Recently on a Sunday morning I was talking about the ‘Life of Faith’ of Abel, and I started with a [true] story of a Pastor in the US gambling town of Reno. He was asked in a conference ‘What has being a Pastor in Reno to do with gambling?’. His reply was shocking and unexpected – His reply was: ‘Everything!’. Surprised, the interviewer asked him to explain. He said ‘It’s everything to do with gambling because God calls us to be ‘all in’ for Jesus … to place our whole lives on Him, our trust on Him, and our future on Him and Him alone. We cannot know what it is to truly be a disciple of Jesus if we have not put everything on Jesus.’
Entering the land
In Joshua 3 the people are about to enter the Land. For 40 years they wandered in the wilderness because their parents did not go ‘all in’ for God. They had decided that the giants and cities in the Land were too much for God to defeat, and this despite seeing God do wonders for them in Egypt, part the Red Sea for them to cross safely, destroy their enemies, and feed, protect and prosper them. Now a new generation are to enter the Land, to step into the place God has set aside for them to live and prosper in as a light to the world for Him. God had promised His provision (Josh 1:3), His power (Josh 1:5) and His presence (Josh 1:6). All that they had to do was step out trusting in Him.
But, how could they do that if, like their parents, they were not ‘all in’ for God? If my life is everything to me I’ll not be prepared to put it on the line for Him. If my reputation is everything to me ‘ll not be prepared to risk it for Him. If my wealth is everything to me, I’ll not be prepared to give it over to Him. If my sense of security in the comfort of where I am is vital to me, I’ll not be prepared to step out for Him.
Consecration
Because of this, in Joshua 3:5, on the eve of entering the land, Joshua tells the people “consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you“. For them this meant the practical actions of bathing with water to wash off the dirt of the old, and the separation from everything unclean as a commitment to a new life given over to God. It’s the same thing that David did in 2 Sam 12:20 after his sin with Bathsheba and his act of repentance … it was a dramatic putting off the old and entering into a new life of dedication and obedience. It was a clear turning from all that they had put their trust in and the wrong ways of their former life to lay everything down in trust in God and service to God. Although the act of consecration was a one-off event, the act signified moving to a new live with the daily reality of living for God that puts all on the altar for Him.
… is normal Christian living
In Christ we have been called to the same consecration of our lives. Romans 12:1-2 calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices … all on the altar for Him. Col 3:5-14 calls on us to put to death our old life and turn to the new life of the Spirit we have in Christ. The tense of both of these passages shows us that these actions are to be a continuous ongoing experience. 1 Pet 2:9-10 tells us that we are to be His Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation … our ongoing position is to be set apart for Him. This call to a consecrated life, to be ‘all in’ for Jesus, is not for the ‘Super Christian’ … it is God’s call to you and me, right now.
The reality for Cambray Baptist Church is that, like God’s people about to enter the land, we cannot and will not experience the fullness of all the blessing God has for us without being ‘all in’ for Jesus. The challenge for each one of us is to stop, examine our hearts and lives and, where we are holding out on God, to offer up ourselves to Him anew. Like the Israelites, we will only see the fullness of all God has for us in Christ when, like our saviour Himself, we humble ourselves and die to our ourselves that we might live to Christ (Mark 8:34-35, Gal 5:24).