoons. The group is meeting in a home that's about 25 minutes from my house when I'm really making good time through Cranberry and all the lights and all that kind of stuff. So at 3.30, I'm looking at my clock or my watch and thinking, hmm, my group starts at 4 o'clock. And, you know, it's just as displeasing to God to be late for cell group as it is for worship. Actually, it's probably even worse. So it's 3.30. You know where I am. I'm right where most of you are. Kind of watching the game. Sure, got the game on. You got the kids there and food's gone and having a good time. It's 3.30. I'm thinking, man, you know, I think there's like three minutes left in the game. The Patriots are starting to move the ball. And I'm, I mean, it was the most, I mean, this is tense, right? I mean, this is intense. And I'm thinking like, all right, now here's a clash. And I'm speaking on commitment tomorrow, God. You know, why tomorrow? And so I stand up and say, OK. I mean, you know, I said, Carol and Dave were there. I said, you know, I'm committed to my cell group. I'm going. And then that's when the Patriots started to move the ball up to the 30s. You know, I'll leave in 10 minutes. I can't say, well, you know, one thing led to another. It got to be a quarter before the game was finally over. Yes, I hop in the car. And I'm, you know, I get on the car phone. I say, I call my cell group. And I say, hey, you know, I'm coming. You know, have just a little mercy, a little grace. I'm going to praise God for grace. You know, this is a church that preaches grace. And I'm a pastor that believes in grace. And no one's going to condemn me for being 10 minutes late for my cell group. And I called my cell where the meeting was being held. And I talked to one of my friends there, the wife of the person. And I said, well, is everyone there yet? He said, oh, Pastor Jake, we're not having it today. I said, well, I was just five minutes away. And I was just about to get there. And, you know, it turned around. Well, not exactly, no. Those things happen to us. Let me share with you very quickly. Someone said this helped them the most in the earlier service. Because these are four measurable ways you can tell how you're doing. And your commitment, let me get real quickly. How are you doing? Number one, the first thing you can do is give the Lord Jesus the first thoughts of each day. Each morning, I will look to you in heaven and lay my request before you. Friends, what's the first thought in your mind when you awaken? Huh? Oh, gosh, Lord, it can't be six o'clock, right? Isn't it ironic that we use what we call alarm clocks in the morning? The other day, Carol had to get up before I did for some unknown reason to me. And her alarm clock went off. And we're listening to this thing that goes, ah, ah. And, I mean, your whole day is messed up when that happens, isn't it? I mean, just it sends something. I'm sure there's some explanation medically speaking. Just your whole day just starts. And I now figure out why they have the funniest people on the radio in the morning. You know, they're trying to redeem those of us that woke up to an alarm clock and got our day all messed up. And I have found this. If I can awaken in my first thoughts being, thank you, Lord, it's a new day. It changes my day. And you know what helps me to think that first? My last thought at night. Try it. Just try this little thing. Tonight when you go to bed, your last thought. Don't let it be some dumb, you know, weather report or, you know, something on television or some. Let it be something about the Lord. And what I find is it carries over. And the next morning, that same thing's in my mind. And I wake up in the morning. The first thing I say, Lord, thank you, a new day. And I mean to tell you, give him the first thought. And then if you can possibly carve out some time then to give the Lord just some focus. Can I suggest this? Read the good news before you read the bad news in the newspaper. Read the good news. And God will drop some things in your head that will start your day and get you moving in his purposes and his plans. Second thing I would suggest to you. Give the Lord the first day of each week. Acts 20, verse 7. On the first day of the week, the disciples came together. Friends, why do we worship on Sunday? You know, why not Wednesday? What's wrong with Friday morning? Why is it Sunday? Well, because number one, it's the re-celebration of the resurrection. And I want to underscore this point. Every Sunday we worship. It should be a reminder that we are going to be raised from the dead. Well, it doesn't excite me either, but you know, we are looking forward. It's a reminder that Jesus on the third day was raised from the dead. That's going to be our destiny. The second reason it's on Sunday is because it's the first day of the week. It sets the priority for the week. That's why it's called the Lord's day. It's not your day to sleep in or do what you need to do. This is another trend of the 90s and really began the 80s. It really perplexes me. How I've watched the Sabbath day become the Sabbath morning and then the Sabbath couple of hours. Does it disturb you at all that the busiest shopping day of the week now in grocery stores is Sunday? Have you ever wondered why the Lord made one of the ten commandments? He could choose ten things. He chose. Here are the top ten things he was concerned about. One of them was keeping the Lord's day. Holy. Why? Because he's created us with this need to be rejuvenated. Sabbath means rest. He wants you to end the day not worn out because you worked so hard or went shopping, but resting in him and with those that you love. I believe that's the purpose of the day. And I want to urge you to make that your commitment as well. Next thing is to give the Lord the first ten percent. How are we doing so far? If you're examining your life, you're doing okay? First ten percent of every paycheck. We talked about this a couple of months ago. We called it tithing. It's all through the scripture. Look at Proverbs 3.9 in the bottom of your outline. Honor the Lord by giving him whatever's left of your income. Now, what does it say? First part. First part. How many times can I say it? How many ways can I say it? Your giving to God should reflect your priority. In fact, I came across this scripture this week, which I thought was just a great one. Look at this. Deuteronomy 14.23. This is not on your outline. You might want to jot down the reference. The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your life. When you give the Lord your tithe, you are saying with your check, Lord, you're first. You're first. And I look to you first, and I honor you first. And then you begin to fulfill Matthew 6.23. Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to him. And why do we do it on Sunday? Why do we do it on the Lord's Day? Because 1 Corinthians 16.2 says, On the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week and use it for this offering. I've said this before. I'll say it again. I believe it's wisdom, if you are paid weekly, to give weekly. Give as you are paid. That's a way of your just reminding God, thank you. Thank you for the past. Lord, I'm counting on you for my priorities in the present, and I'm looking to you in faith for the future. Tithing isn't, by the way, giving to charity, and it's not about designating your offerings to certain things. It's about giving to God in worship, and that's very important. And finally, the fourth measurement is the first consideration in every decision. Do you put God first when you make a decision? Friends, please, don't just accept stuff that comes down the pike as, Well, I guess I have to do this because I heard from someone. You should bring to God every significant decision that you have to make. Just a quick prayer sometimes will connect you with the purposes of God, and he will lead you. He will direct you. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 says, Put him first, and he'll crown your efforts with success in your family, in your business, in your personal career, or whatever. What are the pitfalls? Why do people get discouraged in their commitments? Well, let me share why I'm concerned about this. As I look around this auditorium, and, you know, friends, we're growing as a church once again, and I see more and more faces each service. You know what concerns me is one day, when we stand before the Lord, some of you who are here now won't be standing there. I've been doing this now for a lot of years, and I see people start off with God with great intentions, and I see them veer off. One person told me recently, he said, You know, I used to love the Lord like you people do, whatever that meant. He said, But I got into some things. My business started to prosper, and I got caught up in it. And I got really inflated and excited about making a lot of money. And I stopped getting together with my group, and I stopped going to church. Started hanging out more with my other associates. Picked up a couple of hobbies. And he said, Now, all of a sudden, when I try to get connected with God, there's nothing there. Listen, one presumption that we make many times is that every time we want to come back to God, we'll just do it like that. And you have to understand something. God may not, He just may not be there like that. You don't know when you keep ignoring God when your heart, the Bible says, He'll give you up for hardened in your heart. That's a dangerous condition. And you know what gets us there? Look what the Scripture says. It's distractions. Letter A, we get distracted. The attractions of this world, the delights of wealth, the search for success and the love of nice things, in the end, crowd out God. I love the way it says that. Just circle that, crowd out God. Friends, there's nothing wrong with nice things. Please hear me. There's nothing wrong with success. I am not preaching against. In fact, I prayed for people to be blessed. But not if it crowds God out of your life. Don't get distracted. Don't let that be a pitfall for you. Because I want you to be able to stand before the Lord one day and hear Him say to you, Well done. You ran the race. You did what I called you to do. I've got a blessing in store for you. The second pitfall that I see is complacency. We become complacent. We make a commitment 5, 10, 15 years ago, and we never look back at it. We say, Well, you know, I went to the Charismatic Conference in 1989 or 79 and got blessed and that's all I need. Or I did this, you know, four years ago with my small group. Friends, listen. We need to ask God every time He prompts us, Am I on track? Do I need to make any different commitments for the new year? Please do not fall prey to being susceptible to that little deception called presumption. I told this story on New Year's Eve and it's really powerful. Joshua led his troops around the city of what? I was going to have everyone stand up and march around the auditorium seven times just to live that out, but I thought, well, we might shout and the whole place would come down. I don't want to do that. But you know that story, okay? Great victory. Never had to do badly. Just went in and cleaned up. But the interesting thing, if you read the next chapter in the book of Joshua, the next town they encounter is a little town called Ai. That's it. It's called Ai. That's how you spell it. And Joshua sent some spies out and they look at Ai and said, You know what? It's a no problem kind of town. We're going to go in and clean house. Just give us a few thousand troops. So Joshua says, fine. They go in. What happens when they attack Ai? If you know the story, they get routed. I mean, yeah, the enemy, the Amorites live there. They killed a bunch of the Israelites, ran them off, pursued them, killed them as they chased them. And Joshua and the children of Israel, they're devastated. And they fall on their faces before God and they're crying and say, God, why did you let this happen? The same old, you know, you blessed us here. The same old presumption thing. And the Lord says in the living Bible, it's great. He says this. Get up off your face, Joshua. The reason why you were slaughtered here was because there was sin in your camp. And what had happened is Achan had taken some of the precious things from the people in Jericho and stuffed them away and disobeyed God. So presumption of one man caused there to be sin in the entire camp of the children of Israel. And friends, I don't know what all the applications are. I just know this. Please don't presume that because you were blessed last year that you're going to be blessed in the year ahead. But rather, get on your face before God now and say, Lord, what do you want me to do new in 1998? What's going to stir my heart for you? What's going to cause your spirit to rise in me in a new way in the year ahead? And God will meet you. And you know what? It won't necessarily be the same thing you've done in the past. It might be entirely new. And you know what else? God is so wonderful because He's a God of such creativity. He's a God that lets you experience things that if you walk with Him, they're just surprises. We're called suddenlies. The Lord just breaks in. You know, I have a commitment that I made a while back, 17 years ago to be exact, that I would commit every Saturday night to being here at prayer and being before the Lord. And I've been very faithful to that through the years. But this is a little illustration of how God creatively uses me. Well, last night I had an opportunity. I was invited by Coach Edgar who's down at Duquesne University. And we become friends. And in fact, Scott was here on Friday with about 90 of our children helping to coach the little mini basketball camp. And he asked me to come down to the game. Well, I went through this trauma. I said, wait, well, you know, Scott, I told the Lord I'd be at prayer. God said, fine. He didn't put any pressure on me. But then the Lord started to work on me. And the Lord said, I just want you to be there. Well, okay. I'm not being complacent, am I, Lord? I'm not compromising here, am I? And, you know, it was a neat experience last night just to be part of that whole scenario and to be there praying for the coach and his team and watch God just do some great things. And you know what, friends? When you're just listening to God, He causes interesting things to happen in your life. I came back. I got here late. I prayed ti