Part 1-A



The Vow/Commitment/Our WordI shared parts of this word at a local Church some time back. I believe it would be of benefit to the Body of Christ at large. As always, the verbal message has much more in content as the written outline below. This material has been reformatted to fit intended audience. With that, it highly advisable to follow along in your Bible as to where and how a certain truth was obtained.A] Mathew 21:28-32; Read all 1] Verse 31; Whether of them twain did the will of the Father? a] Obviously the first; as it is not so much what we say we will do, but what we do. 2] We live in a day and time where a man’s word isn’t what it used to be far too often. When a man gave his word, it was his bond, his hand shake was all the contract you needed, he would rather be dead than to renege on his word (some folks, not all). And if you called him a liar, you better be ready to fight. a] Nowadays, contracts seem to be made to be broken, find a way out etc., lawyers are being made fat off finding a way out of a binding contract. 3] What do our verses say; do they speak to us in our day and time? a] Verse 32; is the key to understanding the parable. b] John, is John the Baptist, the “ye” are the Pharisees, Chief Priests and the Elders, the Nation of Israel as a whole. c] The Publicans and the harlots were like the outcasts of the Nation, looked down upon and disdained. As it turned out they were more appreciative and responsive to God’s offer of Grace, than the very ones who should have been the first in line to respond. d] So, the parable is about a Nations response to the Messiah, or lack of. 4] But it also brings out another key truth; does what we say matter? Are we held accountable for saying we’ll do something and then not doing it on a personal level? I think yesB] Mathew 5: 33-37 Amplified Bible, Read all 1] The Lord gives instructions about making oaths, and being faithful to do them. 2] Verse 33; but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord (as a religious duty). 3] The Lord knows something about keeping oaths (promises, word) right? a] Hebrews 6:13-20; read all. b] Verse 16; For men verily “swear” by the greater; 1] Strongs Concordance # 3660; the word = “Swear”; means to declare an oath, swear an oath, promise with an oath. Affirming or denying by an oath. Webster Dict. swear =to assert as true or promise under oath, 2] God could find none greater than Himself to swear as to authenticity of His Word, so He swear by Himself, why? There was none higher than Him. 3] If the God of the Universe did not perform His vow, the repercussions would be catastrophic, see Heb. 1:3; Upholding all things by the word of His Power, the Universe would collapse and cease to exist. We better hope He keeps His Word. c] Deut. 23; 21-23; Old Testament Vows;1] Verse 23; that which has gone out of thine lips, thou shall keep and perform. It was serious business back then, no doubt still is. d] In the N.T. we find; Mathew 14; 7; Where upon Herod promised with an oath, to give her whatsoever she asked. 1] Herod made this oath in front of his lords and chief captains, he had to perform it or lose face. Mark 6:21. e] So, just what is an oath anyway? Old version Webster’s Dict.says; 1] Oath; a solemn, usually formal, “calling upon God” or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says. 2] Hence; never make an oath you do not intend or are unable to keep. 4] Back to Mathew 5: 34; AMP; Do not bind yourself by an oath at all.1] As we just read of Herod concerning John the Baptist, he wished he hadn’t made such stupid oath. And that is what the Lord is saying here. a[ It’s better to not make a vow than to make one and not keep it. b] I made kind of what could be considered a vow long ago as a young Christian. It was similar to the Acts 5, Ananias and Saphira thing. I asked the Lord to help me sell some property I had on the river. I was going to donate certain of the money to a Church building program. Man was that hard to do, everything in the world tried to hinder me from being faithful to my word. Thankfully I was able to fulfill my word. A lot of lessons were learned. C] Not all vows are bad you can bet on that, keeping a commitment, binding yourself to your word; that is good. 1] Marriage is a good example. Someone is placing their life in your hand, and yours in theirs; your word, your commitment, your faithfulness is being trusted, lives are being affected. a] A dreadful statistic; the U.S. probably leads the world in divorce. 1] We have; No fault car Ins. so, now we have; No fault divorce, they say it’s easier to get a divorce than to get married. 2] Lives get messed up, families destroyed, kids from broken homes. Yes, commitment is good. Tying oneself to a vow isn’t a bad thing. 3] In the case of the marriage; it’s called as covenant, you are bound in love and commitment by the covenant you agreed to. Remember the words read by the Pastor that you agreed to, till death do us part? This is serious business. 2] Commitment to our Lord and Saviour. a] Do you remember when you said: “I do”, to the Lord? This is one vow you better be faithful to.1] If our commitment to the Lord resembles the commitment we make to others in this life, are we sure we have a relationship at all? This is no games stuff. b] Ministries are built upon faithful folks being committed to being faithful to their word. I have seen Churches fold where building commitments failed. 1] One example was where a Church asked the congregation if they would be committed to building a new Church as they had outgrown the present one. It was overwhelming, the majority was behind the effort. Down the road many left the Church due the burden of the debt load. The Church folded as a result. c] Mathew 12: 33-37; Jesus’ words to Jewish leaders. 1] Verse 37; For by thy words thou shalt be justified, by thy words thou shall be condemned. (Agreeing Jesus is who He says He is, you can trust Him; [justified] Or one would say; Jesus is not who He says He is, [be condemned]. 3] Here is another one that concerns me. The world is full of “I’m a goners”, people that say one thing, things they are gonna do, and do nothing. Unfortunately that bit of worthlessness has crept into the Church as well.a] People may have the best of intentions when they agree to do something, or maybe they just want to stand up to look good to their piers; whatever the motivator, either keep your word or be silent. b] However; It may be hard to keep your word sometimes, I know things happen, the devil took note, and will try to keep you from being faithful if he can, or if you let him. 1] I had an occasion one time where I was tempted to go back on my word. For many Christians, being faithful with ones tithes is a huge undertaking, many make commitments to the Lord concerning such, I did, saying words like; Lord, I’ll be faithful from now on, if you’ll bail me out this time, or something like that. a] One day, a Saturday, I had my tithe money in my wallet, I’m ready for the Lord’s Day, take that devil. It just so happened that a certain guy was directed to me by someone else about a muzzleloader rifle being for sale. He had heard I was1 looking for one. It was beautiful, it even had a leather sheath to keep it in. The price was right too, the exact amount of money I had in my pocket, the Lord’s tithe money, all I had on me at the time. Oh man, what a predicament? I always wanted one of these muzzleloaders. b] That worthless devil, was I being tested, was this my chance to show my word is good? Bigger yet; this was my chance to show the Lord my commitment to Him was good. c] I told the guy, I’ll have to pass on it, I couldn’t afford it. (literally or figuratively) A lot of growth in the Lord took place that day. I didn’t whine about not getting that gun either, I was glad to be found faithful to my word. d] The road to hell is paved with good intentions, e] One more; you are only as good as your word! “Footnote” If you feel this outline has enriched you in some way, please drop this Ministry a line to let us know on our Contact Page/E-mail, Blessings, Pastor Tom ................
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