Fully Commit! Sermon by Pastor Jeff Shipley

Whitten Baptist Church

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April 10, 2023

00:00: Really, just like any other guy, if you're a believer in Christ. This joy, this power, this realization should be the focal point, the epicenter of who and what you are.
00:16: We're going to talk a little bit just today about being convinced or committed. Some of you in this room are waiting to be convinced of the reality of Jesus Christ before you commit to Him.
00:28: May I tell you it's going to be a long and arduous road for you that will end up in the pits of hell.
00:36: Your intellectual vacancy and the arrogance and pride in which you hold that mindset has never ever achieved that result.
00:45: But we're going to get into that in a second. Friday, my granddaughters, two of my granddaughters were over there, little
00:54: Ava. She's, I don't know, three, four, four? And then the short, fat one,
01:01: Nene. They were over there and so I took them to the park. It's called the Papas Park.
01:07: Took them to the Papas Park. And we were sitting there and I walked up and there was this
01:13: Muslim dude, not Muslim, an Arabic guy from Yemeni. I know this because I engaged in conversation with him.
01:21: But he was sitting there pushing his little sissy son on the swing. And I put my four -year -old granddaughter in the swing and started pushing her a little bit.
01:32: I like to push her. And Ava doesn't know fear like normal mortal people.
01:38: Because she keeps going higher. And so I push her a little bit. Well, then the little boy said, higher, daddy.
01:46: And so he pushed her a little bit more. And the guy said, I guess because it's a girl, he wants to see who can go the highest.
01:54: And I went, mom. So I sat there and I took two steps back and I went, boom, boom.
02:03: And it tore on Ava's neck. It just, ah. And she was like, whoo.
02:09: And it got to the point to where the centrifugal force of the swing and Ava's weight separated her from the swing.
02:20: And she on the back swing was plopping back down in the swing. And she was constantly going higher, higher.
02:30: Yes, ma 'am. You know, not everything's a competition unless I'm winning.
02:37: And it is. God's intellectualism and humanism would take the cause of Jesus Christ, or should
02:47: I say the case of Jesus Christ. And try to boil it down into the competition between religion and reason.
02:55: Now what I want to tell you here today is that there is no conflict between religion and reason.
03:02: Because in my opinion, according to the word of God, religion and reason are the same thing.
03:07: I understand that religion is a road paved to hell just like alcohol and drugs.
03:14: There are many people who have put their faith and their hope in religion. For some of you, especially within this world place, you may have walked down the aisle and accepted
03:26: Jesus Christ in your heart, your Lord and Savior. You may have been baptized in the name of Jesus and maybe shed a little tear as you prayed that prayer.
03:37: Dear Jesus, come into my heart and save me. And if that is the reason you are banking your eternal destiny in heaven, may
03:48: I say this to you. You are in danger of the fires of hell. There have been many people who have prayed a prayer or joined a church or religion, reasoning that religion was the way.
04:03: But there was a man who once said, I am the way. I am the truth and I am the life.
04:09: Jesus said, no one comes to the Father except by me.
04:15: Understand that when people come to a place, they want a level of proof before they can fully commit.
04:25: And a lot of them rely on that emotional feeling for that level of commitment.
04:31: May I say this to you? The idea that we can prove Jesus Christ is both illogical and impossible in this universe today.
04:41: I hear people all the time lauding science as it has become the new first law.
04:47: Guys, science can't prove many, many things. Mathematical issues, science can't prove.
04:54: Objective morals, science can't prove. Aesthetical values, science can't prove.
05:00: There is in every single thing in the known universe a level of faith that must exist for you to be convinced to operate based on those assumptions.
05:13: Guys, can you prove to me that there is a God? Pastor, can you prove that Jesus rose again?
05:20: Well, no, I am not here to give you proof. But I and a lot of people up here and a lot of people up there are giving you evidence for you to understand that there is something greater than the self -serving narcissism that has ruled and ruined your life.
05:39: There is a peace of God that passes all understanding. I'm going to ask you to turn with me to Acts chapter 25.
05:47: Acts chapter 25. And I just want to talk to you about two people today. I'm going to talk to you about two people.
05:54: And I'm going to ask you to put away the church program. Okay? I'm going to ask you to put away the whole sermon thing and the whole church thing.
06:03: I'm going to ask you to simply look at some evidence and you come to a decision in your life whether you're ready to be committed, then be convinced.
