Living a Life fully Committed to God
I point: Commitment to let go and let God Jesus said if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up the cross and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but, whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same will save it. For, what is a man’s advantage if he gains the whole world and lose himself or be cast away?
A life of self denial
God promises that if you will yield your rights to Him He will do whatever is best in your life to give you maximum fulfillment and spiritual maturity.
You can have joy in the midst of problems if you believe that God hears you. He knows your requests, He knows your needs, and He is listening to you.
II. point: Commitment to Lordship of Jesus Christ "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple"
(Luke 14:27).
There are many dedicated Christians who are willing to accept God's direction at any moment and surrender their jobs, homes, and comforts to accomplish their assigned tasks. However, they do not represent a majority within the Christian community.
We have an Americanized standard for Christian service that requires very little of us. It yields a sizable body of believers who never mature.
It seems in God's discipleship plan that some adversity and self-denial are necessary ingredients for spiritual maturity. One has to wonder what Bible some Christians read that promises them perfect health, unlimited success, and permanent residence at the location of their choice. Certainly it's not the one that gave us the Scripture verse for today.
A commitment to the Lordship of Christ means that we must be willing to go where and when God determines we can best be utilized. There's a hymn that goes something like this: "I'll go where You want me to go, Dear Lord; I'll do what You want me to do."
The apostle Paul describes us as soldiers in God's army, and we are admonished not to get so caught up in the everyday affairs of this life that we take ourselves out of the battle.
Remember that in Ps 91 we read, "He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
God expects every believer in the Christian faith to grow and mature in the faith.. He has provided 3 "essentials" for a person to achieve this.
A. Every person must have knowlwdge of God. This requires that person to study the Bible fervently to gain true and factual insight concerning God's attributes and the way God operates in the lives and daily affairs of the human race. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to Study to show ourselves approved unto God. From our study efforts, we learn how to establish a better personal relationship with God, find out what his will is for each person and dilligently persue him in our quest to carry out that established will. When we dilligently seek him, the more intimate and personal our relationship with Jehovah will develop and be realized.
B. Every person must rely on the Holy Spirit to reveal ther "oracles" of God to them.The person must develop a fierce hunger and thirst after the "righteousness" of God. Jesus said in John chapter 14 that the Holy Spirit's purpose was to guide us toward all truths concerning Jesus Christ our Messiah. The Bible said that anyone who hungers and thirst after God's righteousness shall be filled.
C. Every person must strive to obtain the Spirit of Wisdom so they can get a firm understanding of who God really is and how we are to relate to him. Jesus said in order to worship God the correct way, we must worship him "in spirit" and "in truth".
In a nutshell, in the quest to to grow as a Christian, the individual must seek out true wisdom that can only come from God more than they would seek anything else in this world. In essence, their heart must be open to the light of God in order to grasp spiritual illumination that will be revealed to them by the Holy Ghost as they seek God through prayer and study the Word of God.
Rev. William Edward Boddie
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