(3/31) Today, I want to talk to you about the invitation of God and the calling that is on your life, because if you are here, it is not by chance, it is because God has drawn you. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). And so, I want you to feel that because I’m about to preach the word of God and Jesus calls us to be all in, fully committed to advancing his kingdom.

The title of today’s message is "All In" and today is a day of celebration, because after we worship this morning, we’re going to have a special meeting to affirm the direction and leadership of this fellowship. In other words, you could say, we are growing up, we are maturing, or we are graduating, and God is doing new things as we are getting ready to build. And so, I’m really excited to celebrate our unity as we step out into the higher purposes of God for this fellowship here in Emmitsburg.

Some of you were here from the beginning, you remember how we started, you remember when we first got the keys for this building in August of 2012 and began transforming it into a place of worship. I want to thank you for your commitment in your faithfulness to the call of God upon your lives because you have supported the testimony of this church week after week, day in and day out. You are an example to the rest of us because you have given to this church regularly, and not just an offering, but serving and pouring out your very selves.

I say all of this an introduction, because we are the church, we are the body of Christ, and we are all in. And so, there should never be a question as to why we are here or what we are doing, because we know that we are going to make Jesus known and fight for lost souls until he comes. In other words, we are here for good, we’ve dug in our heels, we’re not going anywhere, we have planted roots and we are all in.

As we turn to the Scriptures, would you turn with me to the gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, and go to verse 16. The Bible says, that as Jesus was on his way,

"A man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16).

"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good" (Matthew 19:17).

Now, some people have misinterpreted this verse suggesting that Jesus was saying that he wasn’t God, but that’s not what he said. He was saying, "Are you asking because you have received revelation of who I am? Or did you come to me because you’re still trying to figure out who I am?" And so, he said, "Let me clarify things for you, there is no one good except God himself."

Then he went on to say, "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments" (Matthew 19:17).

"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 19:18-19).

"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" (Matthew 19:20).

Jesus looked at him and loved him, meaning that he loved him enough to tell him the truth, and so he went right to the heart of the matter and said,

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21).

"When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth" (Matthew 19:22).

In other words, he didn’t want treasure in heaven, he wanted his treasure in his hands, he wanted to wear his treasure around his neck, and so he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:23).

This is another verse that is often misunderstood, but the problem wasn’t the fact that he had great wealth, the problem was the fact that his great wealth had him. There is a lot of false teaching, that wants to shame you for having things, but that is not the meaning of what Jesus was saying. You see, the difficulty of being rich is not having nice things, but when the nice things have you. There is nothing wrong with having wealth or even desiring to have more than what you have right now, because the Bible says,

"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children" (Proverbs 13:22).

In fact, if you are struggling to make ends meet right now, you should be praying that the Lord would give you enough for your children and your children’s children.

When Jesus said that it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, he was talking about those who trust in their wealth because no one can serve two masters. And so, the problem is not having money, the problem is if you trust it, if you misuse it, misappropriating it because Jesus said,

"You cannot serve both God and Money" (Matthew 6:24).

And so, wealth can become a barrier to you entering the kingdom if it comes between you and God. Again, Jesus said,

"I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24).

Now, before you disengage thinking that this doesn’t apply to you, you need to know that most of us would be considered wealthy by the standards of the majority of the world. And the question that we each must deal with is whatever we have, does it have us or do we have it? In other words, are you able to use what you have to worship God, giving to the poor and doing good, because in that way you are expressing your devotion to God.

"When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" (Matthew 19:25).

In other words, they were greatly astonished, because in their culture wealth was considered to be a sign of God’s blessing and favor. And so, naturally they assumed that surely it was the rich man who was saved, but Jesus looked at them and said,

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" (Matthew 19:26-27).

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28).

And so, that is a promise for the twelve apostles, but then he said this, and I want you to pay attention because this is so powerful, this is for everyone.

"Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much" (Matthew 19:29).

Some of you had to separate from family, you lost friends and jobs because of your faith in Jesus, but I believe this is a prophetic word for the church today. That in this present time, whatever you lost, whatever you left behind for Jesus, it’s coming back one hundred times as much in the kingdom.

In other words, you thought you lost them, but you’re going to get your stuff back, you’re going to get your relationships back. I need you to hear that, because you’re going to get it all back, God is sending replacements in the age to come, and in addition to that he said, "You will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). That is amazing, that is praiseworthy, you’re going to get it all back, plus interest, and even more you will inherit eternal life.

But the rich man went away sad because he had great wealth. Or I should say that his great wealth had him, he had a lot of possessions, but he wasn’t willing to loosen his grip, he wasn’t willing to let go of his stuff and go all in. And so, if we’re going to be all in, like Peter said, "We have left everything to follow you," we can’t cling to our stuff like the rich man did. We can’t hold back like Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter five, keeping a portion of our gifts to ourselves, but we are going to go all in.