06:16: Because I promise you if you wait to be convinced to be committed, you will never be committed. But if you by faith commit yourself to something greater than yourself, the convincing will happen every minute of every day.
06:29: Paul, the apostle who wrote a lot of the New Testament, is standing trial for his beliefs.
06:35: You have to understand that he was a very well respected, multi -doctorate, highly educated person who hated
06:44: Christianity with a passion. In fact, his job was to hunt Christians down.
06:49: But at one moment, he came face to face with the reality of Jesus Christ. And he spent the rest of his life in physical misery while he spiritually grew in the understanding of faith.
07:03: As he's sitting here in this trial, in Acts chapter 25, verse 22.
07:10: As he's sitting there in this trial, he is before this judge, if you will.
07:16: And Agrippa says this to Festus, I would like to hear the man himself.
07:24: Tomorrow, he you will hear from. So Festus is sitting there with this guy named
07:30: Agrippa, they're the judges. And they're sitting there and one of them is wanting to know more about Jesus.
07:39: Now I want you to know that every time Paul spoke, he was not the subject. It was whom he served that was the subject.
07:48: And he wrote and said that this man wanted to hear more about Christ.
07:55: Can I talk to you just for a second about evidentiary understanding of who Jesus was?
08:02: Guys, you heard three people up here give evidence from their own personal lives about who
08:10: Jesus was. One of the things I think churches do so poorly at is everybody is so busy trying to be a hypocrite and covering up their sin that we forget that the failures that we have and the glory that God gives and the repentance and grace actually are trophies of God's grace.
08:29: And it goes to empower those that are around us. Johnny's a drunk, okay?
08:36: Mercedes has blue hair, right away. Did y 'all notice her blue hair and her green shoes? It's Easter, I thought you chicks were supposed to be all in white.
08:45: But anyway, you had Melanie up here who was almost dead and yet she saw the grace of God in the service of her husband.
08:53: Guys, that is some evidence. But I would like to give you, and I've written some of these on the back of that paper you were given.
09:00: I'd like to write you from someone. I always love it when I hear atheists say this. Were you there?
09:05: Well, no dummy, neither were you. So let's look at some people that were. If you will, there was a great philosopher.
09:12: His name was Celsus, and he wrote the book, a book called The Real Truth. He wrote this in 180
09:19: AD. This is when the Roman Empire was at its height, its zenith.
09:25: And he was this great intellectual philosopher, and he hated Christianity.
09:31: I want you to read what he wrote. He said this, Jesus is but a mere magician and sorcerer.
09:39: And he quoted, this is one of his quotes, that Jesus Christ was nothing more than a mere man.
09:47: And you know what's extraordinary about that? He didn't say that he never existed.
09:53: He, as a historian, someone who wrote in early Christendom, he said he was nothing but a mere man.
10:03: So let's wrap our heads around the fact that there is a reality. If you want to hear more, start from the base of understanding that this is not a religious fairy tale.
10:13: That historically, Jesus was a real man. A man named Will Durant, who is probably, in my opinion, one of the greatest historians who have ever lived.
10:22: He's passed away now, but he wrote The History of Civilization. It's an 11 volume set, and it is just profound.
10:31: He was not a Christian. He was not a Christian, and he wrote this. The discoveries that have been summarized in Scripture have considerable credit and tradition to both
10:46: Jews and Christians. It's outlining, it's supernatural incidents.
10:53: The story of Christ that has unfolded from the Old Testament to the New Testament has stood the test of criticism and archaeology.
11:02: Every year, every year there is corroboration from documents, monuments, or excavation.
11:13: We must accept the biblical account provisionally until it is disproved.
11:22: Now I want you to just think for a second. Do you know that an atheist historian came to a point where he gave more validity to the word of God than some people who walk into church doors?
11:35: But he was also intellectually and academically honest with the point of,
11:41: I'm willing to be convinced, but I'm willing to accept evidence at its face value.
11:48: Where are you today? Have you been so lulled to sleep by these heathen, godless preachers on TV who run around and wave their coats and wear $12 ,000 suits and say,
12:00: Somebody stole my Honda and asked for money? Have you been so blinded in your own arrogance by furthering that arrogance on the backs of those who are obviously hypocrites and liars and have nothing to do with Jesus?
12:13: Are you justifying the damnation of hell and the reality of a life without Christ by the failures of other people?
