Commitment to Fulfill the Mission

Are you ready to build a road? If you've heard of David Livingstone, he was a famous explorer, he was a physician, he was a pioneer, a missionary in dark Africa. Those in the UK who wanted to help him at one time sent a message to him and asked whether he had found a good road. They wrote, we would like to send other men to you. Have you found a good road in your area yet? Do you know what David Livingstone responded? He wrote back, if you have men who will only come if they know there's a good road, I don't want them. I want men who will come if there's no road at all. Can you imagine that scenario? He wanted people who were willing to move ahead, even if they had to help build that road. He knew hardship himself. He knew how difficult it would be. He had been attacked by tribes. His wife had died of malaria while in Africa. And so people came and they stole his supplies. It affected him as well. He had injured himself in a lion attack. Others had attacked him and he had failing eyesight from the difficulties that he went through. And despite all of that, he wrote, I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it's forward. And that attitude is just absolutely amazing. It causes me to ask, are we ready to build a road? Are we ready to advance the mission of God that He has given to us? And that includes every single person in the room, everyone in the church is called to be a part of that very mission. Now, as you think about Bible application, we have our own David living stones that are recorded in the Bible. The Apostle Paul is one of those that immediately comes to mind. If you take a look at 2 Corinthians 11, Paul rehearses all the difficulties that he went through. He went through scourgings and whippings and stoned, left for death. He certainly went through so many difficult things. And yet it didn't sway him from striving to accomplish the mission that God had given to him. I'm reminded what he wrote Timothy, if you'll turn with me over to 2 Timothy 2. We're all reminded of where that strength to fulfill the mission really comes from. 2 Timothy 2, if you look at the very beginning of this chapter, Paul writes to this young minister, Timothy, and in writing to him, he expresses some of those same sentiments that David Livingstone wrote about himself. Notice what Paul wrote. 2 Timothy 2, verse 1, he writes to Timothy, he says, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare and tangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. Now, did you notice something critically important as Paul wrote to Timothy? Where does our strength in accomplishing that mission really begin?

Well, if you notice what he said, begins with God's grace, not natural abilities, not self-confidence, none of those things. God advances his work by his will, by his mercy, by his favor. That's how he does that. And he works through people who love him and willingly answer that very call. And so, as you consider that, there's an amazing example in the Bible that helps us get this vision of accomplishing the mission that God's given to us. It's over in 2 Samuel 23. If you'll turn there with me, this is a section where David is at the end of his life, King David. And at the end of his life, it rehearses some pretty amazing circumstances that David experienced throughout his life. And one of those things that really supported King David were his mighty men. And we have a listing of those men in 2 Samuel chapter 23. And as you look at verse 8 and onward in 2 Samuel 23, we find these mighty men who were absolutely devoted to their king, devoted to King David, and they were committed to the cause. Now, what's interesting as we consider these mighty men, there's a direct connection between what they were like, the mission that they were set on, and our devotion to Jesus Christ, to God the Father, and that motivation to be committed to the mission that God has given us. And so as we begin to think about it, what was it that drew David's mighty men together?

I think as you look through this list, they were captivated by David. I can ask the question, are we captivated by our king? Now, captivated is an interesting kind of word because it's not just interested, but that captivated means he has our full attention. We are completely, completely involved by our king, and we are held to him. That's this idea of captivation. When we think of David's mighty men, David couldn't have done what he did without them. It wasn't David's work alone. These men stood with him through difficulties, through hardships, through danger. In fact, as we look at this whole section, these were individuals who were distressed. They were in debt. They were disconnected. They were cut off from society. They weren't men of favor. They weren't polished. They weren't problem-free, in any sense of the word. And when we look at how they were committed to David and the mission that he was set on, they were unified in that mission. And when we recognize that, their unity was not because they were so similar. It wasn't based on that at all. It was based on the fact they were devoted to King David. They were devoted to his cause. And as we think about that, I think we can recognize that God can shape willing, imperfect people. God, even people like us. Willing, imperfect people. God can take them and shape them into faithful, devoted servants. And so it doesn't require we've got our act totally together, that we've got it all figured out before we jump in to being a servant. Good example of this, given in verse 13. If you look at 2 Samuel 23.13, in this section of Scripture, David is remembering what it was like to be in Bethlehem. And as he begins just reminiscing about things, in verse 15, David said with a longing, oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. He's just thinking how beautiful that was back in the day, and what a blessing it was to have that cool, refreshing water. It certainly wasn't a command. It was just remembering, just kind of a little bit of a longing. And what happens? Verse 16, these three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Wow, could you imagine going through Philistine territory just to get David a drink of water? It wasn't a duty. It wasn't an order. It wasn't a command. It wasn't an obligation in any way. And yet they took on that task. And if we read the story on, David was overwhelmed with their commitment and actually poured out that water, didn't take a drink of it at all, poured it out before God, honoring how costly that one gift really was.

