INTRODUCTION
• What is it in your life that you have sold yourself out to 100%?
• To be sold out means that you are all in, no plan "B,” and you are never looking for another option?
• It takes courage and trust to sell oneself out to something or someone.
• In all my years of ministry, I have seen Jesus cause radical changes in many people's" lives.
• Jesus has radically changed my life also.
• On the other side of the coin, I have seen as many, if not more, folks that the change does not seem very evident, or the change is more walk than talk.
• When we are baptized into Christ, we are a new creation, so given that fact, why are not all who come to Jesus radically changed?
• I believe we all want to be sold out for Jesus.
• I believe we all want to be radically changed by Jesus.
• Today we will begin a new four-week series that explores the lives of people who had profound, life-changing encounters with Jesus.
• As we examine these people, we will look for things that will help us experience the transformation and dedication we seek.
• When it comes to Jesus, if we are not willing to go all-in with Him, we will never experience the full blessings that God wants us to enjoy.
• Those blessings are not material; they are not a problem-free life, but rather, on top of eternal life, Jesus offers us the peace that surpasses all understanding.
• When we try to live with one foot in with Jesus, and the other foot in the world, we will never fully know what it is to live for Jesus and the joy that comes with it.
› The BIG IDEA for the message today is that Jesus calls all of us to follow Him wholeheartedly, to be sold out to Him!
• Let's turn to Matthew 10:1-4.
• This passage is the calling and the sending out of the Apostles into the world as a group.
Matthew 10:1–4 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness.
2 Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (called Peter), and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee and John his brother;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
SERMON
Selling out for Jesus requires:
I. The courage to answer the call.
• The thought behind this point is the call to leave it all behind.
• Before this moment in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had called these men (in small groups or as individuals) (Mark 2:14-19) to drop what they were doing to follow him as disciples.
• During this particular snapshot, we see Jesus now calling them as a group to follow him.
• This moment would never have happened if they had not previously had conversations with Jesus about leaving their professions to follow him.
• Sometimes, God asks us to leave our day job—or our plans for a day job—and follow him vocationally.
• Jesus always asks us to follow Him.
Luke 9:57–62 (NET 2nd ed.)
57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
• The call of Jesus is serious, and it is costly.
• The call is a big ask.
• The benefits are worth the cost, and for one to have the courage to be sold out for Jesus, they must trust this fact is true.
• For those whom Jesus called his disciples, a decision had to be made without the benefit of seeing how things would play out, of reading church history, or knowing how Jesus would ultimately display his kingship.
• The disciples had to decide to follow him as their leader by faith.
• The disciples risked a great deal.
• The risk of answering the call took a great deal of courage.
• These men did not come from the religious schools of the time; they were not Rabbis, Pharisees (except later Paul), or Sadducees.
• Four of them, Andrew, Peter, James, and John, were fishermen.
• One of the twelve was a hated tax collector.
• One was a zealot.
• A zealot was a part of the radical anti-Roman Government group who would use violence to free Israel from the grips of the Roman Empire.
• As for the others, we do not know what they did for a living.
• In John 12:4-6; John tells us that Judas would steal money from the group's money box, calling Judas a thief.
• For these men, who had ordinary lives and worked ordinary jobs, it took courage to answer the call, the call to leave it all behind.
• Here is something else to consider when thinking about having the courage to answer the call
• Jesus "called" his twelve disciples.
• He didn't draft them, force them, or ask them to volunteer; He chose them to serve Him in a special way.
• Jesus did not choose these twelve to be His disciples because of their faith—it often faltered.
• He didn't choose them because of their talent and ability—no one stood out with unusual ability.
• The disciples represented a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences, but they may have had no more leadership potential than those who were not chosen.
• The one characteristic they all shared was their willingness to obey Jesus. (Life Application Bible- Matthew)
• Christ calls us today.
• He doesn't twist our arms and make us do something we don't want to do.
• We can choose to join Him or remain behind.
• When Christ calls you to follow him, how do you respond?
