I really enjoyed sharing
this first series of 2014 with out church family called ALL IN which was based
on Mark Batterson’s book by
the same name. It is also our theme for
the entire year. My prayer for our
church family is that we will be ALL IN without following God, sharing our
resources and demonstrating God’s love to others.
ALL IN is
not an unusual thing. What we are
passionate about leads us to be all in. If
your team was in the Super Bowl, you’d be much more excited about the
game. Maybe your team was. Mine was not.
Enough said. If your kid or
someone you love is hurting or in need, you’d be all in to do something about
it.
For me ALL
IN is a phrase that describes as person who is a fully devoted follower of
God. ALL IN is not about doing
more. It is about being who God made you
to be. It is about taking the next step
with God. It is about righting wrongs
and loving the unloved. It is about
living outside of ourselves. Leaving
self centeredness behind. So answer
this, are you ALL IN? If yes, then how?
John 10:10
NASB
The thief comes only to steal and kill
and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
I prefer to
offer people life instead of death. How
about you? God’s purpose for us is far
greater than what we might chose or what others might wise for us. God has greater days and blessings for us,
yet I meet people almost daily who are not willing to accept what God wants. Too many people are looking for excuses to
stop rather than for reasons to push on.
We need courage. And with that as
a backdrop, here is our verse:
Judges 3:31
NLT
After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath
rescued Israel. He once killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad.
Two little sentences
is all the Bible says about Shamgar, but this one verse tells us all we need to
know about this man. It was one daring
decision and a farming implement is all he needed to deliver an entire nation.
Israel had
spiritually backsliding and was in bondage. They were slaves to the Philistines
who held tight with fear and intimidation. But one was tired of being intimidated, and he
chose an ox goad to take care of business. Shamgar was plowing the fields with his oxen, but
he didn't know that an ox goad would be used by God as the way Israel was to be
delivered.
Shamgar had
no army, no alliance and no artillery. He
had was an ox goad which is a long stick used by farmers to prod their animals.
The big deal is that he did not let what
he did not have keep him from using what he had to make a difference.
Mark
Batterson said there are two kinds of people in the world: the ‘why’ people and the ‘why not’ people.
‘Why’ people look for excuses. ‘Why not’
people look for opportunities.
The verse
about Shamgar doesn’t give us much of the circumstances. We don’t know exactly how it happened, but he
picked a fight with the Philistines delivered Israel.
Proverbs 31:8 NLT
Speak up for
those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those
being crushed.
We have a
choice. God didn't make us puppets just
to do what He wants. We have a choice to
accept what God says and do what He calls us to do. Shamgar knew He had to do something. He spoke up or acted up for the people who
couldn’t on their own.
If you are
looking for an excuse, you are going to find one. If you don’t, you won’t. Shamgar was not looking for an excuse. What are you looking for? Are you looking for
an excuse or are you looking for an opportunity?
Most of us
let what we cannot do keep us from doing what we can. When God begins to get a hold of your heart,
you want to make a difference. You don’t let what you cannot do keep you from
doing what you can.
Mission
trips. Outreach right here. Food and clothes. We cannot save every person or do it all, but
we can make a difference. We can do
something. We just need to grab our ox goad and go for it! And it is not anything huge. It might be giving a bunch of clothes that
creates this domino effect. It might be
sponsoring a child. It might be serving
in a ministry and by serving you touch someone’s life who touches someone else.
It might be teaching English in a
foreign country. It might be fostering
or adopting a child. It might just be
going on a mission trip. I don’t know
what it is for you, but I do know this, you can’t be the hands and feet of
Jesus if you are sitting on your butt!
Matthew 9:36 NLT
When he saw
the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.
You don't
have to do something crazy to follow God.
But God might be leading you to do something that will seem crazy to the
people around you. Jesus was crazy. Mother Teresa said if you cannot feed 100
people, feed 1. That’s how it
starts.
Simply put,
don’t let what you can’t do keep you from doing what you can. We have already won. Jesus forgave and did away with our sin, but
we’ve got to step into that victory. We’ve
got to go all out because we are ALL IN with Him.
NOTE:
some of this post is from a sermon shared by Mark Batterson.
Comments