Living All In

Grab your message notes because this morning we're starting a brand new series called All In. It's about rediscovering the power of commitment. Now look at the first page of your notes right there because I'm going to explain what I'm going to do here today. As it says right at the top of those notes, commitment has power. Goals are achieved, growth happens, progress is made when you make commitments. And so in this new series we begin today, we're going to rediscover this important Biblical truth and learn how to overcome our fear of commitment.

And as you see there, there are two parts to the sermon today. Right up front I want to do a series intro in the first section of your notes there on page one, the first half of the message. And in the second half of the message, this week's All In story demonstrating the power of commitment. Now why do I want to do a series on commitment? Well, some of you agree with this quote. One writer said, "As technology is giving us as Americans more options, people are more and more reluctant to make long-term commitments. We don't commit to a long-term job. We don't commit to a long-term marriage. We don't commit to long-term investments. We won't even commit long-term to church. Fear of commitment is poisoning everything." Do you agree with that quote? I would and it's a tragedy.

Because look at what the Bible promises in the very first verse in your notes. Second Chronicles 16. This is one of those verses we all need to have kind of branded onto our memory banks. It's in your notes. It's on the screen. Church, let's all read this out loud together. Let me hear you. "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." I want you to take your pencil or pen that you got with you and do some artwork on your notes here. I want you to circle the word "strengthen" and then circle the word "committed" and then draw a line, an arrow going from "strengthen" to "committed." Because God says, "I'm going to strengthen you when you are committed to me." In other words, there is a blessing that comes when you fully commit.

And in our culture so often we miss out on the blessing that comes from not being lukewarm but fully committed. Just think of the power of commitment for a minute here. Really, commitment to anything, unless it's something evil, commitment to almost anything produces tremendous benefits in your life. Think of being committed, for example, to say, losing 10 pounds or being committed to getting a college degree or being committed to finishing writing a novel. Almost any kind of commitment brings at least four benefits.

First, jot this down. My commitments focus my energy. My commitments focus my energy. Without commitment, I'm just kind of wandering around doing whatever. See, my energy in life, you could say, is like a light. Here I've got kind of a standard flashlight, right? I'm going to turn it on and this has new batteries in it, but you can barely see the light up there on the walls. Because although the batteries are fresh, and this is a real flashlight that you could probably see if this room was totally dark, it's got a broad beam and so the power of this flashlight is completely diffused.

Now, compare that to this little gadget, which would be the envy of any sixth grade boy in the audience today, a laser pointer, right? Now, this laser pointer actually has less power than the flashlight. The batteries that are inside of it give it actually less power, yet it's focused. And so the little beam in this laser pointer is just as bright. I mean, if I point it up here on the wall or if I point it on the back wall or almost anywhere, the laser beam is focused. I can put this anywhere. Lasers are just concentrated light. They have incredible power. They can even do surgery.

I'm doing surgery on Adrian's eye right now. No, I -- but lasers are amazing. Why? It's not that the laser has more power. It's that the laser's energy is focused, and so it's more productive energy. And that's a lot like your energy in life. When you are committed, when you are absolutely focused, your energy is, you know, heightened in the sense that your choices are clarified, your commitments are made easier, your priorities are ordered, it focuses your energy when you make a commitment in almost any area.

Second, commitments inspire growth. Commitments inspire personal growth. And again, this is true with almost any kind of commitment. In fact, I want to put up a little chart on screen. This isn't in your notes, but you can kind of write this into the margins there if you want. There are four life drivers. Your life can be driven by four things. First, circumstances. Circumstances. If things are up around me, then I'm up. But if things are down around me, then I'm down. The circumstances around me dictate how I feel, what I do, what I think.

Or convenience is the second possible life driver. Whatever's convenient today, that's what I do. But if it's hard, I don't do it. But you know what they say? Even a dead fish can float downstream. That doesn't take any effort, does it? Convenience. And then there's criticism. Peer pressure. Always wondering, what will others think? And this becomes the gauge for every decision I make. And the sad part is, you then get to spend the rest of your life worrying about what other people think. Yet you basically get stuck in junior high for the rest of your life. Now, most people's lives are driven by these three things. Circumstances, convenience, or criticism. And none of these inspire personal growth.

The people who grow are driven by commitment. Commitment to an inner goal, a higher goal. Commitment to something that's going to outlast them. Because commitments, by their nature, are not always easy. Commitment asks a lot of you, but commitment will grow you. And that brings me to the third benefit. My commitments stabilize my relationships. My commitments stabilize my relationships. Look, relationships are not easy, are they? They're just not. In fact, if you're married, if you're married and you're here today, would you just kind of raise your hands? Let me see all the married people that are here. Wow. Now, would you say that your marriage is always easy? 24/7? That's right. It's like the one I heard about the kid sitting in the back of a wedding. I don't know if you heard this one. He whispers, "Grandma, why does the bride at weddings always wear white?" And the grandma says, "Well, white's the color of happiness, and this is the happiest day of her life." And the kid looks back up and then says, "Well, then why is the groom wearing black?" You know, that's a good question, but...

Somebody gave me this a while back. God loves to put opposites together, doesn't He? He does. Let me just demonstrate it here. Early risers. How many of you are early risers? Raise your hand up. We've got a higher proportion here than in any of our other services. Look at this. Early risers. Well, you know what? God is going to give you a night owl when you get married. That's just the way it works. How many of you are organized? Can I see a show of hands? How many of you are organized? All right, God's going to give you a disorganized mess as your spouse. How many of you love to talk? You're extroverts. You love it. God's going to give you a bump on a log. I've seen it again and again. How many of you here, you are always on time? Punctuality is a high value for you. Of course, you're going to marry somebody who's going to be late for their own funeral, as they say, right?

Now, some of you are down to earth. You're very practical, kind of non-emotional people. You are going to marry an emotional space cadet. That's just the way it works. How many of you love to spend money if you're honest? Do you love shopping? It's your favorite sport. Can I see your... You're going to marry a tightwad. That's the way it is. How many of you, if you're honest, be honest here, how many of you love to cuddle? You love physical affection, right? You're going to marry a porcupine. Probably that's the way it goes. All right, who are the people who are very decisive? You're on it. You're decisive. If you're doing this, you're not decisive. All right? But a few people went, "Yeah, let me see your hands again." "Yes, I am decisive." All right, you're going to marry somebody who spends 15 minutes staring at the menu, at In-N-Out. You know, that's the way it is. God loves to put opposites together.

And that's why marriages have to be founded on commitment, right? Listen, marriages based on love don't always last forever. Why? Well, because while love is important, if commitment isn't even more important in your relationship, that relationship is not going to be stable. So commitments focus my energy, they inspire personal growth, they stabilize my relationships, and fourth, my commitments determine my impact. They determine my impact that I'm going to have with my life.

See, I've got really, really good news for you this morning. If you've ever thought to yourself, "Okay, I've got one life, I've got one shot, and I want to make a major impact with my life," I've got really good news. Your impact is not based on your looks. Your impact in the world is not based even on your resources. Your impact in the world isn't based on your talent. The impact you're going to have in the world is based on one thing, your commitment. High commitment, high impact. Low commitment, low impact. No commitment, no impact.

You say, "I've never thought about it this way." I can prove it. There are a lot of great-looking people out there. No impact. A lot of highly talented people, no impact. Reason, no commitment. No holy ambition, no devotion. And just this last week I heard a pastor say this, and it hit me right between the eyes. He said, "You know what one of the greatest counterfeits of commitment is? Talent. Talent. Some of you are highly talented and highly skilled, but some of the least committed people are often talented people because they'll get by on their talent. Many of you are uncommitted, but nobody knows because you are talented and clever. And to the undiscerning eye, that looks like commitment. But really, you're just blessed with talent.

Imagine, if your talent's having an impact now, imagine the difference it could make if you were actually fully committed. And this is urgent. In fact, look at this number. 25,550. 25,550. Anybody know what this number is? I think I heard somebody say it. This number represents the number of days that the average American will live. 25,550 days. And you know what? That's not how many you have left. You're getting older, and this number is counting backwards. In fact, I was figuring this out this week. I have already lived 18,980 of my days, so if I'm average, I have 6,670 days left. That is not many. Under 7,000 days left. And each of these days of my life, I'm exchanging that day for something, and I will never get that day back. This is kind of my life currency.

And so I want to exchange that day for something that matters, for something I have decided to be truly committed to. My commitment determines my impact. So look at this list. Look at all these benefits that only happen when you make a commitment. So many benefits to you, not to mention benefits to the world. In fact, I would say nothing great ever happens without commitment. Nothing great ever happens without commitment. Think about it. Battles don't get won without commitment. Scientific advances and social advances are never made without commitment. Visions don't become reality without commitment. Churches don't get built without commitment. And when you don't commit, you don't see any of these benefits.

