MMCC CALL TO COMMITMENT (review)

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MMCC CALL TO COMMITMENT(review)

• But thanks be to God that though you were slaves
  of sin, you became obedient from the heart to
  that form of teaching to which you were committed
  Rom 6.17 NASB
• WHAT
• A church-wide call to the commitment
• A series of devotionals to bring people back to
  God
• A decision to re-count the cost with everyone in
  the church
• A chance to strengthen disciples and deal with
  sin
• A way to solidify our membership and know our
  boundaries

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Call to Commitment

• WHY
• This is part of our on-going repentance as church
• This is a result of going back to our
  Mission-Vision statements
• This has been on the hearts of the leadership and
  church members for some time
• This is needed in order to know who wish to
  remain as disciples

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Call to Commitment - Review

• TOPICS FOR COMMITMENT DEVOS (6)
• Our Beliefs
• Our Structure
• Our Strategy
• Our Response
• Discipling
• Giving
• Commitment
• Membership Affirmation

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Recommitment Calls in the Old Testament

• By Rolan D. Monje

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The OT pattern

• Gods standard never changes.
• Gods people forget the standard, and so God
  calls people to recommit themselves to the
  standard.
• Today, we will look at some of those calls from
  the Old Testament narratives.

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The Call through Joshua

• Josh 21.1, 14-17
• Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel
  at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders,
  judges and officials of Israel, and they
  presented themselves before God.

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The Call through Joshua

• Josh 21.1, 14-17
• "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all
  faithfulness. Throw away the gods your
  forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in
  Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the
  LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for
  yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether
  the gods your forefathers served beyond the
  River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land
  you are living. But as for me and my household,
  we will serve the LORD."
• Then the people answered, "Far be it from us to
  forsake the LORD to serve other gods!

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The Call through Samuel

• 1 Sam 7.2-4
• It was a long time, twenty years in all, that
  the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the
  people of Israel mourned and sought after the
  LORD.

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The Call through Samuel

• 1 Sam 7.2-4 (cont)
• And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel,
  "If you are returning to the LORD with all your
  hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods
  and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the
  LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you
  out of the hand of the Philistines." So the
  Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths,
  and served the LORD only.

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The Call through Elijah

• 1 Ki 18.20-24
• So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and
  assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah
  went before the people and said, "How long will
  you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is
  God, follow him but if Baal is God, follow him."
• But the people said nothing.

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The Call through Elijah

• 1 Ki 18.20-24
• So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and
  assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.

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The Call through Elijah

• 1 Ki 18.22-24
• Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of
  the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four
  hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us.
  Let them choose one for themselves, and let them
  cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not
  set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and
  put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then
  you call on the name of your god, and I will call
  on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by
  fire--he is God."
• Then all the people said, "What you say is
  good."

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The Call through Asa

• 2 Chron 15.8-15
• When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of
  Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage.
  He removed the detestable idols from the whole
  land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he
  had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired
  the altar of the LORD that was in front of the
  portico of the LORD's temple.

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The Call through Asa

• Then Asa assembled all Judah and Benjamin
• They assembled at Jerusalem
• they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head
  of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from
  the plunder they had brought back. They entered
  into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of
  their fathers, with all their heart and soul. All
  who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel,
  were to be put to death, whether small or great,
  man or woman. They took an oath to the LORD with
  loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets
  and horns. All Judah rejoiced about the oath
  because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They
  sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So
  the LORD gave them rest on every side.

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The Call through Josiah

• 2 Ki 22.8-23
• Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the
  secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in
  the temple of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan,
  who read it. Then Shaphan read from it in the
  presence of the king.
• When the king heard the words of the Book of the
  Law, he tore his robes Great is the LORD's anger
  that burns against us because our fathers have
  not obeyed the words of this book they have not
  acted in accordance with all that is written
  there concerning us."

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• 2 Ki 23.1
• Then the king called together all the elders of
  Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of
  the LORD with all the people from the least to
  the greatest. He read in their hearing all the
  words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been
  found in the temple of the LORD. The king stood
  by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the
  presence of the LORD--to follow the LORD and keep
  his commands, regulations and decrees with all
  his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the
  words of the covenant written in this book. Then
  all the people pledged themselves to the
  covenant.

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Conclusions

• Recommitment calls are calls to return to the
  Lord, because people have turned or drifted away.
• Each person has choice, to remain in his
  situation (bad) or to return to God change the
  situation (good)
• Turning back to God is only possible because God
  is good.
• God uses imperfect but spiritual men to effect
  his call for recommitment.

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Recommitment Calls in the Old Testament

• By Rolan D. Monje

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D-group time

• Expect work towards quality discussion
• Q1 For those who have counted the cost What
  have you changed mula nung pag-count the cost mo?
• Q2 Sa Christian life mo, magbigay ng isang taong
  ginamit ng Dios para ikaw ay mag-repent o
  recommit.