Sermon Tone Analysis

*INTRODUCTION*

* *

/Philippians 3:7-14/

/7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

/

/12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

/

/NKJV/

/ /

*WHAT IS COMMITMENT?*

* *

As I was preparing this message I kept trying to settle on a proper definition for the thought I wanted to convey.

You see, Webster’s definition of commitment did not convey the message that the Lord had laid upon my heart.

Webster defines commitment as:

 

·        An act of committing to a charge or trust, as

o       A consignment to a penal or mental institute,

o       An act of referring a matter to a legislative committee, or

 

·        An agreement or pledge to do something in the future, as

o       Something pledged

o       The state of being obligated or emotionally impelled

 

Now these are all good definitions, but they didn’t suit me.

So, I came up with my own definition.

I decided to define commitment as *self-sacrificing devotion*.

I chose this definition because I have come to realize that my commitment to the Lord is based on devotion.

Now that word devotion implies an ardent love or affection and the word love implies the willing ness to sacrifice what you want to show how much you care for another.

Therefore, I define commitment as *self-sacrificing devotion*.

I also chose to use the Apostle Paul as my example of a man totally committed to Christ.

Paul had everything a young Jewish man could want.

Look at Phil 3:4-6 with me…

 

/Philippians 3:4-6/

/4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh.

If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

/

/NKJV/

/ /

Here we find that Paul was an Israelite, that he was circumcised on the eighth day in strict accordance with the Law, that he was from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, and a Pharisee.

His father was very wealthy and was also a Pharisee and all the family was considered Roman citizens.

Paul was born in Tarsus but raised in Jerusalem at the very feet of Gamiliel, the most famous Rabbi of his day.

Paul was extremely intelligent and was probably a candidate for the Sanhedrin.

He had it all, but one day around noon his entire life changed forever when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

On that day the most zealous persecutor of the church became the greatest evangelist to ever live.

On that day he became totally committed to Christ because he finally realized that the Lord loved him unconditionally, no matter what he had done.

*AN EXAMPLE OF COMMITMENT*

* *

At the time Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians, he was in jail awaiting trial.

As you read his letter it becomes clear that his focus is the Christ-centered life and the hallmark of that life is joy.

Remember, Paul had surrendered everything to Christ yet he was still able to say things like:

 

·        For me to live is Christ, and

·        To live and die in Christ is joy, and

·        To give up all to win Christ is joy

 

Christ had laid hold of Paul on that Damascus road and his sole passion was to glorify Christ in all he did.

He longed for this same experience to be repeated in the life of the Philippian believers.

He prayed that they would abound in the love of Christ and, like himself, would know the experience of Christ personally.

You see, Paul had endured many things for Christ since his conversion.

His father disinherited him, his family was ashamed of him, and his friends turned their backs on him.

We read in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27…

 

/2 Corinthians 11:23-27/

/23 Are they ministers of Christ?

— I speak as a fool — I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness —  NKJV/

/ /

Wow!  Paul endured so very much, yet, through it all, he never QUIT!

He remained committed to Christ.

Let’s return to our text.

/Philippians 3:7-14/

/7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.

8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

/

/12Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

/

/NKJV/

/ /

*WHAT SHOULD WE COMMIT TO THE LORD?*

 

First let’s look at what we should commit to the Lord.

In Ephesians 4:7-13 we find that the Holy Spirit bestowed special gifts upon every believer for the purpose of building up the church.

Each believer is given a gift and that gift is to be used to further the Kingdom of God.

We are not to waste those gifts by not putting them to use.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works.

Even though we can do nothing to earn our salvation, we should seek to serve the Lord by serving others.

God’s intention is that our salvation will result in works of service for others.

WE are not saved merely for our own benefit but for His – to glorify Him and build up the church.

In James 2 :17-20 we read….

/James 2:17-20/

/17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

/

/18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works."

Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

19 You believe that there is one God.

You do well.

Even the demons believe — and tremble!

20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

NKJV/

/ /

At first glance, this verse seems to contradict what Paul says in Romans 3:28….

/ /

/Romans 3:28/

/28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

NKJV/

 

Deeper investigation, however, shows that the teachings of James and Paul are not at odds.

Both Paul and James define faith as a living, productive trust in Christ.

Genuine faith cannot be “dead” to morality or barren of works.

While it is true that our good works can never earn salvation, true faith always results in a changed life and good works.

True faith involves a commitment of your whole self to God.

Therefore, we should be committed to God because of what He has done for us – out of gratitude and love!

 

*WHAT HINDERS OUR COMMITMENT?*

 

What keeps us from being committed?

What holds us back?

The greatest hindrance is Satan, the Father of Lies!

 

Paul often used athletics to teach about life.

Many times he compared himself to a runner in a race.

Now I have some experience with running races and let me tell you I have never run for longer than a mile without the thought of quitting coming to mind!