12:22: Or are you really looking for evidence? If you really want to be convinced, let me ask you a question.
12:30: Where have your studies led you? Now here's what most people do. They get on the internet and they type up whyjesusisntrue .com
12:39: Or they'll sit there in their mama's basement because they usually don't have jobs smoking weed, couldn't make the football team.
12:47: They're sitting there trying to validate their unbelief by systematic unbelief.
12:55: Do you really want to know? Do you really want to know? Like Agrippa here, he wanted to hear, but he didn't really want to know.
13:05: He didn't really want to find out truth. What he was doing was going with the crowd.
13:11: And his eternal destiny was secured because of this ignorance. Look at chapter 26 and the culmination of this discussion.
13:21: Chapter 26, verse 28. By the way, Festus and Agrippa can both be historically validated through Roman documents.
13:31: That they lived at that time and both of them held the same titles of governorship that are mentioned in scripture.
13:38: But chapter 26, verse 28. And Agrippa said to Paul, In a short time, would you persuade me to be a
13:49: Christian? I'm an apologist. I love debating.
13:55: I love it. I mean, like, I enjoy it. In fact, when I get on airplanes,
14:01: I don't tell them that I'm a pastor. You know, I always start out with, hi, I'm Jeff. And they'll go, hi,
14:08: I'm whatever. And I wait. If they don't put those little white things in their ears right away,
14:14: I know I'm not having a conversation. I give them something. I say, so what do you do? And they say, oh,
14:21: I'm a whatever or whatever. And I'm like, oh, cool. And I'll maybe open up my
14:27: Bible to the book of Revelation. Because any time you mention the antichrist at the end times, even atheists are like, oh, cool.
14:33: Tell me about who a demon did and all that other stuff. And I'll say, well, yeah, I'm a
14:38: Christian. I'm a believer. And I always say, I talk to a lot of people who have doubts or who don't believe and who don't understand.
14:46: And they'll start asking me questions, man. Because they're not in front of their wives and kids.
14:52: They're not in front of their friends and their bosses. There is a genuine wanting to know and wanting to be convinced that's on the inside of them.
15:00: Because what they're being felt is the conviction of the Holy Spirit. And when they feel that conviction, they want to know absolute truth.
15:10: And so I sit and I keep talking and I'm talking to them. And usually it ends up in one of two ways.
15:15: It ends up with this. Well, that was kind of nice. That was cool. And they put the things in there.
15:22: What are those things called? Earplugs. Yeah. They put the earplugs in there. Or the 1970 ones.
15:30: Or they'll sit there and they'll say a follow up question. And then a follow up question.
15:35: And then a follow up question. They're doing more research and trying to find truth in a one or two hour flight than most people do their entire lives.
15:44: And say I don't really believe in Jesus. How do you know you don't believe? You don't do anything about it.
15:52: You are not. You are just like a cripple. You come to a place where in that short period of time you actually talk to someone who actually really believes.
16:02: Who doesn't want anything from you except for you to understand the truth of God's word.
16:07: In that moment you're almost a convinced. But here's what a lot of people do. At that moment where conviction meets a point of commitment they do like the gripper did.
16:21: And they get up and they leave. The gripper gets up and leaves. You know why?
16:27: And I'm going to tell you why most people never accept Christ. It's not because of an intellectual misunderstanding.
16:33: It's because of this. Your sin, your ways and your desire are more real to you than the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
16:42: That's why. Just cut it where it is. People say well it's apathy. No it's not apathy.
16:49: No it's not laziness. It's that you're loving yourself for your sin more than you are the reality of Jesus Christ.
16:56: We'll close with this. John chapter 20. Turn with me to John chapter 20 verse 24.
17:02: John chapter 20 verse 24. There's another type of person that's seeking being convinced before they're committed.
17:14: And these are not godless heathens. These are folks that really just want to know.
17:21: They are not the ones who sit there and enjoy with laughter mocking those who are
17:28: Christians inside themselves. They really have felt the conviction of God.
17:33: They know they're not where they need to be. And so they want to know.
17:38: Well I'm going to be honest with you. One of these guys is a guy named Thomas. He was one of the guys that followed
17:45: Jesus for three years. Who saw Jesus feed 5 ,000. Who saw Jesus walk on water.
17:53: You see he was in a place where he was convinced of who Jesus was.