I’m talking about how to live like Jesus, and so are you all in today? I’m talking about a single-mindedness, a fixed focus, a stated purpose, like the apostle Paul who said, "One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead" (Philippians 3:13, NKJV). This is important because we want to be a church that honors God in every conceivable way.

And so, let us discover how to live like Jesus. Number one, it begins with an attitude, and the Bible says, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). In other words, this is something that we have a choice about. Every day, as the Scripture says, we must choose to put on love, to put on the new self, putting on the armor of light, and clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is something that we must choose to walk in each day, putting on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24).

And so, if we’re going to live like Jesus, we’ve got to clothe ourselves with him, putting him on like a garment, so that our attitude would be the same as his. In other words, we put on the new self, created to be like Jesus and this is where it gets really deep. Because here is the attitude, the Bible describes it, telling us that Jesus Christ, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8).

Now, instinctively we read this description of Jesus, and we want to hold it up and admire it from a distance, but this isn’t a trophy, this is an action step. The Holy Spirit is telling us, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ, who being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing" (Philippians 2:5-7). In other words, as followers of Jesus, we have the mind of Jesus, and therefore our attitude should be the same as that of Jesus. And so, we must see this as our directive, something we should strive for with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

This is the word of God to us, and so this should be our attitude. And then, number two, this passage is really about followers of Jesus making themselves available to the purpose of God. Are there any followers of Jesus in here? Anybody that is all in?

Well, Jesus said to his followers, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (John 20:21). And so, having the same attitude as Christ, is an attitude that says, "Not my will but yours be done."

Would you make yourself available today, having the mind of Christ like Isaiah who said, "Here am I. Send me" (Isaiah 6:8). I want to encourage you today to be all in, to jump in with both feet, because God has prepared great things for you. And so, when we step out in faith, with the right attitude, and make ourselves available, he said, "I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). And so, if you’re a follower of Jesus, I want to encourage you to go all in, make yourself available, because God promised to strengthen you and help you.

You see, he has called you for a higher purpose, a divine purpose, and each one of us is part of something bigger than ourselves. The apostle Paul said it this way, "You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it" (1 Corinthians 12:27). And so, like a piece of a puzzle, just one piece of a big picture, we all belong to something bigger than ourselves. And some of you feel it this morning, you know you were created for something more, and you’ve been looking for that place where you fit, but it’s not out there in the world.

The Bible says, it’s in the local church, "God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be" (1 Corinthians 12:18). In other words, you were created with purpose, God has a specific plan for you, and he has a place for you in the local church. And so, no matter who you are, where you’re from, or what part you are, let me encourage you to be all in.

No matter where you find yourself serving, have the same attitude as Jesus, make yourself completely available to him, and number three, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…" (1 Peter 3:15). This is so important because often we undervalue the process of preparation, but the Bible tells us that we need to always be prepared in season and out of season. And so, we’ve got to know what we believe, we’ve got to know the word of God, so that we’re able to give the reason for the hope that we have.

In other words, there is a process of preparation that goes on behind-the-scenes that is so very important. And if we’re going to be all in, we need direction, we need to know the way, we need to know the truth, we need to know the one who is the resurrection and the life. And so, we need to spend time in his presence and in his word. If there was ever a time that we needed a moral compass it is right now in our culture today. And so, we need to know the word of God because Jesus said, "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31). Free to be all that God created you to be, free from sin, free from condemnation, but it’s also a freedom to change direction and purpose.

In other words, the very same grace that redeems us, also changes us and empowers us so that we can become the kind of people that glorify God as we advance his kingdom. Now, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). And so, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, you must continue to live in him, being all in, having the same attitude, being available, and always prepared, "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58). That’s how to live like Jesus, to be all in, because nothing we do for Jesus will ever be wasted. All the work you do, your faithfulness, your generosity, your service has value in eternity.

But there are some of you here this morning that still haven’t made that commitment, you’re not all in, and so I want to invite you to become a part of Christ’s Community Church. Peter said, "I’m all in!" He said, "We have left everything to follow you" (Matthew 19:27). And so, if you’re ready to make that next step, I want to invite you to become a part of Christ’s Community Church. I want to invite you to do something bigger, something greater than yourself, because that’s what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. You are the church, part of the body of Christ, and so I would love to see you experience the joy of giving and serving as we share the love of Jesus.

As we close, would you take a moment to be still in the presence of God and listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Some of you may feel the struggle inside like the struggle between Jacob and Esau, this wrestling inside between who you were and who you are called to be. Because you have the desire to stay where it is comfortable, to do what you have always done, but this message is not about comfort, this is about the kingdom of God. And Jesus said, "I have chosen you out of the world" (John 15:19). And so, he may be stretching you right now, but he’s calling you to something greater, a greater level of commitment, to choose this day whom you will serve, and so I need you to be ready to move when the Holy Spirit tells you to get all in.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott