What’s Your Level Of Commitment?
Pastor Carolyn J. Blue
Luke 9: 57 – 62 KJV
57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Luke 9: 57 – 62 NLT
57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”
The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus told him, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead![a] Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”
61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”
62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
What is commitment?
In simplest terms, a commitment is “something pledged.”
For example: If I promise my granddaughter that I’m going to take her to Walmart, that’s a commitment, and it’s expected of me to keep my commitment to her.
When you sign a deed of trust and promise to make your house payments, that’s a commitment that your lender expects you to keep that same vibe when times get tough, and keep your commitment.
God promises eternal life to the faithful — that too is a commitment.
Commitment is a popular word that’s used in religious circles. But don’t forget that commitment is a two-edged sword. When you commit yourself to God, you are committing yourself to obey Him —
With commitment comes responsibility. With that responsibility comes accountability and accountability circles back to commitment.
What’s your level of commitment?
The scripture tells us that as Jesus and His disciples were walking to another village someone said to Him, I will follow you wherever you go! But Jesus knew that it was a serious costs to what this individual was saying.
We are quick to say that we will go wherever the Lord wants us to go until we are faced with opposition or what we know as distractions in our lives.
So Jesus replied,
“Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
He was saying that wild animals and birds have their own places to live, but He the Son of Man, had no place of His own to lie down and rest.
So think about it, did he really mean it when he said he would follow Him anywhere and everywhere that He went?
Then in verse 59, Jesus said to another man:
Come follow me, come with me! But how how many of you know that the man had an excuse. Sounds familiar? Lord I’d go with you if I have to go by myself but…. Wait. A Minute …
Let me go home first and bury my father. Let me take care of his affairs first and i got you Lord!,,
But Jesus was intentional about His business! He was on an assignment and He knew his level of commitment to His father!,,
Jesus went on to tell the man,
“Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”
Then we see in verse 61 another man tells Jesus,
said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”
Jesus is clear on how and what our commitment should be when He he said in verse 62:
“Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” We shouldn’t procrastinate. You are not to look backwards. We are to look straight in front of us. When you look backwards you can’t ploughing well. You can’t put off God’s kingdom till tomorrow. We are to seize the day! People who are looking behind them can’t work well for the kingdom.
Jesus requires a total, complete, sacrificial commitment from people who desire to be His disciples. But at the same time, Jesus has shown us the way to salvation by living the committed life He requires of us.
Commitment requires action on our part in response to God. There is no point talking about commitment unless we have at least the intention to commit. It takes being intentional!
Our purpose must be an intentional response to God and the things of God, and not just to increase our head knowledge.
Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act” (ESV). Again the basic idea is to entrust. To entrust means to put something into somebody else’s care. To commit one’s spirit to God is to put one’s own life, one’s own spirit, into God’s care.
Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established”. Commit all your work and activities to God so that He may cause them to bear fruit according to His will.
Commitment means to Love God with our Whole Being
Let us look at a couple of explicit statements. Let us start with something familiar from the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 6:5-7:
Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (HCSB)
Whether you are asleep or awake, or outside the house or inside, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
That is total commitment, plain and simple. Just like the Israelites, we are to love God with their entire being is repeated in Deuteronomy 11:13:
So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul … (NIV)
What’s your level of commitment?
This principle is reaffirmed in the New Testament, in the very teaching of Jesus Christ:
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Mt.22:37, ESV)
Therefore, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, total commitment literally means loving the Lord our God with our whole being.
What’s your level of commitment?
- Are you totally committed?
- Are you committed while it’s convenient?
- Are you committed when things get tough?
Commit to God and be intentional about your commitment level, and stay faithful and true to the call of commitment!
C hrist
O ffers
M ajor
M iracles
I ntentionally
T oday