We Are Here to be a People who are ALL IN!
What on Earth Are We Here For? • Sermon • Submitted
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· 5 viewsEaster message about How we are to be all in as Jesus has modeled ot for us by His being ALL IN.
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Readings – 1st and 2nd
As we come to the final message in our series asking the question, “What on earth are we here for?”
We have seen that we are here to be a people who give a full and complete testimony to the power of Christ Jesus.
We have seen that we are her to be stewards of everything we have so the Kingdom of God may be made known.
We are here to be disciple makers (Jason Killiany) – we are here to be a people who worship God by giving Him everything we face, and we are here to be a people who are in fellowship.
We have seen that we are to be a people of prayer, and we are here, on this earth, to be a people of war.
So turn with me now to Romans chapter 6, and we will begin at verse 5.
(Read )
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God, in Christ Jesus.[1]
And that brings us to today – where we celebrate what is commonly known as Easter – and we see that we are here on earth – to be a people who are ALL IN.
ALL IN!
There is no middle ground for the believer – there is no safe harbor to place an anchor in the bay of living in Christ in one moment; and being blown about in a sea of wild sinful living in the next.
There is no partial placement that is a testament to living in the present, without concern for what is to come in the future.
There is no place in where the follower of Christ can sit on the fence and be a friend of the world; and the Lord – and no place where a believer can be a child of Satan in his secular life, and a child of God in the things of religion, at one and the same time!
Consider this as we go forward this morning looking at the life of Jesus, and what He has modeled, and demanded of those who follow Him.
We live in a day when the average mindset, concerning matters of religion, is quite content to believe:
10 percent is Gods
Sunday is Gods
My children are Gods, as long as His plans for their future are generally the same as my plans for them.
Easter and Christmas are Gods
I only take the Lords name in vain if I use the words G and D together.
God hears my conversation if it is time of prayer – but all other times I can speak as I choose to.
And last but not least, The Bible is useful for showing people right and wrong in days gone by, but it is inconsequential for the current times in which we live.
That is the life of religion in the world today.
There are the little things that are required to be believed – and all others, everything else, is mine – thereby allowing me to live the secular life, as I deem appropriate.
*****TRANSITION*****
But is this a valid picture of what is required of those who would say I believe?
Is this sufficient in the life of one who professes to know the Savior of mankind?
Let me begin today, in our celebration of the Risen Christ, by surveying His life before us.
Let us see what it looked like – past, present, and future – as He has shown us what it looks like to be ALL IN.
First – we know that Jesus had an existence that was, and is, eternal.
He was, before anything else was, and we know from that HE is the creator and Maker of all things – apart from Him nothing has been made!
says, “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” Christ is the agent of God’s creation; the world was created “through” Him.
We also know that The Lord of all creation is One who’s being is of such a grand nature that not even Heaven can contain Him! (; ; ). And yet we see how Jesus is ALL IN for mankind by the way in which He chose to make His coming –
He came to us from the confines of the womb of a woman.
Here is a picture of being ALL IN!
John Wesley marveled at the fact that the One who the heavens could not contain was restricted to the womb of a woman!
Jesus came – not in a display of lights, camera and action – but He chose to come via the birth canal of the virgin Mary, on a night when no one had room for Him in their homes; or in their hearts.
The God of heaven and earth became so small that He was subjected to the space of the walls with in the belly of a Hebrew girl! The One who cannot be contained in His glory of Heaven – who knew no span of time and space – was ALL IN because He chose to take up His quarters in the space that was known by every sinner who was ever born. The cramped space of a girl’s belly.
*****TRANSITION*****
Ø He, who made all the food in all the world, was forced to live on the nourishment of Mary’s breast!
Ø He, who owned all the precious metals and diamonds of the universe was raised in the home of the poor, and He owned not one ounce of wealth.
Ø He who gave the craftsmen the gifts and talents to build every building that stood – had no place to rest his head, no place to call home while He was here among us – and yet He chose to stay.
Ø He who created all mankind was subjected to the taxes and hardships of men who claimed to hold the position of king and ruler above Him!
Do you see that He who was ALL, and is ALL – chose to be ALL IN for you and for me?
