Commitment

My Three Sons

Scripture: Matt 25:14-19

Introduction:

The story is told about 3 brothers who started working at the same time for a fur company owned by an old friend of their father.

After working there for more than a year, one son was still receiving the same salary as when he started, & seemed to be unhappy with his job. The second son had received a raise; while the third son had received a very generous raise.

Curious about this, the father went to see his old friend, the president of the company & said, "Jim, my 3 boys all work for you & I appreciate your giving them positions in your company. But I have a question. You pay one of them $2,500 a month, another $3,000, & the third $5,000. Why the difference?"

The president leaned back in his chair & was silent for a few moments. Then he answered, "Well, maybe I can show you why. Do you have enough spare time to wait around here for a while?"

"I can stay all day," the father said. "Well, I hope it won’t take that long, but let’s see." He picked up the phone & called the $2,500 a month son & told him, "I hear the Ontario has just docked at the wharf, loaded with furs. Please go down there & see what cargo she’s carrying & let me know."

About 3 minutes later the president’s phone rang & the young fellow said, "I didn’t have to go down there to get the information. I just telephoned them. They’re carrying 1,500 sealskins." The president said, "Thank you."

He buzzed the next son, the $3,000 one, & said, "The Ontario has just docked. Will you please go down & see what she has on board & let me know at your earliest convenience? About an hour later the phone rang & the son reported, "I just went down & checked the Ontario. She has 1,500 sealskins & some miscellaneous skins on board."

Then the president called the third son, the $5,000 one. He said, "The Ontario has docked," & told him the same story & made the same request. Four hours later the young man was back & came right to the president’s office. He said, "Well, she had 1,500 sealskins on board & all are in good shape. I contracted to buy them for $25 apiece, & filled that order we had from one of our customers. He bought all of them from us at $40 apiece."

"The Ontario also had 500 red fox pelts. Of course, we don’t handle red fox, but I knew someone who did, so I called him long distance & made a sale. That deal will net us about $6,000. There were also 39 mink skins on board. I went in & examined them. They’re beautiful. Since you always like to handle the mink trade yourself, I took an option on them for the rest of today so I could report to you."

The president said, "Thank you. You did exactly right, & I’ll check them out immediately." Then the young man left. Turning to the father, he asked, "Is your question answered?"

"Yes," replied the father, "the first one didn’t even follow your instructions, the second did exactly what you asked, but the last one gave you his very best."

We can learn much from this story. All three sons were committed to serving the president, one served poorly, the second obeyed and did just enough to get by and the third went beyond what was expected.

When I think of commitment I think of those like this third son who will go beyond just fulfilling the order. Commitment is such a relative term it can mean different things to different people. What is commitment?

I. Commitment Defined

A. Define Commitment, according to Webster commitment is a: dedication to a long-term course of action; engagement; involvement.

B. Let’s define commitment in a more practical sense. Think about the commitment you have with your spouse or someone close to you. Are you dedicated to that person for the long haul? Are you dedicated to the vows you made on your wedding day? Are you committed in the good times as well as the bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer.

Our society has lost the meaning of commitment and I am sad to say it has crept into our church. We need to take ownership of who we are in Christ and of our church. We need to stop thinking as volunteers and start thinking as servants.

C. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 6:20 that, For you were bought at a price, a costly price. Vs 19 he say’s, that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, this is where the Spirit of God dwells. Keeping it in context to what Paul is saying he is telling the Corinth church that you are the property of God and if you are the property of God then you will be committed to Him and the sinful things will be put away. If you are the property of God then you will be committed to Him in your Christian service and witness. It is not a volunteer position.

D. Let me put in another way, when my brother was in the Marines he learned what G.I. Government Issue really meant. One day him and some of his buddies went out to play volleyball, they were stationed at Camp Lajune in South Carolina. They got hot, so they took off their shirts and everyone got seriously sunburned. Most of the men went to the infirmary to be treated and those that did were written up and fined for destroying government property. G.I. Government Issue means that you are the property of the Government.

E. When we accepted Jesus as our Savior we became the property of Jehovah God, we were bought at a price. We are J.G. Jehovah God Issue. We have already been paid therefore there is no volunteer work when it comes to serving God.

II. Commitment Measured

A. How do you measure commitment? That is a tough question. In the service of the Lord how do I measure my commitment?

B. First does it glorify God? 1 Cor 10:31 “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

C. Second, is the church being edified? Acts 9:26-31

D. Third, by your works. It is very clear that we are not saved by works! There is nothing that I can do to gain favor from God.

E. Fourth, by the fruit

III. Solomon

A. When I think of commitment one biblical character comes to mind. I think of a man who had everything and whenever he set his mind on doing something he was totally committed at seeing the project through.

· When he was building the temple he was totally committed. Some scholars have said that the Solomon’s Temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world.

· When he gathered women into his harem he didn’t do it small, with a total of 300 wives and 700 concubines.

· When he partied he drank wine and ate food until he war merry.

· When he sat in judgment he was committed to do right.

And when he had his fulfillment of all that was meaningless he considered it nothing but chasing after the wind.

B. Eccl. 4:5-7 ⁵ The fool folds his hands And consumes his own flesh. ⁶ Better a handful with quietness; Than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind.⁷ Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun:

And in the end Solomon concludes that anything we commit to, that is without God, is meaningless, vanity.

IV. Your Commitment

A. What are you committed to? Who are you committed to? I asked people that I study with what is the most important things in your life.

In fact make a list, Think of what you are committed to, work, family, God, church? For the next week track your time spent in these areas.

Some of us may spend 1 hour a week ministering, that here at church and the other 167 hours doing our own thing

B. Barna Group statistics

· 45% of American adults attend church in a typical weekend, not including a special event such as a wedding or a funeral. (2005)

· 39% of Americans describe themselves as “a born again Christian.” (2001)

· Half of those who attend a Christian church (50%) say that they are absolutely committed to the Christian faith, and another 37% say that they are moderately committed. (2004)

· Only half of all adults (53%) identify being deeply committed to the Christian faith as a top priority. (2000)

· Less than half of all adults (42%) say being active in a local church is one of their top goals in life. (2000)

· 18% of people said that completely understanding and carrying out the principles of their faith was the highest priority in their lives. (14% of men versus 18% of women) (2005)

· Among born again Christians, 69% say they are “absolutely committed” to the Christian faith. (2005)

C. I wonder if we took theses same polls during the Apostolic Church how they would compare.

Conclusion:

The story that we began with had three sons, each one was committed to being at work every day, but each one had a different level of commitment.

The owner of the company called each son to do the same task.

The first son didn’t really fulfill the task as he was asked but yet he was rewarded, he received his $2500 pay.

The second son did exactly as he was told but nothing more, he was given more, $3000 pay.

The third son went beyond the expectations of the owner and was rewarded greatly, he was paid $5000!

Think for a moment, what would happen to this church if each person had the same level of commitment as the first son?

Now, what would happen to this church if each person had the same level of commitment as the third son?

Every member here has made a commitment in our baptismal vows. The question I would challenge you with is to what level will you take your commitment this year?