Now think about the impact of that. Does our devotion to our King move us to act? It certainly highlights this big difference between duty and devotion. What is duty? Well, I have to do this. What do I have to do? That's duty. But devotion, on the other hand, what can I do to honor Him? Yes, duty notices the assignment, but devotion, that leads to the person who really needs the help. Now that impacts each and every one of us. Are there people who need support? Are there families that need us? Is there a young person among us who needs encouragement? Who needs a little bit of help, kindness that can be expressed?

You see, the heart of a servant is love for God the Father and Jesus Christ that is expressed toward others. And we have that opportunity. It's not about a schedule. It's not about a requirement. It's not about a program. It's about devotion. You think about the example here in 2 Samuel. David, was he perfect? Not at all. Not at all. He was flawed. And yet, he had been anointed king. He had been rejected, certainly for a time. And yet, on the other hand, our King, Jesus Christ, He is Savior. He is high priest. He is our soon coming King. And we follow Him because of who He is. And so when we recognize that, He first loved us and sacrificed His life for us. And so it begs the question, am I serving out of duty or a living devotion to Jesus Christ? You see, real devotion doesn't stop at admiration. It should move us into action. So if we're captivated by our King, it should move us to be committed to His awesome great cause. And of course, that cause is nothing less than the Kingdom of God. And so it's not just about coming to services. It's not just about setting up a routine or running profitably as an organization. No, we've been given a God-given mission collectively to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God, to make disciples and to take care of those that God calls. That's the mission we're all on. And we're not going to be able to do that by human effort. That is not going to make it happen. Christ will establish it. But we have the privilege and the honor of serving that purpose right now. And so when we recognize that, we realize God's work is so much bigger than just one person. It's so much bigger than just one congregation or even one generation. We recognize that cause should motivate us to show that commitment, which oftentimes we think of these big things that we could do to really make a difference. Well, is that really what it's about? Is that how each and every one of us can have an impact? I don't think so. I mean, when we look at Scripture, we find the simplest ordinary acts of service have an amazing, long-lasting impact. When we visit someone who's hurting or sick. When we go out of our way to call someone and encourage them. When we remember that we need to get to know our youth and encourage them and mentor them and help them. When we're patient with someone that's struggling, all of those things make a huge difference. In fact, how am I here? How are you here? Probably someone invested in us. Now, we've been given that opportunity to invest in others. I mean, David had his mighty men. They shared that one cause. They were one mind as they worked together. But they all contributed, each and every one of them. David had his mighty men, but God has a spiritual family. We are His body with different gifts, with different opportunities, whether we can teach or whether we can encourage or whether we can organize or whether we can give hospitality or pray for others or quietly serve. Every one of those parts make a huge difference because not everyone can do everything, but everyone can faithfully do something.

Everyone can't do everything, but everyone can do something. And so, we've been called on this mission to build this spiritual road, not to be a spectator, but with shared responsibility, we express that and do our part in this great mission. So, what is it that God's put before you? Have you considered, well, how can I contribute? Because when you think about this idea of commitment, it's not just what we say we believe. No, it shows in how we respond. How do we respond? Well, it's going to take wholehearted commitment. What does that look like? What does wholehearted commitment look like? Well, here in 2 Samuel, we've got some great examples. 2 Samuel 23, look at verse 11. Verse 11 in 2 Samuel 23, it talks about one of David's mighty men, Shammah. It says, the Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So, what happened? The people fled from the Philistines. Well, what about Shammah? Not him. He didn't run. He stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So, the Lord brought about a great victory.

