Today I want to talk to you about Loyalty.
Now when you think of that word what comes
to your mind?
How would you describe loyalty?
Would you say that you yourself are loyal?
In today’s world, we want everyone to be
loyal to us.
We want our favorite athletes to remain with
our favorite teams and be loyal to that team.
We want the companies and corporations we
work for to be loyal to us.
We want our friends to be loyal to us.
We all want loyalty.
And loyalty is an incredible characteristic
and attribute to have.
But I want to ask you, do you ever think and
question are you loyal to Jesus?
Are you committed to him?
Even if it cost you personal pain.
Even if it costs you sacrifice.
Because I actually believe our loyalty is
proven in the midst of our sacrifice.
We show our loyalty.
Loyalty is an action.
It’s just not something we say.
But see I’ve learned in life many times
I’m loyal, but I can tend to be loyal to
things that aren’t Jesus.
Now when I say that I’m not talking about
big things, I’m not talking about loyalty
to an addiction.
I’m not talking about loyalty to another
woman.
I’m talking about loyalty to my past.
Loyalty to my brokenness.
Loyalty to my fear of the future.
Where what can consume me and what my commitment
can be is trying to guard and to protect myself
from my past pains and never feel that way
again.
Or to work in such a way that I can protect
myself from what I feel would be the fear
of my future.
I don’t want that fear so I’m going to
be loyal to whatever no matter what it may
cost me.
No matter how much time I have to spend.
I’m going to be loyal to those things, why?
Because I have a fear.
I have a tendency at times to be loyal to
stuff and not loyal to Jesus.
See I’m reminded of this in the story of
scripture of the man and the pool of Bethesda.
Because this man had to decide where was his
loyalty going to lie.
The story says that this man sat by this pool.
This pool was know to have this magical healing
power.
And what people would do would sit around
the pool and when the pool would start swirling
up they said that they felt like an angel
would swirl this pool up.
Then all of a sudden people would try and
get inside the pool and they’ve really had
this miraculous healing power.
So this man after 30+ years sat by this pool.
And see here’s the truth about it.
I guarantee at some point this man had an
opportunity to get in the pool.
If you’ve been there for 30 years.
Your probably worked your way up in line to
get next to the pool.
But see, here’s something bigger.
Because when Jesus shows up to him he asks
him this profound striking question.
A question that would seem pretty harsh for
Jesus.
He says “do you want to be made well?”
That statement has such impact that I believe
that statement speaks to us.
Because he was asking this man do you want
to be made well because his mats has become
his identity.
His infirmities had now defines him.
He was more loyal to his infirmities than
he actually was getting better.
And many of us, we’re that way.
We’re more loyal to our anxiety.
We’re more loyal to our depression.
We’re more loyal to the pain of that trauma
that happened and though those things are
real and we should identify those things.
Those things should not get our loyalty more
than Jesus because if your past or your fear
of the future or the pain of what happened
yesterday.
If it causes you to be disobedient to God
your loyalty is there.
Your loyalty is not to God.
And so here’s the question for all of us.
Where will thy loyalty lie?
Do you want to be made well?
And I don’t say that light to you today.
Cause I understand how hard that is.
I understand that we all have real issues
and real things that have really impacted
our lives.
But that should not command and demand our
loyalty.
Our loyalty and command should go directly
to Jesus.
Because he was loyal to us.
For the joy set before him, he endured the
cross.
No greater sign in human history has been
shown to humanity or to any person than that
cross because that cross speaks to generations
and generations that there was one man who
is willing to come to live the life we could
not live.
Die the death we should have died.
He proved his loyalty by going and sacrificing
and dying and now his call to everyone who
says they want to serve him is this.
Out right loyalty.
So here’s the question of the hour.
Who will you be loyal too?
