All heart, All soul, All mind, and All strength = All In

Mark 12:30 NIV
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

All heart, All soul, All mind, and All strength = All In

Luke 9:23 NET
Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Why do we resist going All-In?

We want to be comfortable

Luke 9:57-58 NLT
As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

The timing just isn’t right

Luke 9:59-60 HCSB
Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” “Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”
But He told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”

We fear other’s opinions

Luke 9:61-62 ESV
Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Revelations 3:15-16 NLT
I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

Luke 9:23 NET
Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my friends, and an Elder here at Friendship texted me and told me he had some tickets to a Colts home Pre-Season game….

The stadium was filled with all sorts of different kinds of people, with all sorts of different levels of engagement in the game…

Attenders: People that go, just to go. They aren’t really attached to either team, they just go to be there or to be seen there…usually wearing jersey’s of other teams, sometimes other sports…then there are people like this

Fan: They are definitely engaged, they came on purpose and dressed in the right thing, they cheer at the right time, they know most of the players positions.

Super Fan: Then there are those people who take fandom to a whole new level. This dude is like totally serious about this. He’s actually invested some time, energy, and money into making sure that everyone knows he’s a huge fan…but you know even he doesn’t really affect the outcome of the game, as big of a fan as he is, he still doesn’t make a real difference…

Players: Finally there are the people who actually play the game. Now for these guys, Sunday isn’t an event to watch or be a fan of, Sunday is the culmination of a week’s worth of work…really for most of them a life’s work. They have breathed, eaten, slept, lived football day in and day out. They’ve spent hours in the film room studying getting their minds right, they’ve spent hours in the weight room or rehab room prepping their bodies and regaining their strength, they’ve done drill after drill after drill until it literally becomes a part of their soul, they have put their whole heart into this, they are 100% committed, and today is the day they get to turn it all loose!

Now, if you had to step on the field, and actually play football, which of these people would you want on your side?

Def: All – the whole of one’s energy or interest.

In fact, Jesus even takes it a step further…

In John 10:10, Jesus says, I came so that you may have life, life in all of it’s fullness. You see Jesus didn’t come so that you would be better behaved, or so you could tweak your personality a little, or fine tune your manners, or smooth out some rough spots…Jesus came to give you a full and meaningful life, but that can’t happen unless you go All-In.

Only when I love God will all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all of my strength, and only if I’m willing to put myself second, to deny and even die to my own will can I ever discover a life truly worth living.

As human beings we CRAVE comfort! Don’t believe me…look at this Hence the SNUGGIE! This stupid thing has sold over 1/2 billion dollars! That’s insane…it’s just a backward robe!

We so desperately want to be comfortable that we are absolutely terrified of comittment! You see being comfortable doesn’t demand anything from us, but commitment, well that means sacrifice, hard work, dedication…

But, we don’t want to be tied down to anything, we want to keep our flexibility…MSNBC recently did a report on a new type of vegetarianism that has become popular, they call themselves “Flexetarians” One of the Flexetarians they interviewed for the story was a gal by the name of Christy Pugh she said, “I usually like vegetarian food, but I’m not 100% committed to it…” she goes on to say…I really like sausage too much!”

This fear of commitment is killing us as human beings. It’s killing families, communities, businesses, marriages…and it’s killing your opportunity to experience a life worth living! Jesus doesn’t guarantee comfort or convenience but he does promise a full and satisfying life that will make a difference and leave a legacy! But, you’ve got to go All-In!

At first read Luke 9:59-60 you may think that Jesus is kind of being a jerk here, but that’s because we’ve missed something: His father isn’t dead, in fact, he may not even be close to death…the guy is saying, Hey I’m all in, but my parents are still alive. Once they kick the bucket I’m all yours! It’s just not the right time yet!

We say the same thing: I’m going on diet…right after I finish this triple decker, double stuffed taco!

When I graduate from college then I’ll get serious about saving for the future

When I get married then I’ll think about a career

When I have kids then I’ll stop smoking

When I get some taste in tv shows then I’ll stop watching the Bachelor

We are a nation of procrastinators! Basex, an independent research firm, did a study 10 years ago on the cost of procrastination in the US:

$400 – average cost of waiting till the last minute to do your taxes

$70 Billion – estimated cost of opening/deleting junk emails

$650 Billion – total estimated cost of productivity lost to unnecessary interruptions and procrastination

But, the cost is even far more significant outside of money lost.

The impact goes beyond financial pain…It is an affliction that ruins millions of lives and often requires therapy and other treatment for sufferers…According to new research, one person in five now suffers from the problem so badly that their careers, relationships and health are threatened…Procrastination may lead to a variety of physical and psychological effects, including depression, lowered self-esteem, and insomnia. – CBS News CC Holland

How many opportunities, moments, life-changing dreams have you missed out on because you were waiting on perfect timing? Mark Batterson the author of “Chase the Lion” puts it this way:
“If you wait for perfect conditions to seize an opportunity, you’ll be waiting till the day you die!” – Mark Batterson

Jesus wants us All-In, no matter what the timing may look like!

Listen To Entire Message Here