17:58: But he was still not yet ready to take that final step of commitment.
18:05: Starting in verse 24. Now Thomas 1 of the 12 called the twin. And we think he was called the twin because he actually had a physical resemblance to Jesus.
18:15: And that of course put him in greater danger. But anyways. Was not with them when Jesus came.
18:21: So the other disciples told him we have seen the Lord. But he said to them this. Until I see the hands and the marks of the nails.
18:30: And place my finger into the mark of the nails. And place my hand into his side.
18:36: I will never believe. I will not believe.
18:43: How many of you in here are going to sit here and go. I'm never going to believe in God. I don't care about this.
18:49: I don't care about God. If that's where you are today. Right away I'm going to ask. Why are you here?
18:55: I know I'm dripping fresh up here. But I know you didn't come to see me. So why are you here?
19:01: See I don't think there's a lot of people like that if any in this room. I think there are people who really want to believe.
19:08: But the overpowering sense and the skepticism in your life. In your heart. You sit there and come to a place in your life.
19:16: You go unless I find rock solid proof. That there is a
19:22: God. That there is Jesus. That I'm not going to believe. Unfortunately there will never be that proof for you.
19:29: Only the mountain. Mountain of evidence. In the lives of people. And first hand written accounts.
19:37: Thomas sits there and says. I will never believe. Next verse.
19:43: Eight days later. The disciples were inside again. And Thomas was with them. And all the doors were locked.
19:50: Jesus came and stood among them and said. Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas. Hey son.
19:58: Put your hand. And place it in my side. Do not disbelieve.
20:03: But believe. Thomas answered him and said. My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him.
20:10: Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen. Yet believed.
20:17: Here's some really good news. For those of you in this room. Who are not committed to Christ.
20:23: I am not talking about some stupid prayer. I am talking about your life bears out the testimony. Your doubting self.
20:31: Is welcomed by Jesus Christ. He looked at Thomas and said. Come here.
20:37: Come here son. Guys if you really want to know. The invitation of Jesus Christ is open to you.
20:45: Understand. That I have been a pastor for 32 years. There are days
20:50: I still have doubts. I am not talking about the authenticity of Jesus Christ. I still have doubts about who
20:57: I am. What I am. Why am I doing this? Why is this happening? Why is this happening?
21:03: When I see people die of cancer. I am like. You know God. Couldn't you have taken an atheist.
21:09: And leave me with my Christian. You are a dwindling group over here God. What are you doing? There are times where.
21:16: Man I tell you. I feel a pain in my chest. You know. I don't know.
21:22: You older. You men my age and older. You don't know what I mean. You feel a pain. And you go. Oh boy here it comes.
21:29: Elizabeth I am coming home to see you. The younger kids don't get that. But. I doubt.
21:37: There are times I doubt. When I stand before God. There is just one part of the back of my mind.
21:43: That sits there and goes. Like the Savior said. He is going to look at me. And go. Mmm. Mmm.
21:50: Don't get up out of my face. Get out of my sight. You make me sick. That is what my old man did.
21:58: I mean. Why would God do that? But here we see in scripture. Jesus took a guy.
22:04: Who literally said. Unless I see him. I am not going to believe him.
22:12: And he said. Peter. No. Thomas. Come home. Jesus took him. Around this time.
22:19: A Roman Governor. Actually this was a few years later. A Roman Governor. Wrote to the
22:25: Emperor Trajan. Who ruled once again. At the high point of the Roman Empire. I want you to listen to what he wrote.
22:34: He said. I ask them. If they are Christians. If they admit it.
22:41: I repeat the question. A second. And third time. Thrice. If they persist.
22:49: I sentence them. To death. And especially. Because they. Cursed Christ. The thing which is said.
22:56: Genuine Christians. Cannot be induced to do. I want you to think. Just for a second.
23:02: You. Under 30 year olds. Who are smarter. Than everybody else in the world. Just listen for a second.
23:09: Here is a Roman document. That is. Historically. Validated.
23:15: By the. And. The Emperor. Of the Roman Empire. He writes to them.
23:22: And he is telling them. How he deals. With Christians. Because Christians. Had become like cockroaches.
23:30: They were blowing up everyone. And so the Roman government. Tried to stop them out. And he said this.
23:37: This is how I do it. I say. Do you believe in Jesus? And if they say yes.
