ALL IN Part 2 CHARGE
Jan/13/14 07:17
At first, going all in my seems illogical but in reality sometimes it's the only thing that really makes sense.
It’s Only Reasonable
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 (NKJV)
Jesus was very kind to people who were seeking and exploring what it meant to follow Him, and to discover what the Kingdom of God was all about. He would tell people to come and see... There comes a time, however, when the only way to no the fullness of what God has for you is to go ALL IN.
CHARGE THE GATES OF HELL
Jesus took His followers on a field trip. They would travel to Caesaria Philippi. It was only about 25 miles from the Galilean communities that his followers were accustomed to. This place however was a world away from the decency of the worship they knew. Years ago this region was the place where false gods were worshipped. The gods of Baal were replaced with the worship of Greek fertility gods. Pagan worship, mixed with sexual immorality. This was not the place where good Jewish boys should go. Immoral sexual acts that I dare not describe were openly flaunted at this place.
At the foot of Mt Hermon, there was the city the Greeks called Panias in honor of the Greek god Pan. Here where springs bubbled out of the ground, was considered to be the very gates to the under world, the gates of hell.
This was the place that Jesus asked the question: “Who do people say I am?” Some say a prophet. But who do you say that I am?
Peter’s bold declaration: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” brought this promise. Declare this, here at the very gates of Hell. Proclaim Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God. And the promise was that not even the gates of hell could hold back the life that Jesus would bring.
Jesus goes on to reveal that the only way to overcome hell is to go all in and that he would give his life.
Mark 8:31–33 (NIV84)
Jesus Predicts His Death
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Jesus was not passive, He was passionate. Jesus was sharing with His followers that He was going ALL IN.
Peter's responses is interesting on many different levels. First of all it's kind of interesting that he felt comfortable rebuking Jesus. The fullness of the Kingdom of God can only be experienced when you go ALL IN.
The thinking of this world says don’t go all in. We have a survivor mentality. I just aim to survive. But the only way to overcome the world is to go ALL IN. The power to confront hell is based on a complete surrender to the will of God. It means laying down one's life. Jesus gave His life to atone for our sin. His act of passion serves an example of how we can unlock the joy of The Lord.
Mark 8:34–38 (NIV84)
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
It is a joy to go ALL IN. It is a joy to have the mentality, what have I got to lose?
One of my favorite ALL IN stories in the Bible is found in 2 Kings 6 and 7. The Arameans besieged the capital city of Israel, Samaria. The were starving the people in the city a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver or about $570 today. The famine was so bad some of the inhabitants resorted to eating their children.
Elisha prophesied the siege would be lifted in 24 hours.
Not knowing about the prophecy, their were four lepers living outside the city walls. They were quarantined there because of this dreadful disease. They come to a “what have I got to lose moment” that they went ALL IN.
2 Kings 7:3–4 (NIV84)
The Siege Lifted
3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”
This was one of the best charges in history. 4 lepers drug themselves towards the enemy. They thought they were going to surrender, but God turned it into a charge. The Arameans thought they heard the sound of an army attacking and ran for their lives.
2 Kings 7:5–7 (NIV84)
5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” 7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
You may feel like you are a leper, but God sees you as a potential warrior. But to see His miracles you have to get up and charge!
Today I feel like these lepers. I don’t claim to have anything special. I just found that God has already defeated the enemy. There are rewards and a party ready to happen.
2 Kings 7:9–11 (NIV84)
9 Then they said to each other, “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”
10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
You know when the people of the city heard the report from the lepers they were very skeptical. So we shouldn’t be surprised when we tell people the good news. They might be a little skeptical at first. But when you check it out, you will find there is not reason to hold back. GO ALL IN!
It’s Only Reasonable
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 (NKJV)
Jesus was very kind to people who were seeking and exploring what it meant to follow Him, and to discover what the Kingdom of God was all about. He would tell people to come and see... There comes a time, however, when the only way to no the fullness of what God has for you is to go ALL IN.
CHARGE THE GATES OF HELL
Jesus took His followers on a field trip. They would travel to Caesaria Philippi. It was only about 25 miles from the Galilean communities that his followers were accustomed to. This place however was a world away from the decency of the worship they knew. Years ago this region was the place where false gods were worshipped. The gods of Baal were replaced with the worship of Greek fertility gods. Pagan worship, mixed with sexual immorality. This was not the place where good Jewish boys should go. Immoral sexual acts that I dare not describe were openly flaunted at this place.
At the foot of Mt Hermon, there was the city the Greeks called Panias in honor of the Greek god Pan. Here where springs bubbled out of the ground, was considered to be the very gates to the under world, the gates of hell.
This was the place that Jesus asked the question: “Who do people say I am?” Some say a prophet. But who do you say that I am?
Peter’s bold declaration: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” brought this promise. Declare this, here at the very gates of Hell. Proclaim Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God. And the promise was that not even the gates of hell could hold back the life that Jesus would bring.
Jesus goes on to reveal that the only way to overcome hell is to go all in and that he would give his life.
Mark 8:31–33 (NIV84)
Jesus Predicts His Death
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Jesus was not passive, He was passionate. Jesus was sharing with His followers that He was going ALL IN.
Peter's responses is interesting on many different levels. First of all it's kind of interesting that he felt comfortable rebuking Jesus. The fullness of the Kingdom of God can only be experienced when you go ALL IN.
The thinking of this world says don’t go all in. We have a survivor mentality. I just aim to survive. But the only way to overcome the world is to go ALL IN. The power to confront hell is based on a complete surrender to the will of God. It means laying down one's life. Jesus gave His life to atone for our sin. His act of passion serves an example of how we can unlock the joy of The Lord.
Mark 8:34–38 (NIV84)
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
It is a joy to go ALL IN. It is a joy to have the mentality, what have I got to lose?
One of my favorite ALL IN stories in the Bible is found in 2 Kings 6 and 7. The Arameans besieged the capital city of Israel, Samaria. The were starving the people in the city a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver or about $570 today. The famine was so bad some of the inhabitants resorted to eating their children.
Elisha prophesied the siege would be lifted in 24 hours.
Not knowing about the prophecy, their were four lepers living outside the city walls. They were quarantined there because of this dreadful disease. They come to a “what have I got to lose moment” that they went ALL IN.
2 Kings 7:3–4 (NIV84)
The Siege Lifted
3 Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”
This was one of the best charges in history. 4 lepers drug themselves towards the enemy. They thought they were going to surrender, but God turned it into a charge. The Arameans thought they heard the sound of an army attacking and ran for their lives.
2 Kings 7:5–7 (NIV84)
5 At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, 6 for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” 7 So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
You may feel like you are a leper, but God sees you as a potential warrior. But to see His miracles you have to get up and charge!
Today I feel like these lepers. I don’t claim to have anything special. I just found that God has already defeated the enemy. There are rewards and a party ready to happen.
2 Kings 7:9–11 (NIV84)
9 Then they said to each other, “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”
10 So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, “We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.” 11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
You know when the people of the city heard the report from the lepers they were very skeptical. So we shouldn’t be surprised when we tell people the good news. They might be a little skeptical at first. But when you check it out, you will find there is not reason to hold back. GO ALL IN!