Good morning, everybody! Today, we continue in our worship series called ‘Fully Engaged’—looking at the power of a committed life. And we started with our scripture that’ll be our theme for this entire series. Do you remember? It’s from 2 Chronicles 16:9a and it says (follow along with me)…

“The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him….”

So, God looks over the whole world to find those fully committed to him—fully engaged with him. And God’s gives his strength to those he finds…

Last week, many of you found your ‘engagement score’ to help you know where you’re at in your engagement with God and where you need to go. And today, we’re going to begin to answer this question: ‘How do we really know we’re engaged?’ or ‘What is the fruit of an engaged life?’ And here’s how we’re going to get into it…

Gallup helps us once again with this. They did another big survey, where they interviewed thousands of people across our country, and they discovered the actions of an engaged life. And today, we’re going to look at those actions, as they apply to our life in the church. Last week was ‘How engaged are we in our walk with God?’ This week, the big question is ‘How engaged are we with our church?’ If you look on the screen right now, you’re going to see where we’re going today through these FIVE ACTIONS OF A FULLY ENGAGED LIFE (show 5 Actions Diagram on screen). So, how engaged are we with our church? Let’s dive into #1 right now…

I TAKE RESPONSIBILITY DAILY FOR MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH. The two key words here are, once again, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! As I mentioned last week, these are two critical words … if we want to be fully engaged with God AND with our church. And as I look back, I wish I would’ve talked more about this topic; I’ve not taught this enough, but let me do that now…

When you’re a brand new Christian, it’s kind of like being a brand new baby—spiritually speaking. As a matter of fact, the phrase ‘born again’ is very appropriate in that it implies one who is like a baby in the faith. Now, Jane and I are expecting our first grandchild in November, so the memories of raising our own have started to resurface. When you have a brand new baby, they need someone to help them grow—to come alongside them, to feed them, and so forth. But, there comes a point—after a baby grows—that it’s no longer the parents’ responsibility to help them grow. There comes a point where their growth or maturity is their responsibility…

I’ll never forget when our Rachel (now expecting her first child) turned about 5 years old. Before that, she probably needed help with things … and silently resented our help. After 5 years old, she was perfectly capable of telling her parents what was what … and she did. She began to tell us, in no uncertain terms, ‘I can do it myself!’ Anyone else ever heard that before? Gradually, she was able to do everything by herself, but it was a process…

Folks, when she was a baby, we had to care for her around the clock; she was absolutely cute depending on us then. But, I’ll tell you what wouldn’t be cute—having to do that when she was 35 (…or 55)! That wouldn’t be cute! Not cool at all…

So, if you’re 35 and still sitting in the highchair, saying ‘Feed me, feed me, feed me!’ … that’s not cool at all (and I’m speaking of every way, including spiritually)! Somewhere along the way, you’ve got to learn to take responsibility. And if you’ve been a Christian for a year or longer … it’s time for you to start taking responsibility too! No one should have to remind you that disciples are those who worship together regularly, those who get involved with other people, in both learning and serving—that they might grow to reach the ultimate goal—Christlikeness…

By the way, if anyone’s still 35 and sitting in the highchair, it’s not really a highchair; it’s an ‘I’ chair. Because they think, just like a child, that it’s all about them—about me, myself, and I … and what I get. And that’s just not right! Folks, it should be about stepping up and taking responsibility for your own spiritual growth. That’s the first step of engagement. Here’s James 4:8 again:

“Come close to God and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

So, how do you start? Draw close to God—your responsibility! Please take it! Then, out of our spiritual commitment, comes all the other practices of an engaged life; do you see that? So, the 2nd action is this…

I PRACTICE CONTENTMENT IN ALL AREAS OF MY LIFE. This would be the area of ‘Life Satisfaction’. What we’re really saying is this: ‘Are you satisfied with your life?’

