Week IV

Video

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Detailed Outline

Achieving our dreams is not an easy task, and there will always be the temptation to take the easier, less fulfilling road.  We are the only living beings on the planet that have the consciousness to make decisions that call forth our growth and development.  When we make the decision to commit to live a certain lifestyle, whether it’s committing to a marriage, an exercise program, prayer work, or an eating regimen, the reason we commit is because we want a desired outcome, a better life.  We all know those commitments will be challenged in the form of temptations or pain.  Challenges and obstacles in the path towards our dreams are God’s way of asking us: How bad do you want it?  The gift in this is whom we become as we reaffirm our desire for greatness, thereby overcoming any and all challenges. 

Commitment is the fuel that carries us through the obstacles along the road that leads to the life we want to live and, specific to this month’s focus, the love we wish to give and receive. 

Decisions empower commitment

We live our lives by design or by default.  We create the life we live with the decisions we make.  We cannot not make decisions for our life—not deciding for ourselves is choosing to live by default and allowing others to make choices and decisions for us.  The key is to become clear on what kind of life we want and commit to it.  This is the secret: to become clear on our “why”—why we want the beautiful marriage or the better eating program or the prayer routine or the dream career, etc.  There’s an old saying that goes, “When the why is big enough the how will appear.”  When we tap into the root desire, or the inspiration for why we want something, the solution for the obstacles will be made clear.

Every relationship is challenged

We’ve all seen the image of the old couple walking down the sidewalk, hand-in-hand, seemingly without a care in the world.  The look of love in their eyes is deep, and it’d be easy and natural to think that their love has always been easy because the relationship has been easy.  In actuality, the counter-opposite tends to be true: the hardships in their relationship are the reasons why their love has found such depths.  Every one of the Marriage Masters reported going through tremendous challenges.  In fact, many spoke of times when one or both of them wanted to throw in the towel and call it quits.  For those of us who are presently going through rough times, its important to remember that we are not alone; everyone has hardships, and we can make a decision to make it through to other side, just like the Marriage Masters did, just like the old couple walking down the sidewalk hand-in-hand did. 

Before Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, doctors considered running a sub-4-minute mile physically impossible.  But within a mere 36 months of Bannister’s achievement, sixteen other runners crushed the 4-minute mile.  How powerful are our beliefs, our faith in the possibilities?  What happens when we believe something is possible and give it our all?  The Marriage Masters are living examples that the kind of love we want in our life is possible, if we only believe.

Faith to overcome obstacles

Where does the strength to overcome challenges and stay committed come from?  In times of trouble, do we tell God about our big problems or do we tell our problems about our big God?  In Matthew 6:25 Jesus tells us “do not worry”, and later demonstrates God’s power by resurrecting Lazarus from the dead, symbolizing that no problem we face in life is more powerful than God.  We can trust in the Lord that when the time comes we will be given the strength to endure and overcome even the greatest of challenges. 

In the beginning, our faith empowers commitment, but after enough victories over obstacles our commitment reinforces or empowers our faith.  This is the beauty of patience and all the effort we put into getting through obstacles.  The Marriage Masters teach us to hold the “high watch”, meaning as they look back over the years they have numerous examples of overcoming challenges.  These victories give them perspective and confidence that any present difficulty they are facing can be overcome as well.  They hold the mentality that “this too shall pass”.  The trick is to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us so that we too may hold the “high watch”. 

Sermon Notes

• Why is commitment necessary?  What is the purpose of commitment?
• We live our lives by design or default
• Commitment is the glue that holds us to our dreams and the fuel for our growth.
• The life we want, the dreams we seek, are on the other side of growth.

• Decisions empower commitment
• Timing is important when deciding to commit (i.e., How effective would deciding to go on a no-carb diet be while you’re sitting at the Thanksgiving dinner table?)
• Get clear on “Your Why”.  Decide on what you want, but more importantly, why you want it. 
• Results are achieved by 100% intention, 0% mechanism.

• Every relationship is challenged
• Every Marriage Master couple went through hard times. 
• The Marriage Masters provide us with a new paradigm for what’s possible in relationships, just as Roger Bannister’s 4-minute mile broke the paradigms for human potential on the track.

• Faith to overcome obstacles
• Do we tell our God about our big problems, or tell our problems about our big God?
• Jesus demonstrated that God’s power and love is greater than any problem we could face.
• Where is your perspective?  Take the high watch.
• In the beginning our faith empowers commitment, and after enough victories our commitment empowers our faith. 

Scripture

• John 11 – The death and resurrection of Lazarus.

• 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]? -- Matthew 6: 25-30

Stories

• Project Everlasting, page 93: “The Great Depression”

• “Shake it off and Step Up!: A Mule Story"
  A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

  Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow.

  "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

  You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

  THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US! Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER-- PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways to "SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves!

  ~ Author Unknown

  * Think about the most delicious piece of cake you have ever had.  Even the sweetest most delicious piece of cake you have ever had has a little bit of salt in it!

• “4-Minute Mile” (The Roger Bannister story)

Quotes

• “The fear of making permanent commitments can change the mutual love of husband and wife into two loves of self—two loves existing side by side, until they end in separation.” – Pope John Paul II

• “Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Dr. Robert Schuller

• Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.” – James Womack quotes (Author)

• “The three ingredients of a successful union between two people, humor, commitment & undying love.” – Bill Cosby (Actor, Comedian)

• “There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Anonymous

• “You need to make a commitment, and once you make it, then life will give you some answers.” – Les Brown (American Author, Motivational Speaker)

Humor

A pig and a chicken were walking by a church where a gala charity event was taking place. Getting caught up in the spirit, the pig suggested to the chicken that they each make a contribution.

"Great idea!" the chicken cried. "Let's offer them ham and eggs?"

"Not so fast," said the pig. "For you, that's a contribution. For me, it's a total commitment."

***

A couple married 60 years sat on their front porch rocking back and forth in their chairs.  They sat in silence for awhile as they remembered all the years they had together.  

Finally, the husband looked at his wife Mayble and said, "You know what honey? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired from my job, you were there by my side.  Then later when we started our own business and it market dropped and we lost everything, you stuck right by my side.  When I got shot, you were by my side. When we lost the house in the flood of ‘47, you were right there by my side. When my health started failing, you were still by my side?  You know what I’m beginning to think?”

"What dear?" she gently asked, smiling as her heart began to fill with warmth.

The husband looked at her and said, "I’m beginning to think you're bad luck.”

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