A Sober Commitment
Notes
Transcript
Growth
It is impossible to be commited but not involved...
for commitment demands involvement.
at the same time…it is possible for a person to be involved but still not be committed.
therefor it takes commitment and involvement together.
to not be involved or to not be engaged in action is to be inactive.
for to have an involved commitment to something is to:
be engaged as a participant
to oblige to take part
to show forth action
to occupy one self absorbingly: especially to commit oneself emotionally.
the bible requires us to be fully commited to the cause...
we cannot serve two masters
it also warns us about being luke warm
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
When we are first born again and begin our walk with God....we have a certain level of commitment or a type of commitment....it would seem.
At rebirth, we have such a level of excitement and zeal, we think that our level of commitment is at its highest.
what i mean by a “type of commitment”
we have a type of commitment when we first come to Christ but that level of commitment needs to and should, grow and evolve as time goes on.
we would say that the level of commitment we have is blind faith....we don’t really know much but have a zeal for God.
that zeal is based on an experience rather then on facts and knowledge.
in order to be fully commited to something, we must have knowledge and understanding of what it is that we are committing to.
If we don’t move on to perfection (so to speak) or continue growing…that newness can and will wear off.
likewise, the bible says we have all been given a measure of faith....but as time goes on, that level of faith grows as we learn and are shaped and molded by the Holy Spirit.......
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
just as every man is given a measure of faith…so every man has a certain level of commitment
the structure of this commitment must be built and established in our lives.
just as a person gets excited about something and decides to apply those principles to his life…so he must have a plan and a structure of how this will fit and be implemented into his life.
To commit to somethings means:
To obligate or to bind
Soberly means:
The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia Sober, Soberly
1. Gr. nēphō with its derivatives means to be free from drunkenness and every form of excess; hence to be calm, mild, collected, self-controlled, and even-tempered in mind and action
to be of a sound mind, be reasonable or sensible, act prudently or carefully (Mk 5:15; 1 Tim 3:2; Tit 1:8; 2:2, 12; 1 Pet 4:7). It is the antithesis of existēmi, “to be beside oneself” (2 Cor 5:13); therefore it signifies to exercise self-control by curbing passions (Tit 2:6) and pride (Rom 12:3). Its noun form, sōphrosynē, “sobriety” (1 Tim 2:9, 15) has the sense of moderation, and then modesty and chastity
Originally in classical Greek the nḗphō word-group referred to one who was completely unaffected by wine, i.e., one who avoided intoxication
so a person that does not indulge in strong drink or drunkeness, but this is not exactly the whole meaning of what we are trying to establish today.
but the word-group later indicated a sober manner of living demonstrated by self-control. In the this word-group is also used to express self-control, i.e., the antithesis of all mental fuzziness (1 Thess. 5:6, 8; cf. 2 Tim. 4:5). The verb Gk. né̄phō especially refers to watchfulness in regard to one’s responsibility to God and to self-control (1 Pet. 1:13; 4:7; 5:8). In the Hellenistic world the word-group (e.g., nēphálios) described a virtue expected of public servants; it was also expected of those in church leadership (1 Tim. 3:2, 11; Tit. 2:2). In the NT this word-group focuses not on the sobriety achieved by not drinking wine, but rather it refers figuratively to the clarity of mind and self-control for Christian service
when we commit ourselves to God…we are not just excepting our salvation and hoping for the best, but rather, making a sober commitment to a life pleasing to God and in thankfulness of what he has done for us.
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
the word peculiar has latin roots:
the word or phrase “peculiar people” is derived from the Lat. peculium, and denotes, as rendered in the Revised Version ("a people for God's own possession"), a special possession or property. The church is the "property" of God, his "purchased possession" ( Ephesians 1:14 ; RSV, "God's own possession").
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
We are a purchased possession. we belong to God
When Christ endured the cross, he endured it that he could redeem us from a life of sin
redeem:
to free from what distresses or harms: such as
a: to free from captivity by payment of ransom
b: to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental
c: to release from blame or debt : CLEAR
d: to free from the consequences of sin
titus 2: 12 told us exactly how we should live.
