Acts 20:24
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”
If you are going to excel in any sport, you have to throw caution out the window and be all in with every play. When you watch star football players, you will see them sacrifice their body and future just to make a play. That is what makes them a great player. If they held back for the sake of caution, they would be an average player. Only those who go all in continually make great plays.
There is a reason the Apostle Paul made such an impact in his ministry. The reason his life made an impact was because he was all in and threw caution out the window. The verse above says, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself…” Paul wasn't concerned with anything the world had to offer. He wasn't concerned with what would personally happen; he was only concerned with finishing his course. When he got saved, he decided to go all in for Christ. That decision resulted in Paul making a great impact on Christianity and the Gentile world.
The same applies to your Christian life. You will never make an impact for Christ until you go all in. Too many Christians seem to serve the LORD in reserve, and then they wonder why they are not making an impact in their ministry or on others around them. No Christian has ever made an impact until they went all in. There has to be something inside of the Christian that says nothing else really matters other than making an impact on this world for Jesus Christ.
Pastor, you will never make an impact on the lives of those who attend your church and in your city without going all in. There is a reason those in yesteryear made an impact with their lives. That reason is that they were all in when it came to serving the LORD. If you are going to make an impact in your city, you must forget about the brethren and stop trying to impress them and go all in for Jesus Christ. The pastor who pastors with reserve is the pastor who never makes a great impact.
Likewise, Christian, you are going to have to go all in if you want God to use you in a great way. One of the things that has driven me all these years is my desire to make an impact for Christ. Since I was a teenage boy, I jumped all in when I surrendered my life to Christ. Friend, as long as you are concerned with what others think about you, you will continue to live the mediocre Christian life. You must live with abandon and go all in if you are going to make an impact in Christianity.
One thing this world needs are Christians and pastors who will go all in for Christ. The key to making an impact in your world is to go all in. If you hold anything back, it will hinder you from making an impact on the lives of others. When you go all in for Christ, this world will have no lure that can pull you away from serving Him. When you go all in, there is no monetary offer that will cause you to quit on God. When you go all in, there is no trial that will stop you from serving the LORD. It is time that you go all in and make an impact on your world. That is the only way you will make a difference with your life.