|
|||||||
|
|||||||
 |
|||||||
|
The Commitment Commitment is to pledge or obligate oneself. True commitment is intense because it is an attitude which exclaims, “I won’t give up.” It requires tenacity, perseverance, and the courage to get the job done!
In our text, Peter and John were confronted by religious leaders who were concerned about the healing of a lame man crippled for 40 years. In a lot of instances, the level of your commitment is determined by the level of your ability to stand on the truth even when you must stand alone! Peter and John escalated their situation by talking about Jesus. Because of their commitment, they spoke with boldness! Such boldness was so great that verse 13 indicates,
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
What is it about you that lets others know you’ve been with Jesus? When the religious leaders observed Peter and John, they noticed several things.
These men had boldness. They were not afraid to be witnesses for Christ! Sunday-only witnessing is like fishing in an aquarium. Now, you’re sure to catch something, but you wouldn’t tell too many people about it because the fish in the aquarium had already been caught!
Giving long testimonies on Sunday at Church is alright, but ought to be a preview of the witnessing you do off-site on the job, at home, or in the community. We need people who are bold enough to take a stand for Jesus whenever the opportunity presents itself. Sometimes the opportunity comes so quickly we miss it. Sometimes it comes and we are afraid to hurt people’s feelings, so we say absolutely nothing. We should always pray the Lord would make us aware of those opportunities when they come and we would follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes your best witness is just to let His light shine in your life. Other times, the Lord gives us holy boldness to speak His Word at just the right time.
These were unlearned men. They were not religious scholars. They were simple men who were not considered intellectuals. Nevertheless, there was something about them that stood out.
It wasn’t Peter and John’s educational background that caused them to stand out. Instead, it was the fact they had put their trust in the Son of God. As a result, they had made a commitment to obey the Lord’s. They were ordinary men just like you and me, but they knew Jesus!
Leonard Ravenhill said, “God takes an unholy man out of an unholy world and makes him holy, then God takes him back into the unholy world and keeps him there!” The spiritual acid test is “How well do you love the Lord?”
Let’s look at the Scripture and see what Jesus said about loving Him. In John 14:15, He said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” What were the commandments? The commandments were prescriptions, or directions God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Jesus sums them up in John 15:12, “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.”
Now John 15:10 gives us the full impact of what He was saying.
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.”
Now there is a reason why Jesus expects us to keep His commandments if we love Him. Take a look at verse 11: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Jesus wants us to experience His joy. Now what does it mean when we speak of His joy? The Greek word is 'chara.' It means an inner gladness, or a deep-seated pleasure. It provides a cheerful heart which leads to cheerful behavior. It is a divine joy that is given by God. This is why we say, “The world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away!” Who wouldn’t want to experience such joy?
In verses 12-14, Jesus said,
“This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you.”
Jesus is saying here, “There is no greater love that can be shown than the love that causes someone to lay down his life for a friend.” Jesus uses this to describe the type of love He had for His disciples. It was love that was going to cause Him to do just that! We are called to love each other with Christ’s love.
Now in John 14:21, Jesus said,
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
This is great stuff because it demonstrates whoever does not just know the commandments of Christ but applies them in their life is a person who really loves the Lord and is loved of God. Now what’s even greater is what we see in Peter and John. Though they were not well-educated, because of their relationship with Jesus, they had the manifestation of Christ in their life!
There was something about these men that caused people to take note they had been with Jesus. Jesus was manifesting Himself in them! So you have made a commitment to follow Christ; is there enough going on in your walk, your talk, and your life that will tell others you have been with Jesus? Moses spent 40 days on the mount with God. When he came down, there was a glow on his face that came from being in the presence of God! When the disciples unknowingly spent time with Jesus on the Emmaus Road, they went away saying, “Did not our hearts burn?” What has happened in your life since you’ve spent time with the Lord? Are you walking better? Are you talking better? Most importantly, are you living better?
Verses 14-16 indicate,
“And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.”
When there is commitment to Jesus, the world doesn’t know how to react. That’s why you make them nervous!
The council agreed the disciples had indeed done a notable miracle and it was manifested to all them that dwelled in Jerusalem. They could not deny it! Here was the evidence – the man who had been healed was lame from birth. There was no way to deny the miracle.
When a commitment has been made to live for Christ, those who know us ought to find enough Christ in us so no one can deny we’ve been with Him. Some are committed verbally, but verbal commitment never withstands the pressure. Some are committed because their friends are committed. This type of commitment falls apart when friends leave. Those who are really committed to Jesus will be committed to Him even if they have to stand alone! They have an understanding of the wisdom of the psalmist in Psalms 37:3-6.
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
The religious leaders pondered over what to do with these men and in verse 17, they decided, “Let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.” The idea was that the witness spread no further. Unless you have truly made a commitment to follow Christ, the devil will shut you down! He wants you to get discouraged, go back home, and sit down. For some, all it takes is someone giving them the wrong look and they get mad and go home!
Have you ever been discouraged? Well, I have, and you know what discouragement will do – it will make you feel like giving up. Discouragement is a trick of the enemy that causes you to doubt God’s Word!
You can make a decision to take on a particular task and invariably, someone will bless you with words of DISCOURAGEMENT! They will tell you it’s too hard, you can’t do it, it’s too dangerous, etc.! They’ll give a dozen excuses as to why you can't do it! That’s why it’s not good to tell everyone what you’re going to do. Pray over it, make certain you’re in the Lord’s will, and move forward. You might even get some godly, close friends in the faith whom you can trust and have them pray with you!
Verse 18 says, “They called the disciples, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.” If you haven’t truly made a commitment in your heart to follow Christ, a little rain on Sunday will stop you from going to Church. The preacher preaches too long, or the choir sings too loud! Any old excuse will stop you from going to Church; but if you’ve made the commitment to serve the Lord, you have a determination which simply says, “I’m going to wear out in His service before I rust out!”
The commitment must be made before trouble comes! Peter and John already made the commitment and so they said in verses 19-20,
“Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
In other words, they were saying, “We can’t help but to talk about our experience with Jesus!” If you have a hard time talking or getting excited about Jesus, it could be the result of a Commitment problem!
Many who use the word commitment aren’t really committed! They talk a good talk, and may even go through the motions of a commitment; but if you watch their lifestyle, it will testify against them. Truthfully, they haven’t dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ! Commitment to Christ is a decision every Christian must make after he accepts Christ. It is not a requirement for salvation. If you’re going to be a strong Christian soldier, you must be committed to the Captain of the army, Jesus Christ! When you are committed to Christ, you don’t go to church just because you love to hear the pastor speak! When there is true commitment, you don’t come to church because you like to sing in the choir, because you’re the president of the XYZ Club, or because other Christians are expecting you there! No, you do it because you’re really COMMITTED to the Lord!
I return home every day because my wife, Rebecca, and son, Cameron, are at home. I go to work every day to make certain I can provide for their needs. You see, I have a commitment to take care of the family! That’s the way it is when we love the Lord. We show up to worship Him on Sunday because of our Commitment to Him. We go to work on Monday, representing Jesus Christ, because of our Commitment to Him!
|
|||||||
 |
|
||||||