Later in life we learn that Jesus was ALL IN as He lived here on this earth by what He said, and what He did with the days He had here.
At the age of twelve, the One who not only wrote Truth – but who WAS Truth – sat in the temple and listened to men who claimed to be the “experts” of the Law.
When He was older, He called out to mere mortal men and told them He would be their teacher and they could follow Him.
And then He dealt with their acts of foolishness and selfishness, and He labored daily with them and their desire to sit in ruling places as they argued over who was the greatest among them!
He dealt with those who said they would follow, and then turned back to focus on the earthly things.
He spent time speaking the Word of heaven and offering up the Bread of Life to a people who cared more for the outcomes of miracles than they cared about the coming days of eternal life.
He touched the sick, and the bleeding, and the leprous. And at any time – had not one of them been able to go before the priests who were mere mortal men – and been pronounced as clean according to the Law – He himself would have been deemed unclean and unfit to enter the very Temple that He Himself instructed Samuel to build!
He was ALL IN in His life, as He lived among fallen men.
And I don’t think we can imagine what it really means that this giver of life, this Holy Creator, lived for 33 years and was tempted in every way – with every sin - just as you and I have been – but yet He was found to be perfect and spotless (Hb 4:15).
He was ALL IN in living a beautiful life – adorned with glory – in the midst of the filth that had overwhelmed creation.
It is this Maker of heaven and earth who was ALL IN when He bent down to wash the filthy feet of men who He lived to serve.
Jesus laid it all on the line and He dealt with the ignorance and hard heartedness of man with great compassion as He subjected Himself to their mockeries of a trial, to their insults, and their slaps across the face – as they used the strength that He alone supplied them, so they could commit horrendous acts against His body.
Instead of killing them all with a single word, and calling upon a legion of angels to annihilate them – He was All IN as He chose to take the beating – endure the words of ridicule – and carry the cross to the place of Calvary – the place where He chose to make a way for man – a path of redemption – a pathway of peace for man to man, and for man to God.
He was ALL IN in Life.
And now see this:
At Calvary, He was ALL IN in death!
At Calvary He chose to be hung between two criminals. Vile sinners who were deserving of death.
At Calvary He chose the nails – the swing of the hammers – the piercing of His flesh.
In His death He was ALL IN as He cried out in a time of great physical pain – “Forgive them Father for they do not know what they are doing” ()!
And He was ALL IN – When from the cross, Jesus – The one who sends rain upon the just and the unjust – was at the mercy of a man to supply the drink to quench His thirst – and after receiving the sponge on a stick - cries out “It is finished” ()!
And as the darkness laid over the land, and as the Temple Veil was torn into – He was ALL IN as He chose to have his corpse pierced in its side, so as to have the blood – the precious blood of the only Son of God – the Only Sacrifice that could ever be made to cleanse a man’s conscience for sin – gushed out and fell to the ground that yearns for the day that He will return.
Jesus was ALL IN. No middle of the road position.
And in His death, He laid three days in the tomb.
His body set in the darkness while the religious walked about believing they had won a victory, because the stone had been sealed with the mark of a Roman ruler, and guards had been placed at the entry, as if they had the power to keep Him there.
And He Chose to allow it.
Jesus was ALL IN– while He laid in the quite of the tomb and listened to a world that celebrated what they saw as His defeat.
And see this:
Jesus was ALL IN on the third day when He busted forth from the grave!
He was ALL IN when He came out of the grave and was raised to new life – He was ALL IN when He called to Mary in the Garden and when He told her to go and tell the others that He would meet them where He said He would be!
And He was ALL IN when He called out to Thomas and told him to place his fingers in the wounds – to touch where the nails had been and feel where the spear had run deep!
He was ALL IN in by showing the power of the resurrection life!
And He was ALL IN as He lived again – to serve the weak, and the hurt, and the suffering, and the depressed, and the fearful.
Jesus was ALL IN when the disciples were found – out on the boats fishing – even though they had lost hope and returned to the old ways of life, the ways that they were familiar with – Jesus was still – ALL IN.
And He came and He served them.
He told them how to have their nets filled (). And He made them a fire and prepared not only a breakfast, but He made them a warm place to gather together.
