{"id":2086,"date":"2019-02-01T11:29:02","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T16:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/?p=2086"},"modified":"2019-02-01T11:29:02","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T16:29:02","slug":"commitment-to-the-service-of-christ-in-the-new-year-january-6th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/?p=2086","title":{"rendered":"COMMITMENT TO THE SERVICE OF CHRIST IN THE NEW YEAR, January 6th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"serve-him-hands-672x372\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

CENTRAL THOUGHT: <\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n

Each believer is called to play a specific role in the body of Christ<\/span>.<\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

TEXT: <\/strong>Romans 12:1-8; John 13:14-15; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 18-21<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

When God saved us, He did so for a purpose.\u00a0 It will be a mistake if we take our faith as a\u00a0mere\u00a0observance of religious \u2018rituals\u2019.\u00a0 Our Christians faith is a call to a practical life consisting of duties and privileges.\u00a0 Each believer is called to commit \u00a0in\u00a0worship and service.\u00a0 To be committed is to be consciously obligated or impelled to do things that are of positive value to the system.\u00a0 To serve is to discharge some duties or functions that will be of benefit to someone or to a system.\u00a0\u00a0 It is to contribute reliably to the welfare of the whole.<\/p>\n

Each new season, in this\u00a0case,\u00a0the New Year presents an opportunity for evaluation, stock taking, planning, projection, consolidation, vital decisions and perhaps some fresh start.\u00a0 It is also a time to be resolute on our conviction and beliefs in all areas of life.\u00a0 Our commitment\u00a0to \u00a0the service of Christ is not an exception. It is a time to make a self-evaluation of our previous services, and also a time to make firm decisions on how we can function more effectively in the house of God. \u00a0It is the duty of every believer to complement our profession of faith with practical service.\u00a0 It is ungodly not to be involved with either the major or the minor duties in the church all year round.\u00a0 God is interested in your talent and service in this New Year, and indeed\u00a0every year ahead.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LESSON OBJECTIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

The objectives of this study are:<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To explain the phrase \u2018commitment in the service of Christ\u2019.<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. To discuss how the body of Christ functions.<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. To identify how Christ demonstrated commitment.<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. To list some possible areas of service as Christians.<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. To identify traits of a committed life.<\/em><\/li>\n
  6. To state the rewards of being committed.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    BIBLE TRUTH<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Q1. \u00a0EXPLAIN THE PHRASE \u201cCOMMITMENT IN THE SERVICE OF CHRIST\u201d.<\/h3>\n

    The Christian Faith is an invitation from God to<\/p>\n

    an individual to quit sin and accept the<\/p>\n

    work of grace accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ.\u00a0 The objective of the Christian calling is to live in faith and obedience to the word of\u00a0God\u00a0and to promote the kingdom of God in our personal lives and the community.\u00a0 It is to walk in the footsteps of Christ in holiness and service for the good of the body of Christ.<\/p>\n

    Commitment in the service of Christ means to be obligated to the objectives for which we were saved.\u00a0 It is to completely pledge ourselves to do the will of God at all times\u00a0sincerely.\u00a0 It is to give worthy attention to kingdom business as a matter of urgency and necessity during personal \u00a0reckoning. It is the absence of laziness, procrastination, laxity,\u00a0and\u00a0withdrawal in our attitude to the work of God.<\/p>\n

    <\/h3>\n

    Q2. \u00a0HOW DOES THE BODY OF CHRIST FUNCTION?<\/h3>\n

    The body of Christ is made up of many members, each with very unique and divinely ordained roles.\u00a0 No one can be overlooked in function, and the effects are mutual to all.\u00a0 The contribution of each member aggregates to define the health of the entire body.\u00a0 The parts are not engaged in rivalry but function to complement and sustain each other.\u00a0 There is unity of purpose.\u00a0 That is how the church functions.\u00a0 Each believer has a unique talent and function in contribution to the welfare of the whole church.\u00a0 All are forms of ministrations that glorify God and\u00a0attract His blessings.\u00a0 There is no room for envy or strife to undo one another.\u00a0 The success of one is the success of all, and the pain of one is the pain of all.<\/p>\n

    <\/h3>\n

    Q3. \u00a0HOW DID CHRIST DEMONSTRATE COMMITMENT? John 4:34, 9:4<\/h3>\n

    Commitment as a concept begins and ends with our service on earth.\u00a0 With this in mind, Christ saw commitment as mandatory and as a matter of urgency.\u00a0 It is the food of the spiritual man and there is limited time to demonstrate it.<\/p>\n

    Jesus Christ understood His mission on earth very clearly, which is the first ingredient of commitment.\u00a0 Then He was focused on it, so as to accomplish it.\u00a0 He was passionate about it in that He invested all available resources, including His life on it.\u00a0 He persevered with great determination in the face of stiff opposition, with eyes set on the prize and not the pains.\u00a0 He left an example of unsurpassed humility in service and paying the ultimate price for a worthy cause.<\/p>\n

    <\/h3>\n

    Q4. \u00a0WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO US TO SERVE GOD AND HUMANITY NOW IN OUR LOCAL CONGREGATIONS?\u00a0 Ephesians 4:11-15<\/h3>\n