• Have you given Him only a halfhearted commitment or your whole heart? (Life Application Bible)
• Next, we see that:
Selling out for Jesus requires:
II. The courage to embrace the call.
• It is one thing to answer the call of Jesus; it is another thing to embrace the call to the point that it becomes who you are and not just something you do.
• The focus of this point is taking up your cross.
• In the passage in Luke we talked about, folks said they wanted to follow Jesus, yet they wanted to put other things ahead of the call.
• Jesus said that was not the way to answer the call.
• Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said this concerning following Him.
Luke 9:23–25 (NET 2nd ed.)
23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.
25 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?
• Taking up one's cross means that the call of Jesus comes first, and embracing the call.
• If we follow Jesus in this manner, we have to be sold out to Jesus!
• If we put ourselves first, if we put the pursuits of the world first, we cannot fulfill this call.
• To be able to embrace the call, we have to trust that Jesus will take care of our life.
• We have to trust in Him.
• Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-33 If we seek His kingdom and righteousness first, we will have what we need in life.
• In the story of the rich young ruler, a wealthy young man wants to know what good thing he can do to obtain eternal life.
• Jesus tells him to keep the commandments.
• Then the young man told Jesus he had done these things since childhood.
• The young man knows something is yet missing from his life.
• Then Jesus responds.
Matthew 19:21–22 (NET 2nd ed.)
21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.
• The Apostles, of all people, would need to trust Jesus and embrace the call.
• In verse 1 of our text, Jesus sent them out to cast out evil spirits and heal diseases.
• Jesus gave these men authority to do these things, and they would need to trust Him.
• Things were not going to go as they expected, and for them to endure and carry out the call, they would need to have a strong foundation of faith and trust in their calling.
• These men would need the courage to embrace their calling when Jesus was being crucified and, as they, too, would eventually die for Jesus.
• Our third observation this morning is:
Selling out for Jesus requires:
III. The courage to complete the call.
• The lives of these men would be forever changed because they dared to answer and embrace the call, well, 11 of the twelve.
• Eleven became famous, and one infamous.
• It is one thing to have the courage to answer and embrace the call; it is another to complete the call.
• When Jesus was crucified, you had one who set the crucifixion in motion by his betrayal, one who denied Jesus three times, and the other ten who were scared to death and were hiding in fear of their lives.
• The focus of this point is endurance and eventually hearing Jesus tell you well done, good and faithful servant.
• All 12 of these men stumbled when the pressure was on, and one of them, Judas, turned on Jesus, was sorry to the point of returning the money, then he went out and hanged himself.
• The other 11 got it back together and finished strong.
• We cannot run half or 95% of the race in our walk and think we have completed our calling.
• We are called to run the race until we die or the Lord comes back.
• Peter, who denied Jesus three times, got back into the race and finished strong.
• What was the difference between Judas and the other 11?
• I think it was a matter of the other 11 were sold out for Jesus, and Judas was along for the ride.
• As the Apostle Paul was nearing his execution, he wrote this in 2 Timothy as he encourages the young evangelist, Timothy, to endure no matter what.
2 Timothy 4:5–8 (NET 2nd ed.)
5 You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand.
7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!
8 Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.
• In verse 5, Paul tells Timothy to FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY!
• In verse 7, Paul says he competed well, finished the race, and KEPT THE FAITH!
• As a result, God would bless him for eternity!
• The 11 dropped out of the race for a moment, then got back into it; Judas simply dropped out.
CONCLUSION
• What or who is first in your life?
• What is your passion in life?
• For the 11 of the 12, their lives would never be the same; they would all, except John, die martyrs deaths for the cause of Christ (John would die of old age).
• They fulfilled their call!
• Have you answered, embraced, and willing to complete your calling?
• Maybe you have experienced a setback and have dropped out of the game; just like the 11, you can get back o the field!
• God is calling; do you hear Him?
• Will you answer?
Sold Out For Jesus
Jeffery Anselmi / General
Summer Stories- Testimonies of Radical Change / Change / Matthew 10:1–4
God calls all of us to follow him wholeheartedly, and some to follow him into vocational ministry.