You know, I found this great quote. The guy who wrote this, W.H. Murray, was a famous Scottish mountain climber, and in World War II, he served in the British army. He was captured, put in a Nazi prison camp, and he wrote this while in the prison camp. This was a meditation on Hebrews 11:1. It's a great quote about commitment. He said, "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back ineffectiveness. But the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events, issues from the decision. All manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamt would have come his way."

Now, he's not talking about magic. He's not talking about, here's some kind of New Age occultism. He's just saying that until you make the decision to commit, it's impossible for you to forecast the amazing things that can result from your commitment. What he's talking about really is the verse that we started with. "The Lord strengthens those who are fully committed to Him." And let me just demonstrate why this is so important and why your first priority in life really should be commitment to God. Because when you've got that commitment down first, your first commitment is to the Lord, then that's going to enable you to have the power to do every other commitment in life.

I want to put down here a couple of Coke cans. Now, I got these Coke cans both at the exact same place. They look exactly the same. And now I'm going to apply the exact same pressure to both of these Coke cans. And we're going to see what happens. And those of you in the front row may be in the splash zone, as they say, at SeaWorld. So I want you guys to count backwards from five. Give me a little countdown. Let's see what happens. Start at five. Ready, go. Five, four, three, two, one. All right. So this can folded up. This can, you can see that it held up. This can got crushed. This can withstood that external pressure. What is the only difference between these two cans? Shout it out. One was full and one was empty.

Now, let me ask you this. Which can do you want to be like in your life? You want to be like the full can. You want to be like the can that can resist external pressure. And the only way you can resist external pressure in your life is to be filled with something. Is to not be empty. And the only thing that can fill your life is a commitment to God, because then He strengthens you from the inside out. Every life is going to have pressure. Every single life is going to have all kinds of external pressure. Peer pressure and criticism and the pressure of the world, diseases, the pressure of life, deadlines. And you can look like this, or you can look like this at the end of it. And it's all about whether or not internally you have that commitment to God and His strength filling you up.

Now for the second half of this message, what I want to do, that was an intro to the whole series. The second half of this message, I want to drill down into a single passage in the Bible. Daniel chapter 3, turn there if you have your Bibles. And I want to show you how this story illustrates the principle I just showed you with these Coke cans. When you are filled on the inside with a commitment to God, you can withstand all kinds of external pressures. Let me give you the setting for this. First verse in Daniel chapter 3 says, "King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon." Now King Nebuchadnezzar loved to build immense monuments. This is not just some kind of a fairy tale. This is a historical story. We know who this guy was and what he liked to do.

In fact, we still have some of the things that he made. We still have the gates of Babylon that were built under King Nebuchadnezzar. They were discovered by archaeologists, restored, and they're in a museum in Berlin, Germany. They're massive. They are beautiful. And in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, we have some massive statues that he built. So we know from history that King Nebuchadnezzar loved to build just monumental pieces of architecture and statuary like this story talks about. And then where did this take place? The text says, "The Plain of Dura." Now to help you picture this, check out this map. The Plain of Dura is between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers just north of Babylon. It is a huge wide valley with this little hill that looks like a stage. This would be a great place for like Burning Man or some other rock festival, right?

Well, as you look down from the stage here, you can imagine seeing hundreds of thousands of people here, only this wasn't Burning Man. You could call it Golden Man because the king puts up this big statue that's over 90 feet high, according to the text. It was immense. And he gathers all the government officials and ambassadors and everybody else from all around Babylon. And once they're all there, the king sends out his emcee. Verse 6, "The herald proclaimed, 'Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.'" Now this was not unusual. Again, historians tell us that the rulers of Assyria and Babylon, particularly, when they would take over an area, they would do some kind of horrible test of loyalty. And if you didn't bow down and worship some idol they set up, they would flay people alive. They'd throw them into serves, burning furnaces. They'd do all kinds of horrible things as a test of allegiance to the people that they had conquered. So this sort of thing was sort of par for the course.

And it says, "Therefore, as soon as they heard the music, all the nations and people of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up." The words translated "fell down," literally the original language says, "As soon as they were hearing, they were falling." It was like a race to see who could hit the ground first. The herald just said, "Whoever worships this..." And they were all, "Oh, here we are, we're worshiping, watch us, please don't hurt us." All the little empty cans eagerly got squashed, except for three cans that stood tall, three people. The Bible calls them Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and they're still standing. And suddenly nobody's looking at the statue anymore.