    There is this wrong assumption among many that service to God covers only preaching, teaching and prayers.\u00a0 The truth is that Christian service encompasses all efforts geared towards winning people into the kingdom of God and making them\u00a0abide in the Lord.\u00a0 These activities may be spiritual duties or physical efforts put in to encourage worship and holiness.\u00a0 Some of the available areas of service are:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Ministerial service of rightly dividing the word and prayers. Ephesians 4:11, e.g. preaching, teaching, counseling, praying.<\/li>\n
    2. Exercise of spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31<\/li>\n
    3. Exercise of talents and skills like singing, drama, evangelism, etc.<\/li>\n
    4. Gender-based groups such as men\u2019s fellowship, women\u2019s fellowship, youth fellowship, teenagers, couples forum, bachelors and spinsters\u2019 fellowship, children\u2019s ministry, etc.<\/li>\n
    5. Educational and skills acquisition services to believers.<\/li>\n
    6. Welfare of ministers and missionary support services.<\/li>\n
    7. Visitation, evangelism and follow-up units to attend to new members.<\/li>\n
    8. Security, crowd control and traffic management services.<\/li>\n
    9. Church sanitation and beautification services.<\/li>\n
    10. Provision of technical expertise in the use and maintenance of machines, equipment, electronics, and other church instruments.<\/li>\n
    11. Provision of health and first aid services and information to believers.<\/li>\n
    12. Attending to the welfare of members.<\/li>\n
    13. Care for widows and orphans.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The believer should make himself available as an instrument of service to the body of Christ in at least one area.<\/p>\n

      <\/h3>\n

      Q5. \u00a0WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF EVIDENCE THAT SOMEONE IS COMMITTED IN A CHURCH OR CHRISTIAN GROUP?<\/h3>\n

      There are basic characteristics that show commitment\u00a0to\u00a0the service of a believer.\u00a0 Some of them are:<\/p>\n

      1) Participation: He is available always at the point of service.\u00a0 He is also mindful of the time of the activity.\u00a0 His participation is not seasonal but consistent and punctual.<\/p>\n

      2) Determination: A committed believer derives inspiration and\u00a0drive\u00a0from God.\u00a0 He is not influenced by the negative attitude of others.\u00a0 Neither is he discouraged in the face of difficulties.<\/p>\n

      3) Responsible and Accountable:\u00a0 A committed believer recognizes leadership.\u00a0 He takes his duties with joy and presents the necessary report or feedback to leadership.<\/p>\n

      4) Sacrificial: A committed believer is willing to pay the price in service, which may be in cash, kind or comfort (time, leisure, privacy).\u00a0 He does it as unto the Lord, who rewards every good work.<\/p>\n

      5) Humility: A committed believer sees every opportunity to serve as a rare privilege provided by the grace of God.\u00a0 He accepts it with gratitude, functions as an instrument and gives all glory to the one who deserves them, to God.<\/p>\n

      <\/h3>\n

      Q6. \u00a0ARE THERE REWARDS TN BEING COMMITTED? Matthew 24:45-47; Hebrews 11:6<\/h3>\n

      Commitment in the service of God attracts great reward from God.\u00a0 These rewards are both earthly and eternal for any faithful service.\u00a0 God will not forget any labor of love, Hebrews 6:10.\u00a0 The believer who serves God faithfully will receive a\u00a0full\u00a0measure of joy, peace,\u00a0and\u00a0fulfillment in this world.\u00a0 He will also enjoy material provisions and security.\u00a0 There is the assurance of eternal\u00a0life\u00a0where the crown of righteousness awaits such a one, and he will have power over nations.<\/p>\n

      To the believer, commitment serves as a check to sin and Satan in this world.\u00a0 To the church commitment by individuals breeds unity and promotes growth in the body of Christ.\u00a0 The needs of the saints are attended to and much glory is given to God.\u00a0\u00a0Commitment\u00a0will make our light to shine before men, and our good works will make them\u00a0glorify God.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      DAILY LIVING APPLICATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Service to God and humanity is both a duty and a wonderful privilege.\u00a0 God has called every believer into a life of utility and service.<\/p>\n

      In this season let us make firm decisions to offer better service to God and to the body of Christ.\u00a0 None of us should be mere spectators in our congregation.\u00a0 That area of deficiency, that area of need in the church could be your calling.\u00a0 Prayerfully commit yourself to practical service in this New Year and live to witness the testimony.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      MEMORY VERSE<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Hebrews 6:10 \u2013 “For God\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name,\u00a0in that<\/em>\u00a0you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      CENTRAL THOUGHT: Each believer is called to play a specific role in the body of Christ.   TEXT: Romans 12:1-8; John 13:14-15; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 18-21   INTRODUCTION When God saved us, He did so for a purpose.\u00a0 It will be a mistake if we take our faith as a\u00a0mere\u00a0observance of religious \u2018rituals\u2019.\u00a0 Our Christians […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/serve-him-hands-672x372.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2088,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2086\/revisions\/2088"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}