Now you take your Bibles today and turn to the book of Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. And I'll read from verse 17 down to the end of the chapter, verse 25. Colossians chapter 3 and verse 17. and whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your precious word. Lord, we thank you for the privilege we have to look into it and to hear from you. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would Use your word today in a special way to change lives for your honor and for your glory. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would tabernacle with us. I pray that you would convict of sin and reprove when necessary. And use your word to encourage hearts and most of all, that you will draw people to you, whether it be for salvation, whether it be for service. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would give me the words you'll have me to say. Cleanse me of sin, empty me of self, fill me with your precious Holy Spirit, and we'll be careful to thank you and praise you for it, and to give you all the honor and glory that's due your holy name. I ask these things in your precious and mighty name. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. You may be seated. I'd like to read an article that I came across entitled, Half-Hearted Versus Whole-Hearted. And it came from a business coach. And I'd like you to listen in as I read it. It's fairly lengthy, but I'll try to take certain excerpts. But I wanted to get the gist of what is being said here today. It begins thus. I'm going to ask you a tough question. Are you approaching your goals half-heartedly or wholeheartedly? I believe half-heartedness is epidemic in business. In my experience, it's the number one reason we don't achieve our goals or have what we desire. It's why it feels so hard so much of the time. It's why we invest in solutions that don't produce results. We approach them half-heartedly. We held something back. We weren't all in. This is not an indictment. It's an observation. So many business owners are going about things half-heartedly. But to really succeed requires your unwavering, wholehearted commitment. I've done it. I still do it. I realized early this summer that I was half-heartedly attempting to get fit and to lose a few pounds. On one level, I was committed. I had hired a trainer, was doing my required workouts and watching what I ate. Except I was only giving about 70% to all those things. And my results proved that out. It was hard for me to face. I much preferred whining about why it wasn't working. But the truth was right there under my nose. I was doing the minimum. I was half-heartedly going about my goal. Simply put, half-heartedness is giving less than 100%, maybe even less than 90%. It's deciding something isn't working for you long before you've given it your full commitment. It's checking out of your commitments and looking for a new solution when things get tough. It's constantly causing you to be on the lookout for a better answer, a simpler solution, or something new to get excited about instead of going all in. Half-heartedness looks like this, investing in a coaching program or information product only to work through it about 50%. You show up some of the time, but don't go out of your way to make showing up a top priority. You do some of the agreed-upon work, but not all of it. Joining a networking group or organization but then missing the meetings. Starting but not finishing. Maybe you start creating a new offering or writing a book but then set it aside, get distracted or something else and never finish. Committing to writing a blog post or newsletter on a specific schedule but sending it only 30% of the time. Setting goals, but then only taking action in the first few weeks before letting them disappear from focus. Spreading yourself too thin, taking on too many projects, opportunities, clients, or whatever, and never being able to fully give your best to any of them. Constantly chasing the next new idea, guru, or solution that shows up in your inbox, instead of completing and committing to the ones you've already taken on. Creating a new program, product, or service, but not fully marketing it. Holding back on telling your clients and prospects that it exists, and then deciding the program is a failure when it doesn't sell out. So why do we do it? Why don't we wholeheartedly give ourselves to our goals and dreams? Maybe it's scary to imagine committing all of ourselves to what we want. What if it doesn't work? Or what if it does? Maybe it's that we've learned early in life that giving 70% is enough. We've gotten by and done well for ourselves on 70% power. And so it's a habit that happens with smart people all the time. Your 70% is pretty impressive. And so you learn not to go for 100%. After all, no one likes a show off. We've measured ourselves against someone else's standard for what's good enough instead. of our own. Maybe we are not really committed to what it is we really say we want. We want it only if it's easy, simple, or doesn't ask much of us. Or we think we want it because we should want it. rather than the truth of what we want. Maybe the power of having what we want and of knowing what we're capable of is overwhelming, or a full potential is a powerful thing. And we question if we are ready for us at full power and around those around us ready. Maybe we think we're supposed to spread ourselves thin. This answer is different for each of us. And it's a worthy question to explore, especially if you're not getting ready, getting the results or expected results that you desire. So how about checking in today? I am all in. I'm wholeheartedly going for it. What would happen if we all were? I thought this was very appropriate considering the message I started last week in Colossians chapter 3 entitled, All in for Jesus. I tell you, amazing things would happen individually and collectively if we made up in our minds that whatever we do, we're doing it unto the Lord and I'm going to give it my absolute best. great things would take place. I tell you, our potential would be realized and we would amaze ourselves. But what's even more important and critical about this issue of being all in is that as it relates to loving