Soberly
Righteously
Godly (in this present world)
when we put this all together it gives a very clear picture of what our commitment should look like
a sober commitment:
a commitment that goes deeper than a mere thought or intent in our minds.
we commit ourselves to Christ by an obligation to serve him and binding ourselves to him through his blood,
not just an empty commitment but
watchfulness in regard to one’s responsibility to God and to self-control
Focused not merely on the sobriety achieved by not drinking wine, but rather referring figuratively to the clarity of mind and self-control for Christian service to our God.
God deserves nothing less from us...
when Christ died on the cross, he was fully committed to the end result for a people that was not even worthy of such love.
the only way we can have a commitment level like we should is through the power and strength of the Holy Spirit within us.
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
When we have Jesus on our side we are made overcomers.
we ask, why is it so important for us to be so committed?? Aren’t we gonna be saved anyway?
we have an enemy that is seeking to take us out by any means he can....
1 peter 5.8
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
the only thing that can remove us from the protection and redemption of God and to cause us to lose out with God is OURSELVES
Our future has no future when our future becomes our past.
when we lose track of our goals, direction and purpose, our future is lost..our vision becomes blurred and the way becomes dim.
When we fully commit to God daily…there is nothing that can remove us from God.
A commitment of this nature is absolutely required for one particular reason...
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Change: what is holding you back?
A long time ago, a Monk set out on his travels accompanied by his assistant, a Brother. The night was falling when the Monk told the Brother to go on ahead to find lodging. The Brother searched the deserted landscape until he found a humble shack, in the middle of nowhere. A poor family lived in a small shack. The mother, father, and children were dressed in rags. The Brother asked if he and the Monk could spend the night in their dwelling. “You are most welcome to spend the night,” said the father of the family. They prepared a simple meal consisting of fresh milk, cheese, and cream for the Brother and the Monk. The Brother felt moved by their poverty and even more by their simple generosity.
When they finished eating, the Monk asked them how they managed to survive in such a poor place, so far away from the nearest neighbors and town. The wife looked to her husband to answer. In a resigned tone of voice, he told them how they managed to survive. ‘We have one cow. We sell her milk to our neighbors who do not live too far away. We hold back enough for our needs and to make some cheese and cream and that is what we eat.”
The next morning, the Brother and the Monk said their good-byes and set out to continue their journey. After the Monk and the Brother had walked a few miles, the Monk turned to the Brother and said, “Go back and push the cow off the cliff!” “Father,” the Brother replied, “they live off the cow. Without her, they will have nothing.” The Monk repeated his order “go back and kill the cow.”
With a heavy heart, the Brother returned to the shack. He worried about the future of the family because he knew they depended on the cow to survive. His vow of obedience bound him to follow the orders of the wise Monk. He pushed the cow off the cliff.
Years later, the young Brother became a Monk. One day he found himself on the same road where he found lodging so many years ago. Driven by a sense of remorse he decided to visit the family. He rounded the curve in the road and to his surprise, he saw a splendid mansion, surrounded by landscaped gardens, in the place where the hovel used to be. The new house exuded a sense of prosperity and happiness. The Monk knocked on the door.
A well-dressed man answered. The Monk asked, “whatever became of the family who used to live here? Did they sell the property to you?” The man looked surprised and said he and his family had always lived on the property. The Monk told him how he had stayed in a hovel on the same spot, with his master the old Monk. ‘What happened to the family that lived here?” he asked.
The man invited the Monk to stay with him as his guest. While they ate, the host explained how the family’s fortune changed. “You know Father, we used to have a cow. She kept us alive. We didn’t own anything else. One day she fell down the cliff and died. To survive, we had to start doing other things, develop skills we did not even know we had. We were forced to come up with new ways of doing things. It was the best thing that ever happened to us! We are now much better off than before.”
To that, the Monk replied with a surprising look »So the cow was actually holding you back?«
Moral of the story
⦁ You can't expect different results by doing the same thing over and over again.
⦁ To make a change in your life you must first make a change in your mind
If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve alway got.
this walk with God is not a weekly, monthly or yearly commitment....rather its a daily commitment.....a sober commitment