4-16-2022 West Palm Beach 7th Day BAPTIST “Commitment To The End” Pastor Garfield I Thessalonians 5;1-11, Matthew 27;57-61
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My first question to you is how committed are you? When you think about success, one strong ingredient of it is commitment. Without commitment we are failures and without commitment our dreams will remain just dreams and never become reality. But with commitment we have the energy to go on and we surpass our own expectations most of the time. When you have commitment, it is not about your feelings or emotions but it is about the objective you are committed to accomplish. It must be inside of you to keep you on your journey until the end comes.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is the perfect example of commitment to the End. I Thessalonians 5;9-10 says God did not appoint us to wrath but sent Jesus to die for us and give us salvation whether we are still living or dead. We should comfort one another with these words. I want to say that when we have commitment, we have victory thru our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, the loving kindness of our Lord and Savior makes all the difference in our lives. Jesus is our Living Hope and the one who has set us free. When we feel life is not worth living, we need to surrender all of our pain to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In our text in Matthew, something happened after Jesus died. Jesus Christ is not dead and He rose from the dead. Jesus had commitment to the end. Have you ever started a course of study that would take five years? And when you think of all the assignments, homework every day, you feel like you want to stop? Have you ever went to work and saw all the assignments, tasks you had to do and you say “Lord I don’t have the energy for this?” I want to assure you that when you call on Jesus’s name, it makes all the difference. We must be determined to hold on to the end. With Jesus as my Savior, on Him I can depend and I know that I have Salvation. Be determined to hold on to the end with our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In our text Jesus dies and a man went to Pilate to get the body of Jesus. Understand that when someone is crucified, the body normally stays on the cross for humiliation and to be eaten by animals and birds. But the rich man of Arimathaea decided that this would not happen to the body of his Lord and Savior. The Bible tells us that they put the body in a tomb. The challenge I’m putting to you today is “what will you do with the body of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?” At the last supper before Jesus died, He took bread and said it was His body that was broken for us. He said for us to eat it and to always do this in remembrance of Him. Joseph, the rich man, put Jesus’s body in a brand new empty tomb. What will you do with the body of Jesus Christ? There were many people who saw Jesus die but chose not to be a part of taking care of His body.
From the birth of Jesus there were always significant things that happened to the body of Jesus.
1. Jesus Came Into this World by the Virgin Mary: This is a miraculous way to get a body into this world. There is a comparison between the birth and death of Jesus because it was a virgin womb and a virgin tomb. Mary had to be a virgin so they could not say she was pregnant by man. The tomb had to be a virgin so they could not say another man’s body was put there or missing or that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Brothers and sisters, there is nothing that happens without a reason. The challenges we have in our lives are all for different reasons.
2. As Jesus Had this Body, He was Walking on Earth and Had a Miraculous Life: Jesus was at a wedding and turned water into wine. I remember when Mary and Martha were crying about their brother. Jesus said “Lazarus come forth”. We must understand that when we are living for God, every day of our life becomes a miracle. When you are committed to the end, you will not allow anything like circumstances or disappointments to take you off course. You must remain committed to the end.
3. Jesus’s Death Was a Miracle: Jesus is the incarnate God, the one who came from heaven to earth. Jesus was all powerful and could have called for help. Instead Jesus had to surrender Himself and miraculously He submitted to death. When we think of the commitment of Jesus Christ, we must think on three things. 1. Love 2. Sacrifice and 3. Victory. Jesus lived these three words. He had love for us and so He sacrificed His life for us and His resurrection was the victory. Understand that in our own lives, if your commitment is wrapped up in love, if your commitment is directed by sacrifice then there will be victory in your life.
Commitment: This means the state of being dedicated to a cause. Many people don’t reach their ultimate potential because they don’t have this commitment. If you can understand the love of God, the sacrifice of Jesus and the victory that they experienced then your life is in the hand of God. Commitment also means an engagement or obligation that restricts your freedom to act. If your objective is to get to this church building, there will be many lefts or right turns on the road as you drive. Because you are committed to this destination, you will not be tempted by the left or right turns on the road. It is the same thing with our lives.
The women at the tomb were followers of Jesus Christ. They stayed with Jesus after He died to prepare and honor His body. They did not care who knew they were followers of Jesus. They were committed to the end to be with their Lord Jesus Christ. My question to you is “How committed are you to Jesus Christ?” When the questions come and when the challenges come, do you remain committed to Jesus? Realize that these women understood who Jesus was. They understood the impact and commitment of Jesus Christ to their own lives. So they stayed with His body.
Many of us when things get bad, we want to run away from the problems. Instead we should stay and be determined to hold on to the end when we are having our challenges. Some of our challenges are made to bring us almost to the point of death so that we can live. We need to die to the challenges of this world and stay committed to Jesus Christ until the End.