WE need to see that even after the failures on their part – Jesus shows up – ALL IN. And He encouraged them, and He gave them words of comfort and direction, while setting forth the Gospel message of a life that is to be had here and now.
AND WE NEED TO SEE:
HE was ALL IN when He ascended to the heavens.
He went to live the life eternal with the Father. And He is ALL IN for all eternity, as He now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven and intercedes day and night on OUR behalf!
Understand - He sits now. He sits because the sacrifice He chose to make was one He made perfectly – because He knew we could not. And He knew that anything short of being ALL IN on His part – would be a total failure for our part.
(PAUSE)
We need to see that:
He is still so ALL IN – that the power that He gave to the 120 in the upper room He will give to the most wicked of sinners, when at the moment, like the prodigal Son, they come to their senses and turn, and run home to be with the Father!
The One who was, and is, and is to come – is patient in the day of His return because He wishes that none should perish – not one – not your coworker – not your neighbor – not your family member – and not even you.
He is ALL IN. And He stands at the door and He answers to those who Knock. He is ALL IN!
And here we have for us who profess to be followers of the Risen Savior the example, the model, and the instructions, to be a people who are ALL IN.
****** TRANSITION ********
Today – This Easter Sunday – is an excellent time for us to look at our life and to see what we have because the tomb is empty.
First, we must realize that we have come from the grandest of places – from the birth of a Father who knew us in the mother’s womb. One who by His own desire, has formed us and knitted us, and the Bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
We must know that everyone of us is of a SPECIAL ORIGIN and have come into being because the Father of all things has blessed us so that it would be so.
You are not a mistake somehow created by accident and you are not a monkey who has mistakenly progressed the boundaries of your previous species!
Do you believe this? Are you ALL IN for the One who is ALL IN for you?
Are you continually celebrating with your life, and by your testimony to the world that He lives? That the tomb is truly empty?
(PAUSE)
Now let us move on to draw the parallels of that which Christ has done – so that we may follow His commands, and His examples, so we can celebrate with confidence the work of Christ completed on our behalf as He was ALL IN in His coming, in His living, in His dying, and in His life that is forevermore.
So this brings us to the place of death.
That is how we are called to live upon this earth. A people who are ALL IN because we have died to ourselves. And died to the world, and to its master.
Turn with me to Matthew Chapter 10.
See shat Jesus says is required of a man or woman or child who would claim to follow Him.
38Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
This idea of carrying your cross has a few specific things attached to it that we need to grasp in the day in which we live.
1st – In all of history – no man has ever escaped the death of the cross! Not one man in all of time, who was nailed to the tree, every came down alive. The death was a certainty – the victim was ALL IN.
Secondly – As I have said many times before – When God wants to get our attention He does not yell and scream, and throw a fit –
No – when God wants to get our attention, He simply repeats Himself. With that said – we need to know that there are no other words that are recorded from Jesus as often as the words that instruct us to pick up our cross and follow Him.
Six times verbatim Jesus tells us – “Pick up your cross and follow Me.”
The message is clear:
Jesus demands of us our very lives. We are to be ALL IN concerning the death of ourselves.
And consider this as we move to the next point:
We heard earlier this morning in the reading from Isaiah chapter 53 these words:
3Jesus was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted. 5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Has not Jesus shown us that By / His /work / we can turn to God in repentance, and we can be assured that the His Just Judgement has been dealt out so that we can know a peace that surpasses all understanding as we die to ourselves?
Years ago, next to Hebrews chapter 11, (the great hall of faith) I wrote the words of Jim Elliot, (A missionary who lost his life in the service of the Gospel) in the margin of my Bible when he said “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot earn.
Christ bids us to be ALL IN and He calls to us to come and die of ourselves.
He who knew no sin became sin for us – and now He calls to us, and bids us to come and die!
**Listen you sinners and saints and be confident of this one truth –
Every foul word, every evil thought, every wrong act that you have ever given your mind or hand to do – will be paid for in full!
And it will either be paid for at Calvary by Jesus because He was ALL IN for you!
OR
It will be paid for in hell, because you refused to be ALL IN for Him!
Remember where we began today in and what Paul has said:
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God, in Christ Jesus.[2]
That great Prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon once wrote:
If we be thus dead with Christ, let us see that we live with Him. It is a poor thing to be dead to the world, unless we are alive to God!
