When I was dating Vivian,
we ran rolling in the national park a couple of times.
In the spirit of being equal
and not wanting me to do all the driving and all the rolling,
I guess also wanted to be a bit more intimate.
She would offer to sit next to me and roll with me.
I would always tell her I enjoyed seeing her face
more than having her sitting next to me.
And I do all the rolling myself.
Have you ever rowed a boat with a very uneven force
or even on one oar?
The boat will just move in circle and never goes anywhere.
The two sides need to be equally strong to get somewhere.
If you have met Vivian,
you will know why I would do the rolling myself.
However, I was truly sincere about enjoying seeing her face-to-face.
And not just seeing her face while we're dating,
we make commitment to marry each other in November 2003,
which is a bit more than 15 years ago.
We've made many different commitments in our lives.
If you're a Christian,
can you remember the day you turned to Christ?
What was the reason that you decided to become a follower of Jesus?
What commitment did you make at that point of decision
to follow Jesus for the rest of your life?
If you are not yet a Christian or interested to find out more,
what are you looking for as you investigate into Christianity?
What are you waiting to find out?
Are you waiting to find out what you should do
or what you should bring to God as an entry fee?
Last week, we looked at disciplines of grace,
and today we're going to look at three commitments of discipline.
But before we do so,
I want to look at dependence with you.
Imagine all the disciplines
that we are looking at this few weeks
is one side of the boat
and one of the oar that we go to roll.
But dependence is the other oar that we need
in order for that we'll not just go around
and run in a circle as a Christian.
We need both discipline and dependence.
The Westminster Catechism says that
the chief and highest goal of human
is to glorify God and fully enjoy Him forever.
We need both dependence and discipline
to achieve the true and full meaning of life.
We were reminded last week
that grace of God allowed us to have full assurance
that despite the sin that we have done,
we are loved and bought by Christ.
By His death, our debts are paid.
It's all about what God has done
to save and sanctify us.
God's grace is unearned, undeserved, but a gift.
Unearned because we did nothing to earn it,
undeserved because of our sinful nature,
and God's grace transformed all Christians.
We form Martin Luther's say,
Christians are simultaneously saints and sinners.
In Christ we are saints,
in ourselves we are sinners.
Keeping these two perspectives about ourselves
will help us to be humbly authentic
as we follow Jesus.
As a saint and sinner simultaneously,
we need both dependence and discipline
to ensure we are going where God intended us to go.
They are like the two oars on a rowing boat.
Our oar that sums up all the disciplines
and our oar of dependence
need to be equal in size and portion.
There are many examples in the Bible about dependence.
We will look at one from the Old Testament,
from a person called Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was a cupbearer to a Persian king,
a high-ranking official trusted by the king.
His prestige in society did not lead to self-centeredness
or self-sufficiency.
Instead, he was genuinely concerned
about the well-being of his countrymen and his homeland.
After hearing the reports from his brother
of the situation of the Jewish remnant and Jerusalem,
it says in Nehemiah 1, verse 4,
that when I heard all these things,
I sat down and wept.
For some days I mourned and fast
and prayed before the God of heaven.
Based on his belief that God keeps his confidence
of love with those who love him
and keep his commandments,
God must be very pleased with him
to give him such a high-ranking official job
within the palace.
But his concern was not just for himself.
He was genuinely, sincerely concerned
about God's people and God's name.
He considered himself as part of a sinful nation
of the Israelites.
And he prayed in verse 6-7,
Let your ear be attentive
and your eyes open to hear the prayer
your servant is praying before you
day and night for your servants,
the people of Israel.
I confess that since we Israelites,
including myself and my father's family,
have committed against you,
we have acted very wickedly towards you,
we have not obeyed the commands,
decrees, and law you gave your servants, Moses.
He fully entrusts himself to God
by praying day and night.
He called on God to remember his promises
to his people.
He prayed in verse 11 for God
to make your servant success today
by granting him favor in the presence of this man.
He wanted to be successful,
not for his own good.
But to be able to fix the situation of his homeland.
Nehemiah illustrated his dependence on God
by his prayer.
And there were two kinds of prayers,
planned and spontaneous.
It's said he prayed before God
day and night for some days,
which in fact was about four months
before God gave him an answer.
We can assume during that time,
he mostly set aside time and planned his day
so that he can go to God and pray regularly
in between performing his official duty
as a king cupbearer.
His planned prayer was with endurance,
persistence, and perseverance.
And after four months of praying,
the king noticed his face look sad.