AMEN
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My first question to you is how committed are you? When you think about success, one strong ingredient of it is commitment. Without commitment we are failures and without commitment our dreams will remain just dreams and never become reality. But with commitment we have the energy to go on and we surpass our own expectations most of the time. When you have commitment, it is not about your feelings or emotions but it is about the objective you are committed to accomplish. It must be inside of you to keep you on your journey until the end comes.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is the perfect example of commitment to the End. I Thessalonians 5;9-10 says God did not appoint us to wrath but sent Jesus to die for us and give us salvation whether we are still living or dead. We should comfort one another with these words. I want to say that when we have commitment, we have victory thru our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, the loving kindness of our Lord and Savior makes all the difference in our lives. Jesus is our Living Hope and the one who has set us free. When we feel life is not worth living, we need to surrender all of our pain to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In our text in Matthew, something happened after Jesus died. Jesus Christ is not dead and He rose from the dead. Jesus had commitment to the end. Have you ever started a course of study that would take five years? And when you think of all the assignments, homework every day, you feel like you want to stop? Have you ever went to work and saw all the assignments, tasks you had to do and you say “Lord I don’t have the energy for this?” I want to assure you that when you call on Jesus’s name, it makes all the difference. We must be determined to hold on to the end. With Jesus as my Savior, on Him I can depend and I know that I have Salvation. Be determined to hold on to the end with our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In our text Jesus dies and a man went to Pilate to get the body of Jesus. Understand that when someone is crucified, the body normally stays on the cross for humiliation and to be eaten by animals and birds. But the rich man of Arimathaea decided that this would not happen to the body of his Lord and Savior. The Bible tells us that they put the body in a tomb. The challenge I’m putting to you today is “what will you do with the body of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?” At the last supper before Jesus died, He took bread and said it was His body that was broken for us. He said for us to eat it and to always do this in remembrance of Him. Joseph, the rich man, put Jesus’s body in a brand new empty tomb. What will you do with the body of Jesus Christ? There were many people who saw Jesus die but chose not to be a part of taking care of His body.
From the birth of Jesus there were always significant things that happened to the body of Jesus.
1. Jesus Came Into this World by the Virgin Mary: This is a miraculous way to get a body into this world. There is a comparison between the birth and death of Jesus because it was a virgin womb and a virgin tomb. Mary had to be a virgin so they could not say she was pregnant by man. The tomb had to be a virgin so they could not say another man’s body was put there or missing or that Jesus did not rise from the dead. Brothers and sisters, there is nothing that happens without a reason. The challenges we have in our lives are all for different reasons.
2. As Jesus Had this Body, He was Walking on Earth and Had a Miraculous Life: Jesus was at a wedding and turned water into wine. I remember when Mary and Martha were crying about their brother. Jesus said “Lazarus come forth”. We must understand that when we are living for God, every day of our life becomes a miracle. When you are committed to the end, you will not allow anything like circumstances or disappointments to take you off course. You must remain committed to the end.
3. Jesus’s Death Was a Miracle: Jesus is the incarnate God, the one who came from heaven to earth. Jesus was all powerful and could have called for help. Instead Jesus had to surrender Himself and miraculously He submitted to death. When we think of the commitment of Jesus Christ, we must think on three things. 1. Love 2. Sacrifice and 3. Victory. Jesus lived these three words. He had love for us and so He sacrificed His life for us and His resurrection was the victory. Understand that in our own lives, if your commitment is wrapped up in love, if your commitment is directed by sacrifice then there will be victory in your life.
Commitment: This means the state of being dedicated to a cause. Many people don’t reach their ultimate potential because they don’t have this commitment. If you can understand the love of God, the sacrifice of Jesus and the victory that they experienced then your life is in the hand of God. Commitment also means an engagement or obligation that restricts your freedom to act. If your objective is to get to this church building, there will be many lefts or right turns on the road as you drive. Because you are committed to this destination, you will not be tempted by the left or right turns on the road. It is the same thing with our lives.
The women at the tomb were followers of Jesus Christ. They stayed with Jesus after He died to prepare and honor His body. They did not care who knew they were followers of Jesus. They were committed to the end to be with their Lord Jesus Christ. My question to you is “How committed are you to Jesus Christ?” When the questions come and when the challenges come, do you remain committed to Jesus? Realize that these women understood who Jesus was. They understood the impact and commitment of Jesus Christ to their own lives. So they stayed with His body.
Many of us when things get bad, we want to run away from the problems. Instead we should stay and be determined to hold on to the end when we are having our challenges. Some of our challenges are made to bring us almost to the point of death so that we can live. We need to die to the challenges of this world and stay committed to Jesus Christ until the End.
AMEN