INTRODUCTION
• What is it in your life that you have sold yourself out to 100%?
• To be sold out means that you are all in, no plan "B,” and you are never looking for another option?
• It takes courage and trust to sell oneself out to something or someone.
• In all my years of ministry, I have seen Jesus cause radical changes in many people's" lives.
• Jesus has radically changed my life also.
• On the other side of the coin, I have seen as many, if not more, folks that the change does not seem very evident, or the change is more walk than talk.
• When we are baptized into Christ, we are a new creation, so given that fact, why are not all who come to Jesus radically changed?
• I believe we all want to be sold out for Jesus.
• I believe we all want to be radically changed by Jesus.
• Today we will begin a new four-week series that explores the lives of people who had profound, life-changing encounters with Jesus.
• As we examine these people, we will look for things that will help us experience the transformation and dedication we seek.
• When it comes to Jesus, if we are not willing to go all-in with Him, we will never experience the full blessings that God wants us to enjoy.
• Those blessings are not material; they are not a problem-free life, but rather, on top of eternal life, Jesus offers us the peace that surpasses all understanding.
• When we try to live with one foot in with Jesus, and the other foot in the world, we will never fully know what it is to live for Jesus and the joy that comes with it.
› The BIG IDEA for the message today is that Jesus calls all of us to follow Him wholeheartedly, to be sold out to Him!
• Let's turn to Matthew 10:1-4.
• This passage is the calling and the sending out of the Apostles into the world as a group.
Matthew 10:1–4 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness.
2 Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (called Peter), and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee and John his brother;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
SERMON
Selling out for Jesus requires:
I. The courage to answer the call.
• The thought behind this point is the call to leave it all behind.
• Before this moment in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus had called these men (in small groups or as individuals) (Mark 2:14-19) to drop what they were doing to follow him as disciples.
• During this particular snapshot, we see Jesus now calling them as a group to follow him.
• This moment would never have happened if they had not previously had conversations with Jesus about leaving their professions to follow him.
• Sometimes, God asks us to leave our day job—or our plans for a day job—and follow him vocationally.
• Jesus always asks us to follow Him.
Luke 9:57–62 (NET 2nd ed.)
57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
• The call of Jesus is serious, and it is costly.
• The call is a big ask.
• The benefits are worth the cost, and for one to have the courage to be sold out for Jesus, they must trust this fact is true.
• For those whom Jesus called his disciples, a decision had to be made without the benefit of seeing how things would play out, of reading church history, or knowing how Jesus would ultimately display his kingship.
• The disciples had to decide to follow him as their leader by faith.
• The disciples risked a great deal.
• The risk of answering the call took a great deal of courage.
• These men did not come from the religious schools of the time; they were not Rabbis, Pharisees (except later Paul), or Sadducees.
• Four of them, Andrew, Peter, James, and John, were fishermen.
• One of the twelve was a hated tax collector.
• One was a zealot.
• A zealot was a part of the radical anti-Roman Government group who would use violence to free Israel from the grips of the Roman Empire.
• As for the others, we do not know what they did for a living.
• In John 12:4-6; John tells us that Judas would steal money from the group's money box, calling Judas a thief.
• For these men, who had ordinary lives and worked ordinary jobs, it took courage to answer the call, the call to leave it all behind.
• Here is something else to consider when thinking about having the courage to answer the call
• Jesus "called" his twelve disciples.
• He didn't draft them, force them, or ask them to volunteer; He chose them to serve Him in a special way.
• Jesus did not choose these twelve to be His disciples because of their faith—it often faltered.
• He didn't choose them because of their talent and ability—no one stood out with unusual ability.
• The disciples represented a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences, but they may have had no more leadership potential than those who were not chosen.
• The one characteristic they all shared was their willingness to obey Jesus. (Life Application Bible- Matthew)
• Christ calls us today.
• He doesn't twist our arms and make us do something we don't want to do.
• We can choose to join Him or remain behind.
