WordPoints Home Page > Brass Tacks Home Page > Sermon Outlines > Sermons 1-50 > Sermon 0014

Commitment vs. "Giving It a Try"

Are we willing to make and keep real commitments to God?

Introduction

1. Text: Lk. 9:62.

2. Jim Ward tells of a couple who had celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary and were asked, "How do two people stay married for that long?" Their simple answer was: "You just do it."

3. In big things and little, daily life often presents us with the need to make commitments and keep them.

   1. In these everyday affairs, we understand that "giving it a try" will not get the job done.

   2. We must actually do what we say we will do.

4. Why is it when we obey the gospel -- and God asks whether we intend to remain faithful to Him -- we are able to say no more than, "Well, I'll give it a try"? Cf. 1 Tim. 6:12-14.

5. And why is it when we are living as Christians -- and God desires for us to do something -- we are able to say no more than, "Well, I'll give it a try"? Cf. 2 Tim. 1:6,7.

I. "GIVING IT A TRY" LEAVES THE BACK DOOR OPEN
TO EXCEPTIONS AND EXCUSES

1. In many matters, it is the commitment that is the main ingredient in success -- but we often defeat ourselves before we get started by cutting the heart out of our commitment.

2. Despite the Lord's warning in Lk. 9:62, our "contract" with Him is often an open-ended arrangement that leaves us an "out" if doing the Lord's will turns out to be unexpectedly difficult or require sacrifice.

3. We place numerous conditions, qualifications, and reservations in the "fine print" of our "commitment."

   1. We're preoccupied with "exceptions" and "extenuating circumstances."

   2. We're not willing to put all our eggs in one basket and make a serious promise of faithfulness and service to the Lord.

   3. We want to keep everything tentative, to put the Lord on probation, to "try" Christianity and "see if it will work out" before we make up our minds about it.

   4. We treat our relationship with the Lord as if it were some kind of experiment, a "trial run."

4. We are endlessly inventive with our ifs, ands, and buts, our maybes, our yes buts.

   1. Like Moses, we have a number of what ifs - Exo. 3:13; 4:1,10.

   2. Are we not aware that the Lord is in control of all the "what ifs" that can come up? Cf. Exo. 4:11!

5. Can we do no better than "take a crack at" Christianity? Do we intend to do no better than "try our hand" at the Lord's will?

6. Our thinking seems to be: "We may as well have a go at it -- the worst it can do is not work out."

II. COMMITMENT SIMPLY SAYS,
"THIS IS THE WAY IT'S GOING TO BE"

1. The Bible actually does not even use the words "try" and "attempt" in the sense of "giving it a try"! (Words like "endeavor" and "strive" describe the efforts of one who has made a serious commitment -- one that is not overly concerned with "extenuating circumstances" - e.g. Lk. 13:24; Phil. 1:27.)

2. We have been infected with a basic mentality that says -- no matter what the problem -- "This is happening TO me; there is nothing I can do about it."

   1. We have accepted the philosophy that we are so helplessly at the mercy of circumstances that we are not capable of keeping our commitments.

   2. We view ourselves as not responsible for ourselves, our character, our actions, our habits.

3. Consider how the story of David and Goliath would have been different if David had thought like we think. Suppose the best he could say was, "Well, I'll give it a try." Cf. 1 Sam. 17:32-37.

4. We need to be more "proactive" and not so "reactive" -- we need to see ourselves more as "acting" and not so much as being "acted upon."

5. Sometimes, a little defiance would help: "Who's in charge here, anyway -- my circumstances or me?"

6. Until we begin taking responsibility for ourselves and make definite commitments to the Lord, we will make
   little progress.

7. Results are usually in proportion to commitment.

   1. In our personal evangelism, for example, we fail more for lack of commitment than lack of method.

   2. In our marriages, we often fail to keep our commitments because what we made was not really a commitment, but only a "we'll give it a try" contract that virtually insured failure.

   3. In our efforts at personal improvement, we do not get any better results than we do because we make such watered-down commitments.

8. We need to burn some bridges behind us, to burn some ships on the beach. A British mountain climber was asked how he managed to keep going higher and higher. He said, "Well, when you put yourself in a position where you can't go back down, you jolly well keep going up."

9. What it comes down to is whether we trust the Lord enough to obey Him. Cf. Jn. 2:23-25; 14:1.

   1. We don't deny the need for the humility which defers to the Lord's will - Jas. 4:13-16.

   2. Nor are we advocating a perfectionism that makes no allowance for mistakes.

   3. What we are encouraging is a commitment to the Lord and His will which is deep, unconditional, and not qualified by the possibility of so many exceptions that it is defeated before it gets started.

10. Paul wrote that the Corinthian brethren were being expected to do as they had said they would - 2 Cor. 8:8,10,11; 9:1-5. Cf. 9:8!

11. The commitment involved in discipleship is one reason it would be worse to turn back than never to have obeyed the gospel - 2 Pt. 2:21,22.

12. We need to "purpose" what we are going to do in the Lord's work - 2 Cor. 9:7,8.

Conclusion

1. A large chasm cannot be gotten over in a series of small jumps -- we either get to the other side in one great leap, or we do not get there at all!

2. The Nike advertisement says: Just Do It!

3. Ultimately, we must "commit" ourselves to the Lord - 1 Pt. 4:19.

4. Having done that, we will be able to do more than "give it a try."

5. "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back . . . no turning back."