Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Luke 9:23, Acts 16:3

Jesus went "all in" for us on the cross. When we look for an example of someone whose life was fully surrendered to the Christ Who surrendered His life for us, the Apostle Paul comes to mind. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul details His commitment to Christ by saying he will do everything He can to win others to Christ. "All in" for Paul meant all-in for the Gospel, a commitment that caused him to endure suffering and persecution for the sake of Christ. In this message, Dr. Merritt uses Paul's example to explain why being wholly committed to Christ means giving up our preferences, privileges and prerogatives for the sake of Someone far more valuable.

"When you go all in in reaching people for Jesus you will build bridges and burn barriers. Most churches do just the opposite when it comes to reaching people who are far from God. They build barriers and they burn bridges. If we are going to be a church that reaches the next generation we have to give up our preferences. If we are going to reach people who are far from God, people who are on the outside looking in we are going to have to willingly and even joyfully accept those who don’t live the lifestyle we wish they did, who don’t look exactly the way we wish they would look and who don’t dress the way we wish they would dress. To be all-in you’ve got to give all up." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: all in, follower, disciple, committed, Jesus, Christian, surrender, discipleship, Super Bowl Ring, New York Giants, Apostle Paul, circumcision, preferences, privileges, prerogatives, Suriname, Dutch, slaves, missionaries, barrier, bridge, colony, revival, Jerusalem