“I’M ALL IN” Proverbs 4:20-23 AMPC [20] My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. [21] Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. [22] For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. [23] Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. Ephesians 5:15-17 AMPC [15] Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), [16] Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is. 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.” Note the repetition of “all” – God isn’t asking for a piece of us. He wants the whole thing. 1. God Desires Wholehearted Commitment Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV) “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…” God strengthens the fully committed—not the half-in, half-out. 2. Divided Focus Dilutes Our Effectiveness James 1:8 (NLT) “Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” James 1:8 AMPC [8] [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, hesitating or doubting, irresolute or hesitant), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. NONCOMMITTAL! Matthew 6:24 AMPC [24] No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other… Being partially in…is the same as being out—Divided loyalty creates spiritual instability. 3. Intentional Living Requires Sacrifice and Focus Romans 12:1 TPT [1] Beloved friends, what should be our PROPER RESPONSE to God's marvelous mercies? I encourage you to SURRENDER yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights His heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. King Saul: An Example of Partial Obedience and Divided Heart…NOT ALL IN. 1 Samuel 15:17-23 [17-19] And Samuel told him. "When you started out in this, you were nothing-and you knew it. Then GOD put you at the head of Israel-made you king over Israel. Then GOD sent you off to do a job for him, ordering you, ‘Go and put those sinners, the Amalekites, under a holy ban. Go to war against them until you have totally wiped them out.’ So why did you not obey GOD? Why did you grab all this loot? Why, with GOD's eyes on you all the time, did you brazenly carry out this evil?" [20-21] Saul defended himself. “What are you talking about? I did obey GOD. I did the job GOD set for me. I brought in King Agag and destroyed the Amalekites under the terms of the holy ban. So the soldiers saved back a few choice sheep and cattle from the holy ban for sacrifice to GOD at Gilgal-what's wrong with that?” [22-23] Then Samuel said, Do you think all GOD wants are sacrifices- empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what GOD tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around GOD is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to GOD's command, he says No to your kingship. Saul felt justified in his serving God on HIS TERMS….not on what was directed to him. Samuel, the man of God brought correction to Saul. He was NOT ALL IN WITH HIS OBEDIENCE TO GOD. He was given direction from Samuel what to do but he did what HE WANTED TO DO INSTEAD. That’s not complete obedience or being all in. 2. He Cared More About People’s Approval Than God’s 1 Samuel 15:24 “I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them.” Saul feared the people more than he feared God. His heart was divided between obedience and popularity. You can’t be all in for God and live to please people at the same time. PARTIAL obedience is disobedience and so is delayed obedience. It’s the results of a divided heart. His pride kept him from being ALL IN. 3. He Made Excuses Instead of Repenting Instead of taking full responsibility, Saul tried to justify his actions by calling his disobedience a “sacrifice” to God. The Results of Not Being All In: Saul lost the kingdom (1 Samuel 15:26) God’s Spirit departed from him (1 Samuel 16:14) He lived in torment and eventually fell on his own sword (1 Samuel 31) Caleb: A Man Who Was All In Key Verse – Numbers 14:24 (NIV) “But because my servant Caleb has a DIFFERENT SPIRIT and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” How Caleb Was All In: 1. He Stood with God When Others Didn’t Numbers 13–14 Caleb and Joshua were 2 of the 12 spies sent to scout the Promised Land. While 10 spies were overwhelmed by fear, Caleb said in faith: “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (Numbers 13:30) Caleb didn’t follow the crowd—he followed God, even when it meant standing alone. 2. He Followed God “Wholeheartedly” Numbers 32:12 “…Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.” Caleb wasn’t half-committed or cautious. He was fully convinced of God’s promises and obedient without hesitation. The Results of Being All In: 1. He Entered the Promised Land While an entire generation perished in the wilderness because of unbelief, Caleb and Joshua were the only two over age 20 allowed to enter the land (Numbers 14:30). Obedience secured Caleb’s inheritance. 2. He Had Strength Even in Old Age Joshua 14:10–12 “Here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out… Give me this hill country.” At 85, Caleb was still ready to fight giants and claim what God promised. His faith and strength were preserved because he stayed fully committed. 3. His Descendants Were Blessed “…and his descendants will inherit it.” (Numbers 14:24) His legacy of faith impacted generations to come. Being “all in” didn’t just bless Caleb—it blessed his entire family line. Application for Us: Just like Caleb: You may be in the minority—but your faith can shift outcomes. You may be older, tired, or overlooked—but God honors the fully committed. When you’re “all in” for God, He is all in for you—strength, legacy, inheritance, and reward. Romans 12:1-2 MSG [1-2] So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.