And there's three important life questions for you and me that come out in this story related to commitment. And the first is this. Number one, what is my core identity? What is my core identity? When I think of myself, what is my identity? Is your core identity primarily your political party? Is your core identity primarily your ethnicity? Is your core identity primarily what you do for work? Is your core identity your net worth? Is your core identity all about your looks? Is your core identity while I'm a jock? While I'm a straight A student type? Is your core identity your sexual orientation? Or is your core identity, "I am a follower of Jesus Christ." That is who I am to my core. This is such a key question.

Look at what happens in verse 12. These three guys have enemies who say, "King, in case you haven't noticed, there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who pay no attention to you, your majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship this image of gold you have set up." Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they were serving the Babylonian government. They were Jews who had been carried into Babylon in captivity, and yet they decided, "You know what? We're going to pray for God to bless this city and this country." And they were apparently great at what they did because they had risen to be governors. They had risen to the very top.

And that means that they were doing a lot for the Babylonians, even their names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These were not Jewish names. These were Babylonian names that they had adopted. So they were serving the Babylonian kings. So they were deep into Babylonian culture and Babylonian politics. In many ways, they were good employees of Babylon Incorporated. But there is a line that they will not cross. What is it? Three times in this chapter it uses the word "worship." That was the issue. They were good workers. They did their best. But this conflicts with their core identity because they are worshipers of the one true God, not anything or anybody else. That was the trump card for them, their faith.

Jot this down. Ask yourself, "What is the trump card in my life?" You know the concept of trump cards? When you play a card game, you lay down cards, and they're all worth points. But the trump card is the one that is in the trump suit, or it might be a particular card that was chosen ahead of time to be the trump card, and that's the one that rules over all the other cards. Well, in your life, you have been dealt a hand. You have certain cards in your hand. Like maybe the cards in your hand are, you have to go to work. Most of us have that card in our hand because we're not independently wealthy, right? Or maybe you have kids, and your kids have sports teams, and that's one of the cards in your hands. Maybe you have a certain weakness. We all do. You're tempted in certain ways. That's just a hand you've been dealt, or you have certain physical or mental disabilities, emotional things. That's in your hand, and you've got to somehow deal with that card.

But you also have a trump card. You have the one thing in your life that always overrules everything else. So my question is, what is the trump card, honestly, for you? What trumps everything else? Your sexual desires? Your pleasures? Your addiction? Your job or your personal goals? Maybe you've got church or religion in the stack, but sports really trumps everything. Or making money trumps everything. I really believe that following God has to be the card that trumps everything else in the deck, right? Because if you don't have that, you're not going to be satisfied with anything else in the cards that you've been dealt with, and you're never going to be able to make an impact for good in your life. What is the trump card that trumps everything else in your life?

And that leads right to the second question, which is this. Why do I even follow God? Why do I follow God? Do I follow God only when it's convenient? Or is there another reason? Look at what these three guys in Daniel 3 say to the king. "If we're thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand." Stop for a minute and circle the phrase, "The God we serve is able." He is able to save us from the furnace. He is able to deliver us from Your hand. The God we serve is able. You know, that's a great sentence. God is able. Say it with me. God is able. Say it again. God is able. No matter what you're talking about, that phrase is true. Say it again. God is able.

And that means you don't have to live in fear. That means you don't have to let anxiety dominate your life. That means you don't have to cower. That means you don't have to live in defeat. Every human power will eventually find its limit. Every king will one day die. But what? God is able to reconcile broken marriages. I know this because I've seen it happen. God is able to heal people of their addictions. I know this because I've seen it happen. God is able to forgive the darkest sin. I know this because I've seen it happen and I've experienced this in my own life. God is able.

Now if I were at Albert Tate's church right about this point, people would be getting very loud. I just want to say this. So just look happy. Would you just do that for me? Because God is able. Do you believe that? No, it's too late. Don't even try it. But you had your chance. But look at this. Even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. This is amazing because a lot of us are tempted to pray, "God, if you'll do this one thing, if you'll give me what I really, really want, then I'll commit. I'll spend the rest of my life serving you." But will you decide to have, "Even if he does not, faith?" Are you able to pray, "God is able to heal me of cancer, but even if he does not?" God is able to turn my kids' lives around, but even if he does not. God is able to get me a job. God is able. But even if he does not, I will still serve him. That's commitment.

You know what these guys had? These guys had an "I don't have to survive" attitude. And if you're going to stay committed, you need to have this attitude too. No matter what, even if I don't survive, I am standing up for what is right. That is the only thing that keeps you looking like this instead of like this. I found this poem written by a pastor in Zimbabwe literally weeks before a major persecution broke out there. The situation there is totally different now, thank God. But at the time that he wrote this, Christians were being imprisoned and brutally tortured and killed. And yet, in the face of all that, he was another Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He wrote in a letter that was widely circulated to other pastors there, "I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit's power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I no longer need preeminence, position, promotions, or popularity. My pace is set. My gate is fixed. My goal is heaven. My mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, or negotiate at the table of the enemy. I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ." Isn't that great? That is awesome. That'll get you going.

