How To Increase Our Commitment To God 3i6a36

How to Increase Commitment to God Commitment is an important concept for Christians. We need to understand and practice commitment because God is a committed person. In the Bible, commitment involves four aspects: 1. Whole-heartedness, a complete heart for God (2 Chronicles 15:17, 16:9) 2. Entrusting our lives to God 3. Consecrating our lives to God, setting ourselves apart to be used for His purposes 4. Sacrificing our time, material, and lives for God (Romans 6:13) The best example of this type of commitment is God Himself. God commits Himself to us wholehearted and unreservedly. Total commitment is the only type of relationship that He has with people. Genesis 28:15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Wow! God promised Jacob complete commitment. God promised to be with Jacob wherever he went and for as long as was needed to complete everything He had promised to Jacob. Aren’t you glad that you can count on God? People will disappoint you, and even you cannot count on yourself to do what is right sometimes. But God will never fail you. He will never abandon you or forget you or leave you hanging. He has no limits or conditions to how He loves you. He doesn’t just love you a little bit, but He loved you enough to give His only Son to die for you. God is completely, 100% committed to you.

How can we increase our commitment to God? God desires us to be committed to Him as well. He was the one who reached out to us when we didn’t know Him. He initiated our relationship and helps us to grow in our relationship with Him. God desires for us to be completely committed to Him, just as Jesus was completely committed to the Father. When we talk about complete commitment, it may seem like a scary thing. The first thing to realize when we talk about increasing our commitment is that it is our choice. We are the ones who must choose to increase our commitment. It is voluntary. God will not force anyone to commit more to Him. Because commitment is voluntary, we must first have a strong desire to commit to God. We must understand what is at stake when we talk about commitment. We must understand the immense value of what God has in store for us as we grow in our commitment. If we think about it this way, increasing our commitment to God will not seem like a scary thing, but something that we value and desire. Commitment is one of those things that are only revealed by testing, similar to loyalty and faithfulness. You only know if you are committed or not when you have to choose between commitment and something else. We all face decisions in life where we must

choose between commitment and no commitment. Although we may not realize it at the time, each of these decisions is like a fork in our path. If we understand the value of commitment, then we will more easily choose the correct path.

1. Desire to be blessed by God Consider the example of Jacob and Esau. For all his character flaws, Jacob had one excellent characteristic. Jacob truly valued the things of God. He was willing to do anything to receive the blessing of God. Jacob even wrestled with the angel of the Lord, refusing to let go until he received the blessing. On the other hand, Esau did not value the things of God. The Bible says that Esau despised his birthright, or did not appreciate its value, and traded it for a bowl of soup. We can learn from Jacob and Esau’s example that one way to increase our commitment to God is to desire His blessing. Jacob would not give up on God for anything because he so desired God’s blessing. If you desire God’s blessing, you are not going to be content with a bowl of soup as Esau was. We should eagerly desire to receive God’s blessing. It’s not wrong to ask God to bless our families, our work, and our ministry. Instead, it is a healthy sign of our dependence on God and our trust in Him. If we do not depend on God, then it is easy to become proud and put Him as a second priority. Be like Jacob and determine to see God’s blessing in our lives! We should have the attitude of not wanting anything but what God has prepared for us. His blessing is always the best. If He blesses us with a job, it’s going to be a far better job than the one we sought after using our own ideas and abilities. If we desire God blessing, then we will want to increase our commitment to Him.

2. Desire to be used by God more Another example of someone committed to God was King David. He was zealous to be used by God. When the Philistine giant Goliath taunted the army of Israel, David was indignant. Even though he was just a teenager, he plead with King Saul to be able to go and fight against Goliath. Because David valued God’s presence in his life, he was careful to do things the correct way. David refused to harm King Saul even when Saul was trying to kill him. He left vengeance to God. David also desired to build a temple for God. Throughout his life, King David wanted to be used fully by God. In the same way, we should be ambitious to be used by God to the fullest extent. We are limited only by the faith that we have. We should therefore increase our holy ambition to be used by God and make the most of the grace available to us. It would be a tragedy if we only succeeded in taking hold of 50 percent of what God had for us.

As a church, we should not be satisfied with only saving 10,000 people but we should desire to be used to transform entire nations and the lives of hundreds of millions of people. We should have a vision as big as God’s vision. He desires that we go and make disciples of all nations. Psalm 2:8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. If we desire to be used by God, then we will be careful to do things the correct way so that God can use us. We will be careful not to disqualify ourselves. We will be careful about our thoughts and actions.

3. Desire to receive more reward Many times we are willing to do difficult things because of the reward. If we want to slim down our body, then we are willing to skip dessert or spend hours at the gym. If we want to start a career in finance, law, or engineering, then we are willing to spend years studying for a degree. In the same way, if we want to receive a reward from God, then we will seek to increase our commitment to Him. It is not wrong to want to receive rewards from God. Actually, the reverse is true—too often Christians don’t desire heavenly rewards enough. As a result, their commitment to God is weak and they are always struggling against their flesh. We need to constantly remind ourselves of the real rewards in heaven. We need to constantly look forward to the day that we will stand before the great white throne in heaven to receive our reward. We want Jesus to look at us and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things during your time on earth; I will put you in charge of many things in your eternal home in heaven. Come and share your master’s happiness!” The Bible talks over and over about the rewards that Christians can expect. We should cultivate a strong desire for heavenly rewards. Romans 2:7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. Hebrews 10:35-36 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 1 Peter 5:4

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

4. Desire to know God more Moses is another example of someone who remained committed to God because of good desires. Moses longed to know God more. He spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God, speaking with Him. When the Israelites built the tabernacle, Moses would go into the tent and speak with God face to face, as if to a friend. Moses desired to know God more. Exodus 33:17-18 “And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” We should want to know God more intimately. Not just know about God, but understand His heart. We want sympathy of feeling so that we feel the same as He does. That’s why Paul was glad when he experienced persecution because he knew that he was persecuted for Jesus’ sake, and that he shared a fellowship with Jesus by suffering for Him. Philippians 3:7-10 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the suring worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. We should desire to know more about how God feels about people, how much He loves people and wants to do for them. We should desire to know more about God’s infinite goodness. He is so good that no mind can conceive, no eye has seen, and no ear has heard what good things He has prepared for those who love Him.

Conclusion We need to cultivate desires for good things. Then it will be easier for us to increase our commitment to God. When we desire and value the things of God, we will not struggle with our flesh as much when facing decisions about commitment.