by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\tI. Robert Turner told a story about a hen and a pig who became very good friends. One\nseldom saw them apart. One day as they strolled about the barnyard lot, the hen\nsuggested that since they had never eaten breakfast together, that they do that the next\nmorning. Never being one to turn down a meal, the pig readily agreed and asked, “What\nwill we eat?”\nThe hen stood in deep thought for a while, then said, “It appears to me that if each of us\ncontributes something to the meal it will be more meaningful to each of us.” “Fine,” said\nthe pig, “and what do you suggest?”\nAgain, the hen stood as if in deep thought for a while and then said, “I have an idea, let’s\nhave ham and eggs. I’ll provide the eggs and you the ham.” “Hold on,” said the pig,\n“What you offer to contribute is the fruit of your labor, but what you’re asking of me\nrequires total commitment!”\n
II. The first and greatest commandment is to love God with our whole being – Mt 22:37-40<\/p>\n
A. We cannot hold anything back – Luke 14:33<\/p>\n
B. What we have to offer God is our own selves – Rom. 12:1<\/p>\n
III. A total commitment puts God at the head<\/p>\n A. Many of us feel pressures to do many different things at once. We have to chose\nthe things that are the most important.\n
B. Too often God is put off<\/p>\n
1. We don’t have to face Him directly.<\/p>\n 2. We won’t see the consequences immediately. We tell ourselves that we\ncan make it up to God later.\n
3. Matt 6:33 – God’s church comes first.<\/p>\n
C. The example of the disciples – Mt 4:18-22<\/p>\n
1. They were invited by Christ to follow him<\/p>\n 2. They left their families, their business, they even left their equipment just\nfor a chance to follow the Messiah.\n
3. Yet the same invitation is offered to each one of us.<\/p>\n a. A few here show your priorities. The offer is made to put on\nChrist, but “I don’t know, maybe later.” Later will never come with\nthat attitude. You can always put it off. I’m sure it doesn’t take\nmuch effort to convince yourself that it is best to wait just a little\nwhile longer. Without a commitment to God, it would be\nmeaningless anyway.\n b. Some of you have respond with zeal at first, but the years since you\nhave let the world distract you — subtly changing your priorities. \n“I would do that, if only I had the time.”\n
D. It is the apathy that kills more people’s faith.<\/p>\n 1. It is not like we are facing opposition, thought some have to so that they\ncommit their lives to Christ.\n a. Erik Steinmetz had to leave his home because he chose God over\nhis mother’s religion.\n b. Would you cave in to your mom or go with what you know is\nright?\n c. Mt 10:34-37 – If you can’t put God before your parents, you don’t\ndeserve salvation.\n
2. Some chose a lifetime of persecution<\/p>\n a. Early Christians face all sorts of problems. I just read the other day\nhow that Rome developed a policy of giving out a token to show\nthat you had made a sacrifice to the Emperor. Without that token,\nyou could not shop in the market place, you could be arbitrarily\narrested. \n
b. Mt 10:38-39<\/p>\n
c. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs<\/p>\n“The causes why the Roman emperors did so persecute the\nChristians were chiefly these — fear and hatred.\nFirst, fear, for that the emperors and senate, of blind ignorance, not\nknowing the manner of Christ’s kingdom, feared and misdoubted\nlest the same would subvert their empery; and therefore sought they\nall means possible, how, by death and all kinds of torments, utterly\nto extinguish the name and memory of the Christians.\nSecondly, hatred, partly for that this world, of its own natural\ncondition, had ever hated and maliced the people of God, from the\nfirst beginning of the world. Partly again, for that the Christians\nbeing of a contrary nature and religion, serving only the true living\nGod, despised their false gods, space against their idolatrous\nworshippings, and many times stopped the power of Satan working\nin their idols: and therefore Satan, the prince of this world, stirred\nup the Roman princes and blind idolaters to bear the more hatred\nand spite against them. Whatsoever mishappened to the city or\nprovinces of Rome, either famine, pestilence, earthquake, wars,\nwonders, unseasonableness of weather, or what other evils soever,\nit was imputed to the Christians.”\n d. And we are not at this time called upon to endure this great of\nsuffering in this country just because we are Christians.\n
3. Some people are more concern with worldly things.<\/p>\n a. This is the problem Martha had. She let herself be distracted by\neveryday things. – Lk 10:40-42\n b. In your grandma or great-grandma’s day, she used to get up on\nSunday morning, cook a big breakfast for her large family, milk the\ncows, churn, clean house, kill and dress the chickens for dinner,\ndress the children, then drive with the family in a buggy or wagon\nfive miles to worship services and was likely to get there early.\n c. Today — when breakfast comes in a cereal box, the milk, butter,\nand chickens come from the grocery store and the distance to the\nmeeting house is covered in minutes in an automobile, it is almost\nimpossible for some folks to make it in time for Bible study.\n
d. What is the difference, but a willing commitment to God?<\/p>\n 4. I truly believe that we just have it too easy. Our complacency and our lack\nof commitment is slowing strangling our faith.\n
IV. God rewards those who have their priority straight<\/p>\n
A. Not just an eternal reward. There are benefits here and now – Lk 18:28-30<\/p>\n B. David would rather be a doorkeeper in God’s house than to live the life of ease\namong the wicked – Ps. 84:10-12\n
C. Godliness is profitable in all things – I Tim 4:8-9<\/p>\n 1. Properly following God’s teachings will make you a better father, mother,\nhusband, wife, employee, business owner, or friend\n 2. It is not a promise of a life of ease, but of greater service to God and our\nfellow men.\nV. God does require a total commitment of us, even to the point of dying for him if called to\ndo so.\n A. Many of us believe we are that strong, but total commitment also means a\ndedication to God even when nothing opposes us, when cares of this world\ndistracts us, when friends and relatives conspire against us.\n
B. How committed are you to God?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Robert Turner told a story about a hen and a pig who became very good friends. One seldom saw them apart. One day as they strolled about the barnyard lot, the hen suggested that since they had never eaten breakfast together, that they do that the next morning. Never being one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[1177],"class_list":["post-62039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-commitment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55354,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-universe-how-and-when\/","url_meta":{"origin":62039,"position":0},"title":"The Universe — How and When?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Abernathy Stephen Hawkins, (now deceased) the theoretical physicist and cosmologist, and director of research at the University of Cambridge, and Leonard Mlodinow, physicist and screenwriter, in their book The Grand Design, explored the questions: \"When and how did the universe begin?\" \"Why are we here?\" \"Is the apparent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/acts-11-does-not-prove-we-can-now-eat-pork\/","url_meta":{"origin":62039,"position":1},"title":"Acts 11 does not prove we can now eat pork","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You said we could eat pork and pulled Acts 11 out to debate your cause, but you see that that vision was talking about the Gentiles if you keep reading on. The Bible tells us to get the conclusion of the whole matter. Answer: In \"Uncleanness,\" I said: \"While\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-trivia-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":62039,"position":2},"title":"Bible Trivia (Animals)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In what way were the disciples to be like snakes? Who blamed a beast for the evil they had committed? One day, Isaiah said, lions would eat what? Name two people who talked with an animal? What did Jonah do while he was in the great fish? Complete the following:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53620,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-wet-dreams-sinful\/","url_meta":{"origin":62039,"position":3},"title":"Are wet dreams sinful?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: On the site, I read \"My wife no longer has a desire for sex. What do I do?\" which says something about nocturnal emissions. I never heard of the word, so I looked it up, and it said something about wet dreams. 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