You see, wholehearted commitment requires faith. It requires faith. That's where it stops. Even when the odds are overwhelming. Now, even for Shammah, one powerful thing is so important to recognize. The Lord brought about a great victory. I mean, this was a chat. This was an obstacle. He's going to die for sure. He's going to be overwhelmed by all these Philistines. And yet, God gave the victory. Faith doesn't deny the obstacles. Faith doesn't say, well, I've got everything it takes to accomplish this. No, sometimes we don't have enough resources. Sometimes it's discouraging. Sometimes there's people fighting against us, and things are a mess. They're complicated. But this example, I think, is a powerful one because it helps us to recognize not to let the size of the problem be greater in our minds than the greatness of God. We have a great God on our side. Yes, we need to plan. We need to be wise. We need to acknowledge our limitations, no doubt. But then what do we do? We don't run away. We go forward. Because what obstacle is one that God can't take care of? He's saying, take that faithful step. Take that step. And so it causes me to ask, where am I tempted to focus more on the obstacles than to focus on God? Yeah, it requires faith. Now, another thing we see in the examples of the mighty men here is perseverance. Whole-hearted commitment takes perseverance. If you look to verse 9, verse 9 in 2 Samuel 23, here we have a man, Eliezer. Eliezer. And he's fighting on behalf of that mission, on behalf of that king that he is not only committed to, but he's captivated by. And what an amazing story. Eliezer, one of the three mighty men, it says, with David, when they defied the Philistines who were gathered for battle. Verse 10, he arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand stuck to the sword. Wow, can you imagine that? Holding on to something so long and so steadfastly that you couldn't let go of it. That's perseverance. And when we recognize that, that means, you know, does service just end with one conversation? Does one act solve a problem? Well, not usually. There's unanswered questions. There's more difficulties ahead, sometimes discouragement or disappointment. But we can't let that sway us. We've got to hold on to that sword because it's the total difference between tiring in serving rather than tiring because of serving. We certainly want to, if we're going to be tired, we're going to be tired in serving and recognize the strength really comes from God. That's where it comes. Yes, we've got to make sure we rest and God's built in the Sabbath so we can certainly do that. But we certainly need to and have to help if we're going to finish this mission and be wholeheartedly committed to it. And so to encourage others, something we can all do. Sometimes that needed thing is a prayer. When we recognize someone's situation, a listening ear is a powerful tool and an inclination to recognize how we can help. Then, of course, that next step becomes so critical because wholehearted commitment also takes initiative. It takes initiative when there's a need right in front of us, that willingness to do something, to act on it. Look down to verse 20. Verse 20 in 2 Samuel 23, we see another example here that really tells that particular story when we recognize the story of Benaiah. Benaiah, it says, the son of a valiant man had done many deeds. But what was one of them? It said he had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. So not a literal lion, but he didn't stop there. It said he also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.

Wow. Probably had a little bit of concern about slipping and falling and having that lion pounce on him. But he didn't take a reckless risk. No, he refused to be passive. He took on the challenge before him. He saw the need and he did something about it. And when we recognize that, that's the same calling we have. That commitment to God takes initiative. And as we do that, it's going forward. It's building that road to help and to serve and to step out in faith. And so we can ask ourselves, what step am I willing to take to help and to serve? You see, in these many situations here in 2 Samuel, wow, the odds were against them. And yet, faith recognized those odds, and yet answered with perseverance, even when the time was difficult, and went on with initiative once that need was recognized. And so it tells a powerful story for us today. Let's take that next step. Let's take that step. Just like David Livingstone didn't want men that required an easy road, he wanted people who were willing to help build one. And of course, our calling is so much bigger than an explorer's ambition. I mean, we've got an amazing sacrificial king who's given us a great cause, and he's given us each other a spiritual family that we can build and grow and serve together. And so let's ask ourselves a few questions. Can I truly say that I am captivated by my king? Am I growing closer to God the Father and Jesus Christ? Can I take that faithful step that maybe I've been hesitant to take in the past? Who is it that I can serve, that I can strengthen, or that perhaps I could encourage? And maybe that step is praying for them. Maybe that step is a visit. Maybe that step is a conversation, an act of service, a commitment to help and mentor and be involved in each other's lives. Because we certainly don't want to underestimate that small, faithful action. Because God sees what others might not even notice. And so as we consider this, let's remember that section in 2 Timothy that Paul wrote to that young minister, that we can be faithful people passing truth along to others and encouraging them and serving them one after another, generation after generation. Because the challenge is, we're probably not going to see an easy road ahead. But we know who we follow. We know where we're going. And ultimately, we know who supplies the strength. So let's be devoted to our King. Let's be committed to His cause. And let's be all in in being willing to advance God's mission.