And he had not been sad in front of the king,
so the king asked about the cause of his sadness.
And Nehemiah explained to the king in chapter 2,
verse 1 to 3,
and then the king asked him in verse 4,
what is it you want?
He had prayed for four months,
and the opportunity is right there for him
to lay before the king his request
to go to Jerusalem and rebuild its wall.
But before he answered the king,
verse 4 says he prayed to the God of heaven.
He offered up an unplanned,
spontaneous prayer to God.
Nehemiah sent a quick, silent prayer to God
as he was opening up his mouth to speak to the king.
He did not just burst out.
He did not wait till this moment to pray.
He saw a need and persisted in prayer
until God's answer.
At the same time,
he was very conscious of his total dependency of God.
So he did not burst out with his request to the king
without first praying quickly and silently.
Because of his consciousness of his total dependence on God,
his quick and silent prayer was a reflex action
rather than a planned one.
His planned prayer for four months
helped him to depend on God.
His spontaneous prayer showed
he was authentically humble and dependent.
If you have been praying for a pay rise
or a change of position for a period of time,
and the answer came as a question,
what is it you want?
How would you respond?
Would you respectfully pray or do you panic?
Nehemiah did not allow his social prestige
to get in the way for his genuine concern
of his countrymen.
He did not rely on his position
to rush into fixing things by his own strength.
He depended on God
to enable him to be successful.
In chapter 2, verse 8,
he says,
because the gracious hand of God was on me,
the king granted my requests.
In the Old Testament,
the hand of God upon someone
is often referred to the Holy Spirit
is at work at that person.
Nehemiah set aside each day
for planned, persistent, enduring,
persevering prayers
for four months
for God's Holy Spirit
to enable him to deal with the situation.
And he prayed spontaneously
when God answered his prayer.
Prayer helped us to focus
our dependency on God
instead of our own willpower
as we live out our life
and bring the assistance of Holy Spirit
into our life.
We need both planned
and spontaneous prayer,
both to help us cultivate
a sense of our dependency on God
and to receive his help
that he sends through his Spirit.
As we look at different disciplines
in this series,
remember to balance the boat
with ever-increasing
orc of dependence
because in failing to do so,
you will only move in circle
and will not go anywhere.
Now I would like to talk to you
about the three commitments
of this discipline
and let's turn to Romans 12, verse 1,
starting with the first commitment,
which is commitment
to show Christ-likeness
and resist sin.
Let's read from Romans 12, verse 1.
Therefore, I urge you,
brothers and sisters,
in view of God's mercy,
to offer your body
as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God.
This is your true
and proper worship.
I quoted Martin Luther,
the Reformer, earlier,
of his conclusion
that Christians are simultaneously
saints and sinners.
We are saints
in view of what Jesus
has done for us,
and we are sinners
because we still sin
every day
and many times a day.
That is what we are.
We are brought by Christ
to be a new person.
We are saints of God,
and we need to commit ourselves
in showing Christ-likeness,
Christ-like characters
in our daily life
as we are committed
to resist sinful habits.
Paul calls and urges
to offer our body
as a living sacrifice
in view of God's mercy.
An offering
is once for all,
all in,
without holding back
a shot of action.
At the same time,
a living sacrifice
means a constant,
a constant,
repeated dedication
that is never to be regretted,
a decisive commitment
that is continually reaffirmed.
The term in view of God's mercy
helped me to think
about the time
I learned to ride a pushback,
which was a very long time ago.
I was so concerned
about falling
and running into other people,
I keep looking
at the front wheel
to make sure I'm okay.
And as I focus so much
on this short distance
right in front of me,
I keep wobbly
and eventually fall down
because I could not
find my balance.
And then I was suggested
to pick a target
in the distance
and stop looking
so closely
in front of me.
It was at that point
that I found my balance.
Our scenes
are like that front wheel
that are real
every day
right in front of us.
We need to make
a commitment
to resist it.
However,
if we focus on it too much,
we will fall even more.
We need to fix
our eyes
on God's mercy
and grace.
Consider more
on how to show
our Christ-likeness
in our daily life
while you're driving,
while you're doing
your shopping,
in your dealing
with an interaction
with people
that God put
into your path,
with your family
and friends,
sprouts and children,
and your colleagues
and fellow students.
There are many occasions
in daily life
that you can present
Christ's character
to them
in how you love
and stand up
for righteousness
and truth.