God, in serving God, God not only desires it, wants it, but he expects it of us. And we saw last week over and over through a very variety of passages as we looked at that God does not take kindly to half-heartedness. He does not take kindly to apathy. He does not take kindly to in serving him, giving less than our best, less than 100%. The Bible says to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, all our strength, and we know that all simply means all. And just to recap, we looked at this thing last week and recognized in this passage in Colossians chapter three, that we don't get all in just because we get emotional or we get charged up from an inspirational message or a motivational speech as it relates to loving God and serving God and doing it in a way that honors him. There are some requirements, there are some prerequisites that must be in place before we get to the point where we are all in for Jesus. And we saw first of all that if we're going to get to that point, that most important place of being all in for Jesus, we must first of all have a heavenly perspective. It means that in verse number two of chapter three says, set your affection on things above and not on things on this earth. It means that I must have a heavenly mindset. It means that I must filter what I'm doing through God's agenda and not my own or anyone else for that matter. We saw that in addition to this heavenly perspective, of critical importance, we must have a holy posture. the apostle Paul took several verses, verses five down to verse sixteen to outline that holiness is mandatory. It is a must. It it is not optional and a holy posture, a holy lifestyle begins first of all with having a disdain for sin. It means I must get to the point where I hate He said in verse number five, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness which is idolatry. He says you must get sick and tired of the effects on your life individually and what it's doing to a lost and dying world. He says there must be a disdain for sin. He says, but there also must be a desire for sanctification. Verses 8 to 16, he says, this must be an intentional attitude and a mindset that in order to be more like Christ, I'm going to put off some things and I'm going to put on some things. I must change my wardrobe spiritually. If I'm going to get to the place where I can be all in. So that brings us to verse 17. We saw the heavenly perspective and the holy posture. But verse 17 indicates that thirdly, in being all in, recognize that we have a helpful partnership. A helpful partnership. Now look at what verse 17 says. It says, and whatsoever ye do, in word or deed. Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Here, Paul is letting us know what we are doing for God, brethren. We do not have to do it in our own strength. We don't have to do it in our own power. As a matter of fact, we are representing the king of kings and the lord of lords. And in this partnership, we should be encouraged by the fact that we are, as children of God, we have his authorization. What we are doing, we are doing it in someone else's name, the name of Jesus Christ. Now, from an earthly perspective, when we do something in someone else's name, it means that we have that person's authorization. Now, doing something in someone else's name has a distinct legal meaning that is the same under our law as well as Hebrew, Greek, and Roman law. So for example, when the police officer pulls you over on the side of the road, and he says to you, whether he uses these words or not, or he shows you his badge, he's saying to you that you must stop, not in the name of the police officer, but in the name of the law. This officer has been authorized by the law to carry out the law on behalf of the state. And so when that person does that, they are not doing it on their own authority as a private citizen. They have authority given to them by someone else. Let me read this. If you donate a gift in someone else's name, it means that they get credit for it as if they had done it for themselves. You do not get credit for the gift. If you put property in someone else's name, it means that they become the owner of it and you no longer control that property. So when the Bible says, do what you do in the name of the Lord Jesus, it's an understanding that what we do, we have authorization from a higher power, amen? It's similar to the concept of power of attorney. If you are not able to be present and someone gives you power of attorney, it means that whatever you do, you are acting as if that person were there themselves and you are functioning on their behalf. You have been authorized. Thank God that in the work of God, we have been authorized by Jesus himself to function on his behalf. It's a helpful partnership. But this helpful partnership involves not only authorization, but very careful, watch with me here, it requires alignment. alignment. Now it's one thing to have the authority to function on another person's behalf, but you must recognize that the person who is functioning on behalf of another must align their agenda with the person from whom they got the authority from. One must function within the guidelines, the parameters, the restrictions established by that person. In order to act and to function in Jesus' name, I must be careful that what I am doing is in accordance what He wants me to do. My actions, many people I notice, oftentimes I feel insult pastors and minister of of religion by asking them to come to events and ceremonies and whatever they may be opening ceremonies for whatever it is of things that have nothing to do with pleasing god. As a matter of fact, they are in stark violation of what god would desire but they want the pastors to come and pray god's blessings in that is a violation of being in alignment with what God authorizes. As a matter of fact, one must decline such invitations. Pastor, could you pray God's blessing on this concert and this carnival and this culturama that will promote nudity and promiscuity and immorality and disrespectful authority. Can you please bless it in Jesus name? Amen. No, I will not. I cannot. It is not in alignment with the one who has given the authorization. authority. So, in order for