10/9/11
Well we are going to wrap up our “kNOw Fear” series tonight.  So far we’ve talked a lot about fear and how our relationship from God can free us from fear.  The big idea has been that when our eyes are on ourselves or our circumstances that it is easy to fear, but when we keep our eyes on God and His promises to us, then we can live in freedom.  Tonight we are going to talk about a very common fear that many of us face and that is our fear of commitment.

When we think of the fear of commitment, most of us think of relationships.  Typically this is portrayed in TV and movies with a boyfriend who has been hanging around dating a girl for a long time but then when it is time to talk marriage – what happens?  He bails – takes off because of fear of commitment.

All of us in our lives are committed to many different things.  That means we will have to face these fears of many different levels.  We’ve got relationships, family, responsibilities, sports teams, school/grades, church, God, and the list could go on and on.  Why are there fears in commitment?  What in your life makes you fear commitment?  Commitment involves sacrifice.  Commitment takes time.  Energy is required and I have to be all in.  Commitment means I’m obligated.

Picture commitment this way: When the pilot of a giant commercial airplane is speeding down the runway, there is a certain point where it staying on the ground is no longer an option. When he crosses that line, he is committed to the air, he will take off or a disastrous crash is imminent. At that point, the pilot can no longer change his mind he is committed.

Unfortunately when many of us look at our own lives, we realize that we’ve never made it off the ground. Maybe that is you… you have been sitting there gunning your engine, making noise but getting nowhere. You have been planning on it, meaning to, wanting to, trying to, going to, aiming to, hoping to. But tragedy of tragedies, they have never got off the ground.

Commitment is the decision of the heart to connect our life completely to something or someone. Commitment will cost us something.  And because of that cost, many of us will fear letting go of something that we have now or in the future.  If you find yourself with a fear of commitment controlling your life, then I want to encourage you to think about your relationship with God.  Because having a relationship with God is the most important commitment you will ever make.  But it is worth it.  Look at what the Bible says, “Commit your future to the Lord! Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.”  (Psalm 37:5)

I want you guys to see tonight that God is worth committing to with your whole life.  Like I said, there is no greater commitment.  And here’s the amazing news – God is already committed to you.  You will never ‘out commit’ God!  But to commit to Him requires you to surrender everything.

That is going to be at the heart of why we have fear or we can live fear free.  It’s all about who we are trusting in.  Are you trusting in your relationship with Jesus.  Trusting who He is and what He says He will do or are you trusting in yourself?  And we will hopefully see who or what you are trusting in by looking at your commitments tonight.  So let’s talk about the importance of making commitments.

1.  My commitments reveal what I value
The commitments in your life reveal what you think is valuable.  If I spent a day hanging out with you, I bet I could quickly discover what you value in your life based on what you are committed to.  I’d see that you value friendships by how much time and energy you spend staying connected to them.  I’d see how committed you are to school based on how hard you work and if you do your homework.  I’d see what commitment level you have to sports based on the amount of time you practice and train.  And I’d probably see your commitment level to Christ based on how much you talk about Him and how much you talk to Him.

Think about your commitments.  They show what you value in your life.  If you say that God is something that you value do you spend time at church?  Do you spend time with God?  You say your friends are something that you value.  Do you spend time with your friends?  Do you call them?  Are you committed to loving them?  What are you values?  Sometimes we say that we value things but we’re not committed to working on them.  Commitments are important in life because they reveal what we value.

2.  My commitments shape who I am
Your commitments not only reveal what you value but it reveals who you are.  Your commitments shape you.  The more time and energy you invest – your committed to something – the more it forms you.  That is what I want to continue to place Christ before you as your number 1 commitment.  Not just a part of your life, but your whole life.  He will radically transform your life and shape you to be exactly what He wants you to be.

But many of us fear giving our lives fully to Christ.  Here are a few reasons you may fear commitment:

What do you fear committing to?  Do these things play into that?  God can help you overcome your fear of commitment.  God can help you with your past hurts, with your self-doubts and your selfish attitude.  God can help you overcome the fear of committing to the things that you really want to be committed to, committing to the things that you really value in your heart.  God can help you overcome that fear.  And that is an awesome thing to know.  You don’t have to overcome fear by yourself.  You don’t have to overcome the fear of committing to people or to things by yourself.  God will do it for you, but you have to let Him.  You’ve first God to commit to Him.

HOW TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF COMMITMENT
1.    Ask God for wisdom for your commitment
James 1:5 says, “If any of you lack wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him.”  Ask God for wisdom for your commitments.  It says there in James 5 if you ask for it, it will be given to you.  When you face a big decision in your life or big commitment in your life, ask God for wisdom.

This is where over commitment comes in.  A lot of us including myself are over-committed.  We’re yes to this, and yes to that.  But if you are choosing, or if you ask God for wisdom before you say yes, you’re not going to get into trouble with over commitment because He’s going to give you the wisdom to say yes or to say no.  That is the tough thing.  But if you ask God for wisdom – what should I commit to and what should I not commit to?  What should I say yes to and what should I say no to?  He will give you that wisdom.  So when it comes to making the big commitments, ask God for wisdom and He’s going to give it to you.

2.  Compare the benefit of commitment with the cost of no commitment.
There is a definite benefit when you chose to commit yourself to something.  What is that thing?  There’s a cost when you chose not to commit yourself.  When you choose to commit yourself to something there are benefits and specifically this.  When you choose to commit your life to Jesus Christ, there are some awesome benefits that fall into that commitment.  When you make that commitment number one on your list, when you value God in your life first all, of the other commitments will fall into place.  The benefits of committing your life to Christ the list is so long I can’t name them all.  Hope, love, peace, knowing right from wrong – so many different benefits that come when you commit your life to Christ.  One the greatest benefits is that your other commitments will fall into place.

When you go through life kind of wishy-washy, kind of coasting, there’s a cost to that.  There’s a cost to a lifestyle with no commitment.  You miss out on life.  You miss out on all of the best that God has for you.  And that’s the cost when you chose not to commit your life to Christ and to have no commitment at all in your life.  You miss out on what life has and what God has for you in life.

3.  Trust God with your whole life.
We’ll go back to the verse we started with tonight… Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him and He will help you.”  Trust God.  Commit everything you have to the Lord.  You don’t have anything to lose by committing your life to Him.

Does your life show that you are trusting God?  Do other people see that commitment in your life?  It’s a challenge to look yourself in the mirror and ask, “Who am I?  What do I love?  What do I value?”  Think about that.  Think about your fear of commitment.  What are you afraid of committing your life to?  Are you afraid of committing your life to God?  Your whole life to Him – not just some of it?

A certain man wanted to sell his house in Haiti for two thousand dollars and another man wanted badly to purchase the house. The problem was that the man who wanted to purchase the house could not come up with enough money to buy the house. After a great deal of negotiating the owner of the house agree to sell the house for half of the original amount under one condition. He would still own one nail that hung over the home’s front door. The agreement was made and the sale of the house was completed.

After a few years the original owner of the house wanted to buy the house back but the new owner refused to sell. So the first owner went out and found the carcass of a dead dog and hung it on the nail that he still owned in the house. Before long the house became so unlivable that the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.

The sad reality is that the same is true of any of us who leave just one area of our life uncommitted to Christ. The one small unowned nail can have some rotting garbage hung on it and devastate our spiritual life.  Our most desperate need as Christians is to have every area of our lives committed to walking with Christ.  He’s worth it.  There’s nothing to fear in trusting the One who casts out all fear.  Will you trust Him with your life?  Will you live fully committed to Him?