Here we see the power of life.
A life that is lived ALL IN to God! It is a life that is raised from the tomb of the grave in which we laid for all the years before we were made alive!
We no longer exist and wander aimlessly, but we have a definite direction – we have a purpose in our striving.
We have a love for God and man as we intentionally move towards the heavens above, seeking the horizon of the new beautiful day which is already here: but not yet fully known!
Now we live with hearts that glorify God and have a desire to be drawn nearer to Him still, than we were only a moment ago!
Jesus has promised us in – That if He lives then we – who are ALL IN – will live with Him also!
And we go yet one step further, as we see the power of a life that is ALL IN.
Jesus didn’t just raise from the grave to spend a few more years upon this earth – but because He was ALL IN – Jesus lives ascended – and eternally forevermore –
And if we be ALL IN – so shall we!
Here what Jesus says in John chapter 10:
27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
But to those who are living in this world and have believed the lie that there are certain things that are Gods – and other things that are our own, to do with as we see fit –
Jesus says that the day will come when the goats will be placed on His left, and the sheep will be placed on His right. And the goats will go into destruction, while the sheep will be with Him forevermore.
I pray that the Word of God has made it clear to your heart that God demands, that if we be His, then we must be ALL IN.
Every dollar – every dime – every second, of every minute, of every day – every word of every conversation, and every ounce of all of our strength is to be used to bring Him glory because He has given life to fallen man who lived and loved their sin as they once were ALL IN and lived for the evil one.
But perhaps you are here today, and this preaching of the Word has troubled your heart?
Perhaps you are aware of the foolishness you have conspired to hide, or the way you now see with a clearer vision that you have wasted so much of your time, and resources, and energy in living a life that pleased you, but thought so very little of God?
If you are filled with fear or regret, or your heart is troubled - let me tell you something that I beg you to own for your own soul:
The tomb is empty!
Listen to me if you find that you have failed to live a life fully committed to God and surrendered to His will:
The tomb is empty!
Do you understand what this means?
Peter did.
You remember him, don’t you?
He is the big mouth who always had an opinion about everything – and he is the one who told Jesus that no matter what he would be with him.
Peter claimed to be ALL IN in life, OR in death, and to be continually by Jesus’s side. No matter what.
But when the moment came, and when the temptation to live for self, and the fear of suffering for being Jesus’s friend had come full on – Peter was the one who abandoned his friend, and left him in the hands of the enemy.
Peter – had watched from a distance as Jesus was mocked by foolish men and then hung out to die in the midst of a mean and hating world.
And Peter soon found himself all alone. Hurting and weeping and filled with guilt because the day had come when Peter saw how short he had fallen in living ALL IN for the one person who had given him hope, and who had encouraged him by the miracles that were performed, and who given a glimpse of light that shown beyond the legalism of the religious zealots who burdened men with their rules and regulations.
But listen my friends – when the day had come that Peter saw how short he had come of living and being ALL IN for Jesus –
Jesus showed Peter, that Jesus was still ALL IN for Peter.
(REPEAT)
Turn to Mark chapter 16
(Read )
**Remark after verse 3 – they would move heaven and earth to find a dead Jesus –
And after the reading point out:
that in the midst of Peters failure – Jesus makes it clear that He is STILL ALL IN for Peter!
Peter went on to die a martyr’s death. And tradition says that Peter was crucified on a cross – but he was hung upside down.
So let me close asking you this –
Do you really believe that the tomb is empty?
Have you experienced this new life of being ALL IN? This life that happens only after you die to self?
Jesus stands at the door because He is ALL IN STILL.
And He has called to us to be ALL IN as well.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his (Rom6:5).
“Let heaven ring with music, and let hell be filled with confusion! Jesus, the Eternal Son of God, the Lamb of Jehovah’s Passover, died. His hands were pierced; and his heart was broken; to prove how surely the spear had struck the mark, the vital fluid flowed in a double flood, even to the ground: —Jesus died” (Spurgeon).
And why did He die, I ask – the Bible says so that we may live life abundantly and have it to the full, as we live here on earth, as a people who are ALL IN!
Prayer.