us to do things in Jesus's name, there has to be first of all authorization but it's our responsibility to ensure that what we are doing is in alignment with the one who gave us the authority. Amen. but when you have the alignment, guess what happens? You get god's approval. Amen. Amen. Can you imagine the benefits, the privileges, the power with which we will be able to function when we do what we do in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. And brethren, as I I recognized with a great sense of urgency how absolutely critical it is that as we function individually and collectively in the work of God, that we do it in accordance with the word of God. God. Brethren, anything that we do that is in violation of the word of God, simply, we can pray until our knees are sore. It will not have the God. And so it is important that we study the word of God. Understand what it is saying. Understand what God requires. Understand what God expects. So that we can align what we do with what he says so that when we pray in Jesus name, we have the power, the approval to get the job done. Amen. If that does not take But when we align our agenda with his agenda, and we get God's approval, guess what happens? We unleash the awesome and irresistible power of God upon our lives to get things done in his name. What an awesome truth. What an awesome privilege that we have a helpful partnership that involves authorization, alignment, approval, and guess what? Acknowledgement. Why must there be acknowledgement? Because I'm functioning on behalf of another, and when he gives the blessings, when he gives the power and things happen, I cannot take the credit. I'm functioning on behalf of another. So when we function in Jesus' name and great things happen, we don't say, thank God for how great I am. No, we say glory to his name. Because he hath done great things. It says, whatsoever he do in word or deed, ensure that is done in the name of the Lord Jesus. What a blessing, what a privilege we have. But I want you to notice number four, not only the helpful partnership, but notice outlined in verses 18 to 22, there's a harmonious pattern that has been prescribed. A harmonious pattern. Now in verse number 18, down to verse 22, It gives here a number of responsibilities. And as you read these verses, it's very important that we recognize that when it comes to God himself and his dealings with us as people, there is a provision or a principle authority. Recognize that God himself established authority and leadership anytime he established an institution. We are not to be shocked. We are not to be taken aback. It's evident here that God has set up authority in marriage, in the home, in government, in the workplace, in And it's very important that we recognize that this establishing of authority is not an indication of anyone's inferiority. It's a role or it's a responsibility that has been given to function in a particular manner so that you can have harmony, so that you can have progress, so that you can have success. But we're living in a world today where people walk around with the mentality that if I'm not in charge, I don't have a role to play. If I'm not in charge, it means that I'm less than. No, it does not. Or if you're on a job and you're in a company just because you're not the CEO, does it mean that you're not important? Does it mean that you are less important than someone else? No, it means that you have a particular role to function so that that organization or institution can be successful. God says, I'm giving you a prescription so that before you can get all in, you understand what you need to be doing. There's a principle or a provision of authority. Now, he says in verse 18, speaking of marriage, he says, wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit the Lord. He says husbands love your wives, be not bitter against them. The Bible here is simply saying as it relates to marriage, there is an authority in marriage that's given to the husband. Does it mean that the husband is superior to the wife? Absolutely not. husband. Does it mean that the wife is inferior to the husband? No, it does not. It does just simply means in the institution of marriage which god has ordained, god has ordained and establish it and said that the husband is the head of the home and everybody said, see why we have problems in our marriages today. We just don't understand how god has set up this institution. By headship. You don't have to like it because guess what? Nobody is dragging anybody or should be dragging anybody kicking and screaming down the aisle. If you want to be your own head, then keep your headship and don't get married. That's all you got to do. So, if you're a young lady and you say, listen, I want to keep my own head. I'm not giving my headship to anybody else. Well, you are a man and if you are a man and you determine I'm sloppy, I don't want the responsibility of taking care of anybody else. I don't want the responsibility of loving anybody. I just want to do my own thing. I guess what? Don't get married. Don't mess up any young lady's life. If you're not ready to lead a young lady in the lord. There's a principle of authority. Does not indicate inferiority. Does not indicate superiority. It corresponds to children as well. Children, obey your parents in all things. When you are born into this world, God has put you in a place where you are not in charge. You are simply not in charge. And parents need to understand that children need not to act as if they're in charge. If they begin to act like they're in charge, let them know who is in charge. And it is not them, it is you. house and when you get your own house, children, then you are in charge of your own house. but not in somebody else's house. That's a simple principle. So, if you decide I've gotten to the point where I'm big for my britches, I'm too big. Listen, change What they say in the Caribbean, two man crab can't live in the same hole. I assume that apply to women crab as well. But anything with two heads is a monster. Everybody has a responsibility. It says, fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. So when you're in charge, that's not an avenue to be a tyrant. and then verse twenty-two