Jesus Wants All or Nothing
Francis Chan's Crazy Love Chapter 5
"Jesus' call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing." (p. 85)
Often "our concern is more about going to heaven than loving the King. Jesus said, 'If you love me, you will obey what I command' (John 14:15). And our question quickly becomes even more unthinkable: Can I go to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Jesus?" (p. 86)
"God doesn't just want us to have good theology; He wants us to know and love Him." The following Scriptures tell us how we show that we truly love Jesus. 1 John 2:3 tells us "we know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands." Matthew 16:24-25 says that we must deny ourselves, take up His cross and follow Him; that if we lose our life for Him, then we will find it. Luke 14:33 says if we do not give up everything, we cannot be Jesus' disciple. (pp. 86-87)
"Because we don't usually have to depend on God (for things). . . we generally think of ourselves as fairly independent and capable. Even if we aren't rich, we are 'doing just fine.'" But compared to the rest of the world, we here in America are very wealthy. "Which is more messed up - that we have so much compared to everyone else, or that we don't think we're rich? That on any given day we might flippantly call ourselves 'broke' or 'poor'? We are neither of those things. We are rich. Filthy rich." (p. 89)
"The reality is that, whether we acknowledge our wealth or not, being rich is a serious disadvantage spiritually. . . 'Prosperity hardens the heart' (William Wilberforce)." (p. 90)
"God wants our best, deserves our best, and demands our best. . . It is easy to fill ourselves up with other things and then give God whatever is left." (pp. 90-91)
"Leftovers are not merely inadequate. . . Let's stop calling it 'a busy schedule' or 'bills' or 'forgetfulness'. . . God is holy. . . This holy God deserves excellence, the very best I have." (p. 92)
"Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." (Tim Kizziar) (p. 93)
"It's not what you advertise that counts; it's what you are really made of. . . God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love. . . According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters." (pp. 93-94)
"What does God mean by love? He tells us" in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 . If we take each phrase from this passage and insert our name (_________ is patient), how do we measure up? . . "Following Christ isn't something that can be done halfheartedly. . . It must be central to everything we do and are." (p. 94)
We do not work our way to heaven. It is by grace, through faith that we are saved. But "true faith manifests itself through our actions." James 2:17 says that faith without action is dead. There is a great deal of self-indulgence and self-satisfaction in the world today. But "something greater is coming. . . Luke 9:25 says, 'What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?'" (p. 95)
"Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives. . . But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it's about eternity, and nothing compares with that. God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives." (p. 96)
"We need to realize that how we spend our time, what our money goes toward, and where we will invest our energy is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him." (p. 97)
"Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants? Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life? Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made? . . If the answer to those questions is yes, then let your bet match your talk. True faith means holding nothing back; it bets everything on the hope of eternity." (p. 97)
Visit the Crazy Love website.
Often "our concern is more about going to heaven than loving the King. Jesus said, 'If you love me, you will obey what I command' (John 14:15). And our question quickly becomes even more unthinkable: Can I go to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Jesus?" (p. 86)
"God doesn't just want us to have good theology; He wants us to know and love Him." The following Scriptures tell us how we show that we truly love Jesus. 1 John 2:3 tells us "we know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands." Matthew 16:24-25 says that we must deny ourselves, take up His cross and follow Him; that if we lose our life for Him, then we will find it. Luke 14:33 says if we do not give up everything, we cannot be Jesus' disciple. (pp. 86-87)
"Because we don't usually have to depend on God (for things). . . we generally think of ourselves as fairly independent and capable. Even if we aren't rich, we are 'doing just fine.'" But compared to the rest of the world, we here in America are very wealthy. "Which is more messed up - that we have so much compared to everyone else, or that we don't think we're rich? That on any given day we might flippantly call ourselves 'broke' or 'poor'? We are neither of those things. We are rich. Filthy rich." (p. 89)
"The reality is that, whether we acknowledge our wealth or not, being rich is a serious disadvantage spiritually. . . 'Prosperity hardens the heart' (William Wilberforce)." (p. 90)
"God wants our best, deserves our best, and demands our best. . . It is easy to fill ourselves up with other things and then give God whatever is left." (pp. 90-91)
"Leftovers are not merely inadequate. . . Let's stop calling it 'a busy schedule' or 'bills' or 'forgetfulness'. . . God is holy. . . This holy God deserves excellence, the very best I have." (p. 92)
"Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." (Tim Kizziar) (p. 93)
"It's not what you advertise that counts; it's what you are really made of. . . God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love. . . According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters." (pp. 93-94)
"What does God mean by love? He tells us" in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 . If we take each phrase from this passage and insert our name (_________ is patient), how do we measure up? . . "Following Christ isn't something that can be done halfheartedly. . . It must be central to everything we do and are." (p. 94)
We do not work our way to heaven. It is by grace, through faith that we are saved. But "true faith manifests itself through our actions." James 2:17 says that faith without action is dead. There is a great deal of self-indulgence and self-satisfaction in the world today. But "something greater is coming. . . Luke 9:25 says, 'What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?'" (p. 95)
"Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives. . . But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it's about eternity, and nothing compares with that. God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives." (p. 96)
"We need to realize that how we spend our time, what our money goes toward, and where we will invest our energy is equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him." (p. 97)
"Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants? Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life? Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made? . . If the answer to those questions is yes, then let your bet match your talk. True faith means holding nothing back; it bets everything on the hope of eternity." (p. 97)
Visit the Crazy Love website.
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