In whatever you do,
in what your eyes
look at,
your mouth speaks,
your hands
and your feet do,
in your mind
and in your heart,
be committed
to show Christ-likeness
with a feel
to God's mercy
and grace.
It's almost impossible
to resist sins
if we are not
fully committed
to become
like Christ,
to live out
our true identity
as a saint,
to glorify God
and enjoy Him.
It seems almost
impossible
to keep such a commitment
and we are often
reluctant to make
a commitment
we know
we will not keep.
but if you are
a Christian,
I believe you have
once made
similar commitment.
Are you confident
in telling others
that you are Christians?
Have you been
focusing
on the funwill
of sin
on your pushback
of Christian life
and wobble
and fail?
Or have you
lost the focus
of God's grace,
stopped pedaling
completely,
only doing things
to look like a rider?
Find your aim
of God's grace again
in view of His mercy
and start pedaling again
and you will realize
you are not alone
in this journey
because God's Spirit
is always by our side
as we live out
Christ-like character
and resist sinful behaviors.
This leads to
the second commitment
we need,
a commitment
to be led
by the Spirit.
Let's read on
in Romans 12,
verse 2.
Do not conform
to the pattern
of this world
but be transformed
by the renewing
of your mind.
We're presented
with two alternatives.
We are either
conforming
to the pattern
of this world
or be transformed
by the renewing
of our mind.
These two alternatives
are very hard
to realize
because we often
not realize
that we are doing
the first one
or the second one
are being done
to us.
I do not know
about you
but I like
patterns.
In most things
I do
I like something
that I can follow
along.
When I cook
a new dish
I like to look
at cookbooks
and when I write
an essay
I need sample
essay to give me
the structure
and guideline.
I often look
for some
foolproof way
to do things
because I genuinely
do not think
do not like
to think
or do not think.
And if I follow
a pattern
and things
did not work
at least I can
have someone
to blame.
What kind
of pattern
are you looking
for or are you
following
in being a Christian?
Do you have
a list of things
to take off
and tell yourself
that you are right
with God?
Can you give
a reason
to why you
do what you do?
Do you come
to church
read the Bible
and pray
do charity works
because they are
the right thing
to do?
All these show
that you are
only following
a pattern
and not having
a renewing mind.
We are being
urged to be
transformed
by the renewing
of our mind
and extend
through the commitment
to be led
by the Holy Spirit.
How do we know
whether we are
being led
by the Spirit?
Remember Nehemiah?
He knows
because he spent
time thinking
and praying.
When he prays,
he can recall
what God
has done
through history.
He meditates
on the great
and awesomeness
of God.
He remembers
God's promise
to his nations
and reminds God.
God's promise
and he did
that day
and night
over a long
period of time.
When we talk
about meditating
on God
day and night,
it does not mean
every moment
in life,
especially like
Nehemiah.
We all have
works
and other
duties to fulfill.
We need to
commit
to turn
our mind
to God
and his word
when our mind
is free
to turn
to anything.
When you can
think about
anything
you want
to think about,
what do you
think about?
Do you think
about your problems
or do you
engage in mental
arguing with
someone else
or perhaps
even allowing
your mind
to drift
into wasteland
of impure
thoughts?
To allow
yourself to
turn to God
and meditate
about him,
we need to
be practical.
When we
read the
Bible,
take notes
of passages
that remind
you of God,
passages that
address issues
that you are
dealing with
in life,
address sins
that easily
entangle you.
Take time
and find a way
to memorize
those passages.
Write them
on your hand
in a card
to keep
on you
or on your
desk.
When you
have God's
words in you
or near you,
when you are
free to think
about anything,
you can think
of greatness
of God
or draw on
them to
deal with
sin when
temptation
arises.
We can
meditate about
what the
Bible tells
us about
God,
how is it
different to
what you
assume him
to be,
and how
are you
going to
respond to
this new
knowledge.
We can
reflect on
your own
life to
determine the
degree of
conformity
between your
character or
conduct to
what God
has set for
his people,
and how
are you
going to
respond to
this
information.
Like Nehemiah,
we allow the
Spirit to
guide us
and to
bear fruits
in our
life as
we meditate
on God's
word and
pray day
and night,
and our
mind will
be renewed
and our
life will
be transformed.
And
finally,
we need
commitment to
search God's
word.
Let's follow
on with
Romans 12
verse 2.
Then you'll
be able to
test and
prove what
God's will
is,
his good,
pleasing,
and perfect
will.
As we
commit ourselves
to meditate
on God
and the
Bible,
we need to
be confident
that the
Bible do
tell us
about God's
will.