Surveys on how satisfied Americans are happen all the time … and most show that Americans are fairly dissatisfied or discontented with life: They’re dissatisfied with their professional lives; they’re dissatisfied with their personal lives—their marriages and other relationships’ they’re dissatisfied with their walk with God…

But, folks, discontentment is one of those things that will keep you from becoming fully engaged with God, so it’s worth mentioning; so how are you doing in this area of contentment? Honestly, the only way I know to be content in all areas of my life (because I’m a human being & it doesn’t come naturally) is to practice contentment; we have to practice it! Let me explain this a little more: Discontentment comes when … we can’t enjoy the now … because we’re too stuck in the past … or we’re too focused on the future [Repeat]! So, when we’re discontented, we separate ourselves from God, and we can’t be all that God wants us to be!

Jane and I’ve moved a lot in our lives. As some of you know, Dodgeville’s the longest stay I’ve ever had my entire life … but we’re kind of used to it. When you live in places a short while, you do your best to quickly adapt to the ‘local’ scene; what’s important to folks there, you try to make important in your life, too. But, right when you move, there’s a tendency to dwell on the past. And we spend time asking ourselves, ‘Do you remember when?’ Do you remember when … we used to go to this restaurant for our date night? We loved that restaurant! Or do you remember when we’d go up to this lake, or this camp, on our days off? We really do miss those days! But, folks, what was happening? We’d absolutely spoil our new reality, by getting ourselves stuck in the past! We couldn’t enjoy the NOW … because we were too stuck in the past!

And the same is true if you’re too focused in the future! ‘Oh, I’m not going to get involved here, because I’m just going to be here for a short while and then move.’ And they’re never content because they’re always looking to the future, really sacrificing the gift of the present! What a waste! We’ve learned that that kind of remembering—along with a ‘pity party’—is really not of God. It causes discontentment … and draws us away from God. So, what’s the answer? Practice being content in all areas of your life, with God’s help… Now is the time to get engaged with God and with your church! If you’re always living in the past … or looking to the future, you’re never going to experience God’s power, purpose, and plan for your life in the present! Philippians 4:12 shows us Paul’s attitude about contentment. Listen:

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.”

And that should be our goal, too … as we look to engage with our church. Here’s Action #3:

I SERVE ONE HOUR A WEEK IN MY CHURCH (MINIMUM). This is the point at which we are getting really practical; we’re moving from taking responsibility and contentment to practical application of our engagement with the church. ‘I volunteer’ is another way of saying ‘I serve’ … and serving, folks, is a real path to engagement with God and the church (Banner #3). Listen to what Jesus said, recorded in John’s Gospel. John 12:26 says,

“Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.”

Folks, serving others is the path to greatness—where God honors us! When you’re involved in something, you’re engaged in something … so serving makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? Serving others is the path to greatness in God’s eyes… With that in mind, how in the world do you serve Jesus in our day? The practical way is through the local church. The Church, after all, is the bride of Christ. We are the bride of Christ. And when we serve, as the bride, we honor the Bridegroom—Jesus! And then God honors our efforts, too…

So, no matter how busy you are during your weeks (and we all are), make time to serve; it’s a part of what we do when we’re fully engaged with God and the Church! It’s one of the actions we’re about as Jesus’ disciples. Jesus said in Matthew 23:11, “The greatest among you must be a servant.” So, that’s another goal for us, as we engage with God and the church… Here’s Action #4:

I INVITE ONE FRIEND A MONTH TO CHURCH WITH ME. This is the ‘loving people’ part of what God calls us to do (Banner #2); here, we’re talking about sharing the Good News with other people…

The truth is, folks … you’re here today because someone invited you to church. It may’ve been your parents many years ago; it may’ve been a friend just a short time ago; it may’ve been a circumstance God placed in your life that led you to check out the church … but I’m sure someone was involved there, too. This, folks, is a good standard of engagement—once a month, making sure there’s someone I invite. The Apostle Paul instructs us in this way (Col. 4:2-6, NLT):

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. 5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”

So, there’s your instructions—your goal being to ask one person to church a month. This is the way the church grows, folks. We all do our part. The most ineffective way of growing a church is to have the pastor invite people; it’s a proven fact. It’s a disciple’s job to invite; that’s all of us. Finally, here’s the last action:

I BRING THE FULL TITHE TO GOD EACH WEEK. The Bible says that what you do with your money is one of the initial and greatest signs of your engagement with God; that’s why I want you to get this terminology … and this is where the Skittles come in… Are you ready?