So what about you? Can you be like that man? Can you stay standing up in a world where everybody else is bowing down? One huge key is the third question the story brings up, and it's this. Do I believe that God is always with me? Do I believe that God, no matter what I go through, good and bad, tough times and good, that He's always with me? Here's the way the story ends. The king heats up the furnace as hot as it'll go, and he tosses them in, verse 24, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, 'Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?' They replied, 'Certainly, Your Majesty.' And he said, 'Look, I see four. I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.'" Now, who do you think that fourth man was? Someone who looks like a son of the gods, who can appear and disappear at will, who do you think that was? Yeah, I believe this was a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. And I believe that that fourth man is always with you.

You know, I don't know what blazing furnace is. Some people are going through here right now. But I do know this. God is right there with you. And I believe He would have been with them if they would have been burned up and killed that day. He would have walked with them right into eternity. Either way, as they said, He was with them. So how does the story end? Verse 28, "Then Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has set his angel and rescued his servants. They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own god.'" This really impresses him why he sees a whole field full of crushed cans. And he says, "These guys, they've got inner strength that I respect. And they ended up being even more influential in the king's court. And eventually, that always follows commitment, influence." Even if you don't survive, even if like Jim Elliot, the famous missionary martyr, "You're killed for your faith," influence follows commitment.

Now, notice the phrase, "They trusted in God." This is the key to making sure your commitment does not turn into a burden. And listen carefully here, because I've seen plenty of Christians who think they're committed. And I used to be one. I'm committed to God. I'm committed fully to Him. But really, I was just trying to live the spiritual life in my own strength. And I was thinking, "If I'm more committed, if I do more for God, then He'll like me more. And He'll give me more blessings. And He'll love me more." But that kind of an attitude is going to burn you out. Real biblical commitment is this, believing that what the Bible says about God's love for you, because God already loves you unconditionally. Nothing you do to prove your love to Him could ever make Him love you more or less.

He's already lavished salvation and every other spiritual gift, according to Ephesians 1. Every spiritual gift is yours in Christ Jesus. In His grace, He's already given you all. And as I realize that, I realize, "Well, God wants me to thrive in life. God wants me to have a great life." And that's why He calls me to full commitment, not to prove anything to Him. But because He wants to see me thrive in this life. And full commitment is how I thrive. And so really the final question for all of us is this, what kind of life am I going to live? You go back to the cans. Am I going to live this kind of life? Crushed can? Empty? Or am I going to live this kind of a life? Full inside, so I'm able to resist all external pressure. The choice is really yours.

Am I going to live a fully committed life, an uncommitted life? Or you know what I see a lot? The problem isn't no commitment. The problem is over commitment. We're committed to so many different, a zillion things. But over commitment is really the same as no commitment, because you're a flashlight, not a laser beam. Now listen, when God calls you to commitment, it may not mean I'm going to climb that mountain for God and get all kinds of glory publicly. It may mean God saying, you know, for this season in your life, you need to focus on your little kids and be totally committed. For this season in your life, you need to take care of your elderly parents and be totally committed. For this season in your life, here's where your full commitment needs to go, and maybe nobody else will ever see that. But God will.

And it says, God will strengthen you. Remember the verse we started with? "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." God is looking for people to use in this world. God is looking for people to strengthen in this world. And the only qualification, not, "I know all the answers," not, "I'm a strong person." The only qualification is you say to God, "Here I am. I'm fully committed to you. Use me." It doesn't take great people to do great things. It just takes committed people. Personally, I long to be that kind of person. And I want to challenge you to become a person of commitment in a shallow, bow-down world.

Let's pray together. Would you bow your heads with me? With our heads bowed and our eyes closed as we close, I just want you to consider what areas of your life do you need to make a fresh commitment in? Maybe you need to freshen your commitment to your family or your church or to God. Or maybe for the first time you need to commit to Him. Will you say, "Jesus Christ, I want to make you the trump card of my life. Jesus, from here on out, I want to put you first in everything that I do." When you surrender your heart, when you commit your heart to God, He will strengthen you. Dear Lord, thank You for what You've done for us. You made us. You love us. You gave Your life for us. And we want to give our lives back to You in return. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.