1. A Winner Is Committed.  Stephen was committed - Paul was committed. Paul said, "For me to live is Christ..." Daniel refused to defile himself with the heathen ways because he was committed to his God.

No one ever wins in any area of life unless they are committed. Losers are people who are not committed. Take two baseball players with equal ability, one becomes a great player, the other just an average or below average player. The difference - commitment!

In America we have more people going to church than ever before, but we don’t seem to be having very much impact on the moral decay of our society. Could the reason by that most Christians are simply not truly committed to Christ and His Church? To make a commitment means to turn something over to someone. For a Christian, it means turning our life over to Christ. In I Corinthians 6:19, "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own." When we are committed we no longer belong to ourselves. It means we will do whatever He wants us to do. Commitment will cost us - time, talent, treasure, tears, and trouble. But with commitment comes the blessings of God on our lives in a wonderful way.

If our church is ever to be what it can be we must have people who are committed. Are you committed? Are you a casual Christian or a committed Christian?

Jim Denison served as summer missionary in east Malaysia. During one of their worship services, a teenage girl shared her faith in a small warehouse that was used for a church. She was baptized that day in their baptistry, which was a bathtub, and glowed with the love of Christ. While all of this was going on, Denison noticed some worn-out luggage leaning against the wall. He asked a church member for an explanation of the suitcase. He pointed to the girl who had been baptized and said, "Her father said that if she was baptized as a Christian she could never go home again. So she brought her luggage." What a challenge for greater commitment!

You will never rise above the crowd unless you are committed. Romans 12:1-2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." When we are committed to Christ, we will give Him our very best. You can make a difference for Christ, but only if you are committed. Miss Bertha Smith was a great Christian and Missionary to China. She ministered into her 99th year. She was once asked about her success. She said, "I pray three hours a day, I walk three miles a day and I never eat anything that tastes good." She was committed!

To be a winner in a world of losers, you must be committed!

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