• When Christ calls you to follow him, how do you respond?
• Have you given Him only a halfhearted commitment or your whole heart? (Life Application Bible)
• Next, we see that:
Selling out for Jesus requires:
II. The courage to embrace the call.
• It is one thing to answer the call of Jesus; it is another thing to embrace the call to the point that it becomes who you are and not just something you do.
• The focus of this point is taking up your cross.
• In the passage in Luke we talked about, folks said they wanted to follow Jesus, yet they wanted to put other things ahead of the call.
• Jesus said that was not the way to answer the call.
• Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said this concerning following Him.
Luke 9:23–25 (NET 2nd ed.)
23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.
25 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself?
• Taking up one's cross means that the call of Jesus comes first, and embracing the call.
• If we follow Jesus in this manner, we have to be sold out to Jesus!
• If we put ourselves first, if we put the pursuits of the world first, we cannot fulfill this call.
• To be able to embrace the call, we have to trust that Jesus will take care of our life.
• We have to trust in Him.
• Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-33 If we seek His kingdom and righteousness first, we will have what we need in life.
• In the story of the rich young ruler, a wealthy young man wants to know what good thing he can do to obtain eternal life.
• Jesus tells him to keep the commandments.
• Then the young man told Jesus he had done these things since childhood.
• The young man knows something is yet missing from his life.
• Then Jesus responds.
Matthew 19:21–22 (NET 2nd ed.)
21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 But when the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.
• The Apostles, of all people, would need to trust Jesus and embrace the call.
• In verse 1 of our text, Jesus sent them out to cast out evil spirits and heal diseases.
• Jesus gave these men authority to do these things, and they would need to trust Him.
• Things were not going to go as they expected, and for them to endure and carry out the call, they would need to have a strong foundation of faith and trust in their calling.
• These men would need the courage to embrace their calling when Jesus was being crucified and, as they, too, would eventually die for Jesus.
• Our third observation this morning is:
Selling out for Jesus requires:
III. The courage to complete the call.
• The lives of these men would be forever changed because they dared to answer and embrace the call, well, 11 of the twelve.
• Eleven became famous, and one infamous.
• It is one thing to have the courage to answer and embrace the call; it is another to complete the call.
• When Jesus was crucified, you had one who set the crucifixion in motion by his betrayal, one who denied Jesus three times, and the other ten who were scared to death and were hiding in fear of their lives.
• The focus of this point is endurance and eventually hearing Jesus tell you well done, good and faithful servant.
• All 12 of these men stumbled when the pressure was on, and one of them, Judas, turned on Jesus, was sorry to the point of returning the money, then he went out and hanged himself.
• The other 11 got it back together and finished strong.
• We cannot run half or 95% of the race in our walk and think we have completed our calling.
• We are called to run the race until we die or the Lord comes back.
• Peter, who denied Jesus three times, got back into the race and finished strong.
• What was the difference between Judas and the other 11?
• I think it was a matter of the other 11 were sold out for Jesus, and Judas was along for the ride.
• As the Apostle Paul was nearing his execution, he wrote this in 2 Timothy as he encourages the young evangelist, Timothy, to endure no matter what.
2 Timothy 4:5–8 (NET 2nd ed.)
5 You, however, be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry.
6 For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand.
7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!
8 Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.
• In verse 5, Paul tells Timothy to FULFILL YOUR MINISTRY!
• In verse 7, Paul says he competed well, finished the race, and KEPT THE FAITH!
• As a result, God would bless him for eternity!
• The 11 dropped out of the race for a moment, then got back into it; Judas simply dropped out.
CONCLUSION
• What or who is first in your life?
• What is your passion in life?
• For the 11 of the 12, their lives would never be the same; they would all, except John, die martyrs deaths for the cause of Christ (John would die of old age).
• They fulfilled their call!
• Have you answered, embraced, and willing to complete your calling?
• Maybe you have experienced a setback and have dropped out of the game; just like the 11, you can get back o the field!
• God is calling; do you hear Him?
• Will you answer?