We will
not be able
to test and
approve God's
good,
pleasing,
and perfect
will if we
are not
committed to
search and
examine the
scripture to
confirm what
we heard is
in fact the
truth of
God.
As mentioned
last week,
God has a
multitude of
options to
show us
his will,
especially
when ours
is not in
line with
his.
He uses
preaching
words of
someone in
our community
group or
a friend to
correct and
train us.
Our
commitment
should be
like the
period in
Acts 17.
They
received the
message with
great eagerness
and examined
the scripture
every day to
see if what
they heard
was true.
To be able
to receive
God's message
with great
eagerness and
to allow
ourselves to
examine it,
we need to
be a person
that is quick
to listen and
slow to
speak.
We need to
listen and
revisit what
has been
said.
Imagine we
only rely on
listening to
God's word
for 20 to
30 minutes
on Sunday
once a
week to
be healthy
and grow
spiritually.
It's like
having only
one meal a
week and
starving
yourself for
the rest of
the time.
We will
become
spiritually
anorexic.
If we let
our busy
life get
into our
way to
search into
God's
word,
we will
be left
desperately
wanting.
The word
of God
is the
fruit of
the spirit
without which
it would
be impossible
for us to
become holy
and be like
God.
Our attitude
and commitment
to the
word of
God should
be like a
tree planted
by streams
of water
which uses
fruits in
season to
glorify God.
a commitment
to a good
spiritual diet
is so
important and
most of us
know that.
However, as
you open the
Bible, are
you at a
loss in
where to
start reading?
Should I
start from
the Old
Testament or
one of the
Gospels?
As you are
reading more,
what should
you do when
there are
things that
seem not in
unison or
words still
contradict each
other?
It is at
those points
that we
need to
use our
arc of
dependency
to keep
us on
course.
Bring those
issues to
God in
prayer,
speak with
each other
within God's
families to
ask for
suggestions,
but most
importantly,
remember that
we are not
alone in
our journey.
The Spirit
of God is
always by
our side.
God's
Spirit
enables us
to be
successful
in pleasing
God and
to live out
His will.
I am so
glad that
God is
not like
me.
He will
not ask
me to
sit on
the other
side of
the boat
and do
all the
rowing
himself and
make me
feel useless.
God
involves us
to sit
next to
Him and
do the
rowing
without
discipline.
On the
same time,
rely on
Him to
do the
rowing on
the side
of the
dependents.
even
though
there is
such a
great
mismatch
of
strength,
the
boats
can
and
will
always
get to
where
God
wants
us
to
go
if
we
keep
rowing
and
paddling.
Because
God knows
exactly how
much strength
we have
and He
will match
it to a
point to
keep the
boats on
course.
Our
tendency
is to
even out
all our
disciplines on
both sides.
We lie on
our own
strength.
It will
work in
a very
short
period.
But you
will be
so
exhausted
and you
cannot go
any
further.
God does
not want
that to
happen to
us.
In His
mercy,
He wants
us to
glorify Him
and at
the same
time fully
enjoy Him
forever.
He's there
sitting next
to us and
work with
us to
get there.
As we
look at
different
disciplines in
this series,
remember to
balance the
boats with
an
ever-increasing
auger of
dependence.
Because in
failing to
do so,
you will
only move
in circles
and will
not go
anyway.
There's a
hymn that I
learned a
long time
ago and
it helped
me to
renew my
commitment to
God,
especially when
I want to
stop growing.
It says,
I am
resolved no
longer to
linger,
charmed by
the world's
delight.
Things that
are higher,
things that
are no
bore.
These have
elude my
sight.
I am
resolved to
go to the
Savior,
living my
sins and
strife.
He is a
true one,
he is a
just one,
he has the
words of
life.
I am
resolved to
follow the
Savior,
faithful and
true each
day.
Hear what
he said,
do what
he will,
he is a
living way.
I am
resolved to,
and who
will go
with me,
come friends,
without
delay,
taught by
the Bible,
led by
the Spirit,
will walk
the heavenly
way.
The
chorus say,
I will
hasten to
him,
hasten so
glad and
free,
Jesus'
greatest and
highest,
I will
come to
thee.
If you're a
Christian,
can you
remember what
commitment you
made on the
day you
turned to
Christ?
Let's
live out those
commitments again
in your life
to glorify
God and
fully enjoy
him.
And if you
have been
searching and
investigating about
Christianity,
I hope you
join on this
heavenly way
soon.
Thank you.