23:42: I am going to ask them a second time. Do you believe in Jesus? And just to put a little splash to it.
23:52: I ask them this. Curse God. Curse the name of Jesus.
23:58: Because he said. A real Christian. Won't do that. And if they refuse.
24:03: To curse Jesus. I sentence them. To death. Now. I want you to just think for a second.
24:14: If there was no Jesus. What would you do? And there was no resurrection. Why is a government official.
24:22: Talking to the Roman Emperor. About a fictitious character. He didn't write Trajan. And go.
24:27: Flying unicorns. Were flying around today. He didn't drop acid. And start saying.
24:33: Big pandas are elephants. He was writing an official. Government document. Explaining to Trajan.
24:40: What he was doing. To deal. With Christianity. Where we are today?
24:46: We are in a time. In a time. We are in a time. In a time. In a time.
25:07: In a time. In a time.
25:13: In a time. In a time. In a time. They actually. Literally. Gave up. Their entire. Life.
25:18: Because they were. Committed. Before they were convinced. They got.
25:23: To a place. Where by faith. They accepted Jesus. Christ. And they accepted. Him not as a little baby.
25:30: In the manger. Or in some stupid. Religious. Church service. It was real.
25:35: To them. Because the price. They would have to pay was. Their life. Do you have.
25:41: Any first hand. Eyewitness. Accounts. to disprove there is a Christ? I've got the word of God, because then people were there.
25:50: I've got historical documents. I've got pastoral documents from the first century.
25:57: I've got a lot of evidence. Let me ask you a question. What are you willing to do with that mounting level of evidence?
26:06: I'm going to ask the easy people to come up here. I'm just going to simply ask this to you. Listen. Like I said, forget church, and forget religion, and forget all this stuff.
26:18: Do you in you, in your little brain, do you know that out of the shadow of a doubt that if you die right now, you can go to heaven?
26:27: If the answer is no, I can't do anything for it. I can't.
26:34: The church can't do anything for it. But I can show you the Spirit, show you the word of God, and I'm going to introduce you to the
26:41: Holy Spirit that can change your life. If you're in this room today and you doubt, it's okay.
26:47: Relax. It's absolutely okay. But I ask you to do this.
26:54: I ask you to actually start seeking legitimate evidence, not proof, evidence of the reality of Jesus Christ.
27:03: And that I can help you with. I have a standing bet of $1 ,000 in cash that I will give anyone who can disprove the historical accuracy of Jesus Christ.
27:16: I've had that bet for 30 years now. And no one has claimed it.
27:21: Because there is a mountain of evidence. I'm not trying to prove to you anything. I'm giving you facts.
27:28: I could sit here for the next two hours and quote historian after historian after historian after historian.
27:34: The place you're going to get there is everything that I say to you, your little mind, you're going to go, well yeah, but that, but yeah, well that, but yeah, but that.
27:45: You know why? Because you're trying to be convinced before you're committed. What I'm telling you today is you want to be convinced, be committed first.
27:55: Be committed first. If you do not know Jesus, if you are not personally saved by Him, I want you to come down here and talk to me.
28:04: Walking down the aisle, I'll save you. I can't save you. The same spirit of God is in me. The same spirit of God is in anybody.
28:10: I'm not supernatural. Some people explain all that other garbage. I'm just one fat bald guy showing other people what
28:16: Jesus is about. If you're in this room and you are a Christian, then your doubts have superseded your evidence.
28:25: In other words, you want to believe, but you're just not good at believing right now because you're more entangled in the sin that cares in this world than you are in Christ.
28:35: Let us help you. Okay? You see, you know what church is for?
28:42: It's a bunch of losers getting together after us, helping one move along. Confess your faults one to another that you may be healed.
28:50: If you keep trying to live your spiritual life in the seclusion of your own individualism, nothing will ever change.
28:58: But if you sit there and go, Hey Vicki, I'm struggling with cross -dressing.
29:04: You know? She'll help me out. By the way, no one laughed. That was a joke. I don't struggle with cross -dressing.
29:10: But I was trying to make something of myself. I want you to come down here and we'll find someone for you to help you understand and to be accountable for your actions.
29:22: Maybe you just need some prayer. Maybe you need to join a church. I don't know. But I'm going to ask all of you to stand up right now.
29:28: And if God has spoken to you today, if you have heard His Word and you know what it implies to you, you've come this morning as God's people.