servants obeying all things your masters according to the flesh not with eye services men pleases but in singleness of heart fearing god no this is one of those verses that christians uh uh seem to be afraid to be able to touch because so many people think that it's condoning slavery listen the bible does not condone slavery especially slavery as we understand in the history of especially uh as it decisions based on Bible does not condone that. I want to read this so that we understand. I don't want to spend too much time on it. Okay, but listen to this. What many fail to understand is that slave slavery in biblical times was very different from the slavery that was practiced in the past few centuries in many parts of the world. The slavery in the Bible was not based exclusively on race. People were not enslaved because of their nationality or the color of their skin. In Bible times, slavery was based more on economics. It was a matter of social status. People sold themselves as slaves when they could not pay their debts or provide for their families. In New Testament times, sometimes doctors, lawyers, or even politicians were slaves of someone else. People actually chose to be slaves so as to have all of their needs provided for by their masters. So simply put, in our current context of where we live, this verse is a verse that would apply to employers and employees. that you are to be in subjection. You are to be under authority when you are on your job because you are not in charge. And if you are in charge, you are supposed to treat those who are under your leadership with the right, with the biblical requirement and prerequisite given here. in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 22. Understand when it comes to God, in order to have harmony, in order to have progress, there's a principle or provision of authority. But recognize secondly, there's also an issue of personal accountability. God individually expects us to be responsible for our role. accountability to God in fulfilling it in a way that pleases Him. Amen? It's not to be misused or to be abused. Has that been done in any of these situations? Do husbands abuse their role and the responsibility of being in authority? Absolutely. Does that make it right? Absolutely not. have fathers provoked their children and done things that are against God? Absolutely. That's why we have so many problems in our society today. Have there been people who have employers and different people who have abused their authority? Absolutely. but that is never and will never be God's intention. God expects husbands to provide loving leadership. God expects parents to be kind to their children and to bring them up in the admission and nurture of the Lord. God expects employers to be respectful to their employees and doing things in a way that pleases Almighty God. responsibility. They have a personal accountability. God gives these these instructions in in different verses, each and every one of them to individuals. And what happens is that when we perform our role and our responsibility individually, guess what? God steps in on our behalf and functions and does things and solves problems that we would not have been able to do on our own because we're But oftentimes, we short-circuit God's involvement because we have problems with our role. Really. There's a harmonious pattern. There's a provision or principle of authority. There's personal accountability. But guess what happens when we fully embrace the role that God has given us to play in these various institutions? We please the Almighty. And when God is pleased, great things happen for us. I tell you, we're living in a world where it's really upside down. People violate the principles of the word of God and then we wonder why we are in the state in which we are. 50% of marriages end in divorce. And that's irrespective of whether they're Christian or non-Christian. Churches with no godly leadership are in chaos. Homes where children are in charge are a disaster. The workforce where employees do whatever they want to do, whenever they want to do it, are unproductive and ineffective. And God himself has designed and set up these institutions. And guess what? Since he designed them, he must know how they work best. So I say to all of us, let's try God's way. We've tried man's way long enough and it's proven to be fruitless and a colossal failure. Let's try God's way. and on the authority of God's word, with doing it in his name, with his authority, I guarantee you, we will have success. A harmonious pattern that God has prescribed. But we'll notice, number five. He says, when you get all these things, these prerequisites lined up, he says, when you get your heavenly perspective, and that heavenly perspective is followed by a holy posture, and that holy posture is followed by Recognizing that I have a helpful partnership. I have someone who's going to be with me. Someone who is going to help me. Someone who's going to give me the authority. Someone who's going to unleash their power upon my life to be able to get the job done. I put my agenda in his agenda. I formulate it. I align it. And I get his help. I am in, then I understand my role in the various institutions as which I am in and I function in this harmonious pattern of submission to leadership and loving leadership. God says, after those things are done, guess what? I'm going to You can't be all in if you don't get those prerequisites lined up. He says in verse number twenty-three, he says, and whatsoever you do, look at where this verse ended up. After twenty-two verses in verses one to twenty-two, he says, after you get all these, then we can get all in for Jesus and whatsoever you do, do it heartily as I can have some heartfelt passion. He says, you first of all, the reason why all of these prerequisites are so important is because in order to have heartfelt passion, you must first of all have a determined attitude. You know why many people don't have a determined attitude? They don't know what they're supposed to be doing. they don't know their role. And that's why he gave these responsibilities, these requirements, these roles, he outlined them, because he says, once you know your role, you can zoom in on