A few years ago now, my Pastor Coach, Nelson Searcy, was down in Georgia where his nephew lives. He was just a little guy at the time—10 or 11 years old. His name is Nick. Nelson knew that his nephew liked sports, so he decided to take him to a high school football game, as Nick just loved football. So they went. The stadium was packed. Football is King in Georgia, you know!

Well, they were about 10-15 minutes into the game, and Nick turns to Uncle Nelson and asked him ‘Can I have some money to buy some candy?’ Nelson, being the good uncle he was, reached into his pocket, pulled out a $5 bill, and sent Nick to the concession stand. Long story short, he came back in a few minutes with a big ol’ bag of Skittles. And he was sitting there for the next few minutes, chewing on the things, munching on them, and generally just gobbling down the Skittles. So, Nelson finally looks over and says to Nick, ‘Nick, hey, can I have some of those Skittles?’ Literally, folks, this is what Nick did: he crossed his arms in front of him and said: ‘No! You can’t have any!’ Of course, Nelson really likes Skittles, so he asked him again, ‘Come on, man … just give me a couple of those Skittles.’ And Nick said again, ‘No! You can’t have any!’ Now, this is where his nephew lacked understanding about 3 things:

1. He didn’t realize who’d really bought those Skittles for him; they were really Nelson’s Skittles, since he’d bought them; he was just sharing them with Nick (and, by the way, he still had the change from the $5 Nelson had given him)…
2. He underestimated Nelson’s strength; Nick was just a little guy and Nelson could’ve pried those Skittles from his little 10-year-old hands if he’d wanted to … and never give him any Skittles again…
3. He didn’t realize that Nelson could have gone back to the concession stand and bought them out of all the Skittles they had … and brought them back and dumped a whole rainbow of flavor on Nick’s head; he didn’t understand any of this…

And, folks, those Skittles—in a sense—represent the financial blessing that every one of us enjoy! Some of us have big bags of Skittles; God’s blessed us much. Some people’s bags are a little smaller … and some quite small. But we all have Skittles (blessings). And God looks at us and says, ‘Look, if you want your heart to be with me, if you want to be really engaged with me, if you want me to bless your life, you’re going to have to trust me! Give me some of your Skittles!’ And, many times, what we do is exactly what Nick did; we cross our arms in front of us and say ‘No!’ And God says, ‘Come on … I’m just asking for 10%. I’m not asking for everything. I’m just asking for 10%!’ And we say ‘No!’ Folks, here’s what we misunderstand:

1. We wouldn’t have any Skittles (blessings of any kind) if God hadn’t given ‘em to us—life, breath, energy, and the ability to work; everything comes from God…
2. We don’t realize that, if God wanted to, he could just take it all away; read the OT book of Job, if you don’t believe me. God’s really in charge of all of our stuff … and our very lives, if you think about it…
3. We don’t understand that if God wanted to, he could poor out so much more on our lives; as a matter of fact, the Bible tells us that if we honor him with the first part of the Skittles (blessings), God will do just that (Mal. 3:10)!

Folks, God’s asked us for the first 10%–the firstfruits of our labor, not the leftovers. If you want to be fully engaged with God, this is what you need to do—to trust him this much. Then God says ‘bring it into the storehouse’—OT language for the Temple in that day and the Church in our day. So, God asks for 10% of our Skittles (blessings) to be returned to him through the local church—not 40 or 50%, just 10%. And when we do that, the ministry of the local church is funded and we can actually do what God wants us to do for him; that’s how it works. Go study Malachi 3 (even if you don’t want to) … and ‘test God’ as God says there, and see if God is true to his word…

These are the fruits of an engaged life: 1) taking responsibility for our spiritual growth, 2) practicing and experiencing contentment in all areas of our lives, 3) giving to God 1 hour of service to our church per week, 4) inviting 1 friend per month to worship with you, and finally 5) bringing the full tithe into your church…

So, how are you doing in these areas? What is the fruit of your life—the actions that matter to God? Do you have all 5 covered? If not, take some steps today to make sure you’re not missing out on any of these actions of engagement. Jesus said in Matthew 7 (16-17): “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” Folks, my prayer is that you’ll take these steps today to be fully engaged with God through a commitment to his church…