it and you can know what you're about. James says, chapter one says, a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. in different ways. It's pretty much sheer night impossible to be all in if you don't know what you're supposed to be doing. How could you be all in in something and you don't know? Well, should I go left? Should I go right? But when you know what you're about, you can hold it with both hands and you say, I'm going to give it and give it all my might, my absolute best because I'm very clear on what I'm supposed to be doing. He says, heartfelt passion but it's followed by a decision to be all in. Listen, you can know what you're supposed to do, but until you make up your mind that I'm going to give 100%, I'm going to be all in, it will not happen. It is a personal decision. Look at what that verse says. It says, and whatsoever, what's that next word? Ye. which is an old English word for you. He says, whatsoever you do, do it heartily unto the lord. He says, this is something that the pastor can't make that decision for you. That's right. Your parents can't make that decision for you. The government can't make that decision for you. Ah, your employer can't make that decision for you. You have to make a I'm brothering to be frank. If we're going to do anything, we might as well go all in. You might as well go all in because if you don't go all in, you're wasting your time. You're wasting other people's time and we get limited results and end up frustrated at the lack of success. So, if we're going to do it, let's go ahead and just go all in. Amen. There has to be a decision. I'm I'm going to decide here and now right now that I'm going to be all in a heartfelt passion, determined attitude, a decision to be all in but here's how you stay all in. You have to desire god's approval. You have to desire god's approval. That verse says, do it heartily or as to who the lord and not unto men. It's it's and then somebody else says something we don't like, somebody else gets us upset, somebody else criticizes our good intentions, and you say, you know what? I'm done with it. I'm throwing in the towel. But when we desire God's approval, and we recognize that we are doing it for his honor and for his glory, we recognize that he sees everything. He doesn't miss anything. And so I can keep going on and I can keep striving. You know, human beings are real fickle. One day we're up, the next day we're down. And even the best of us. We can overlook things at times. We can come to the wrong conclusion. We can criticize unfairly but god is the ultimate judge who knows every single thing and when I do what I do for him, I'm not going to get too upset if you don't like it. I'm not going to get too upset if you if you think I have the wrong motive. I'm not going to get too upset if you even tell a lie on me because god knows the And so I don't have to defend every false accusation that's said against me. I don't have to jump and worry about everything that's not right according to your estimation. He says, I can have heartfelt passion for doing what God wants me to do. But notice, finally, the honored promise. the honored promise. In verse 24 and 25, he says, look at what you can hang your hat on. He says, knowing that the Lord of the Lord, he shall receive the reward of the inheritance for he serve the Lord Christ. God has given us a concrete promise that our recompense will be individually determined. He says, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ. Recognize that the rewards that we receive of the Lord, they're not based on what somebody else did. They're not based on what somebody else said. They are based individually. And oftentimes we sometimes seem to think that When we get before God, we're gonna be able to say, God, I tried to do this, but. I tried to do this, but this person put an obstacle in my way. God will ask us individually, what did you do with the man called Christ? Recompense will be individually determined, but notice as well, rewards are impartially distributed. The last part of verse 25 says, there is no respect of persons. Every single one of us would be treated the same way. God is holy and just and his verdict cannot be questioned or appealed. You know, in our earthly judicial system, you go to a particular court and the court returns a verdict and you don't like it or you feel it was unfair, you can appeal to, at times, a higher court. But there's a point at which there's no court higher than the one that you've appealed to, which is often called the Supreme Court or maybe called something else. But guess what? When it comes to God, there is no jurisdiction or court higher than the judgment of God himself. And so his decision is the final answer. Amen? It's an honored promise. Verse 25, but he that doeth wrong shall receive of the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respect of persons. I tell you, I am curious to know what would happen at Shiloh Baptist Church in 2018 if every person got all in for Jesus. What would happen? I can assure you, great things will happen. Things beyond our wildest imagination would take place if we determined that I'm going to be all in. Not half, not a quarter, not three quarters. And I know that in order to be all in, it requires some adjustment in priorities. It requires some assessment of what we're doing. It requires some aligning of our goals and our agenda with God himself. Make no mistake, as much as we may desire to do great things for God and to see great things done, if we're insistent and persistent in violating his word and his instructions will not have his blessings. And we can go all in with all of our efforts, but we must make sure it lines up with the book. And once we do that, and we function in his name, on his behalf, I assure you on the authority of God's word, great things will be accomplished. Anyone want to see great things done? Anyone want to see amazing things done in the name of the Lord Jesus? Let's determine. I'm going to be all in. I'm going to give it my best. It doesn't mean that we won't ever make mistakes. But let's make mistakes going 100% and let God take care of the rest. And let's determine in this year of 2018 that we're going to be all in for Jesus.