Welcome to SeasonONE here at Rio! As we enter into SeasonONE, we also begin our new series, All In! Over the next five weeks, we will look at what it means to be the Church, and precisely what does it mean to be the church here at Rio. Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We believe the best way to do that is for us as individuals to be All In for what Jesus wants to do in us and through us as his disciples.
The next five weeks will align with our growth track. The growth track is designed to help you grow in your walk as a disciple of Jesus. Each step is aligned with one of our core values: Gather, Connect, Grow, Serve. This week our focus will be on what it looks like for each of us to be All In!
Study notes by Will Buschmann.
Index to Days 2 through 5
Day 1
Abraham
Observe
Over the first four days this week we are going to look at 4 different characters in the Bible and their stories. These characters lived and different times and their stories are entirely different. What they share in common though is their love for God. A love that spurred them to lives that were defined by being All In.
Our first character is Abraham whom we see in Genesis. A man God called to leave everything. A man God called to go All In and to trust him with an unknown future. A man whose faith was counted to him as righteousness. A faith that we still can be encouraged by today.
Genesis 12:1-9
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
Genesis 15:1-6
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 21:1-7
1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
God came to Abraham with a call. A call for his life to be given to Him, not in a half-hearted way, but in an All In way. Abraham followed God. At every twist and turn, Abraham put his trust in the Lord. Abraham was far from perfect, but he is an example of what trust and faith will do when trust and faith are focused on a God who can do all things. Abraham trusted God and he became the father of many nations.
- Imagine being Abraham for a second or two. What thoughts, feelings, and discussions would have happened when he was called to leave everything he knows? What would his family have said? In the world’s eyes was this a wise decision?
- What would have caused Abraham to do this?
This week we will use a quote or a verse every day to spur us into prayer with the Lord. Each day before you begin though let’s begin the habit of sitting, silencing, and waiting. Our posture matters so “sit” in a way that allows you to enter into the presence of God. Silence all the distractions. Silence your phone, your to-do list, and ask the Holy Spirit to silence your heart so you can hear from the Lord. Lastly, take a second and just wait on the Lord. Verbalize it to him, that you are in this moment to wait on what he has to say.
Today’s thought: “Never be afraid to entrust an unknown future to a known God.” – Corrie Ten Boom
Pray to know God. Pray that God would reveal himself to you. Ask him to see his nature and his love for you.
Pray your fears to God. Tell him your worries. Cast all your fears and anxieties on him at this moment.
Pray for the Spirit to fill you with trust. Not because you know how all of this is going to work out, but because you trust the One who does.
Day 2
Ruth
Observe
I’ll be honest with you today, I think you should make some time to read the whole book of Ruth. It’s only 4 chapters. In the verses section, we will just look at one section, but I think it will do your soul some good to see the full story, but if not that’s okay! Some highlights of Ruth to catch us up in the story. Ruth is a Moabite, which means she is not a part of the people of God. She marries into a family that is from Bethlehem and is a part of the nation of Israel when they fled Israel due to a famine. All of the men of the house died and Ruth, her mother-in-law (Naomi), and her sister-in-law (Orpah) are left as widows. A widow in this time is a practical death sentence. In a male-dominated world, these women were now left with nothing. Naomi tries to persuade Orpah and Naomi to go on with their lives, but Ruth does the unthinkable instead.
Ruth 1:6-18
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
Ruth was determined to go with her mother-in-law no matter what happened. It seemed crazy in the moment I’m sure, it’s even crazier looking back as I sit here writing this. Ruth will be in the lineage of Jesus. Ruth will be the mother of Obed. Obed will father Jesse. Jesse will father David, who will become the King of Israel. Ruth doesn’t weigh the pros and cons, she whole-heartedly goes All In.
- Why does going All In seem so normal in every aspect of life except for when it comes to following Jesus?
- What’s holding you back right now? What obstacles are in your way of going All In as a disciple of Jesus?
Each day before you begin though let’s begin the habit of sitting, silencing, and waiting. Our posture matters so “sit” in a way that allows you to enter into the presence of God. Silence all the distractions. Silence your phone, your to-do list, and ask the Holy Spirit to silence your heart so you can hear from the Lord. Lastly, take a second and just wait on the Lord. Verbalize it to him, that you are in this moment to wait on what he has to say.
Today’s Prayer Thought: “Our spiritual journey is from unmitigated independence from God to 100% dependence on Lord Jesus. We are to grow from strength to weakness, from power to vulnerability, and from control to surrender. We learn to embrace our limitations, allowing the goodness of the Lord to be magnified. When we embrace the pain of our own ‘thorn’, it drives us away from self-reliance to greater dependence on Jesus.” –
Pray for a heart that is fully dependent on the Lord. Ask him to break you, as scary as that is, from whatever you are depending on besides him.
Pray for whatever your “thorn” is right now to continually drive you to the feet of Jesus.
Pray that Christ would become your everything.
Day 3
Elisha
Observe
In the Book of Kings the prophet Elijah is the voice of God to the people of Israel. He was the prophet in a time when no one wanted anything to do with God, which caused him to be hated by the people and be on the run by a king and queen who wanted to kill him. And God told him that it was time for him to call his successor into that life for him to hand off the job, in comes Elisha
1 Kings 19:19-21
19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.
Elisha, when God comes to him, has the life that everyone in that time would have wanted. He has a successful agriculture business set up. He is wealthy. He lives in a place described as the “Dancing Meadow of Israel”. He has the dream life that everyone was working for. In steps Elijah and by throwing his cloak on him, which was a symbol of being the prophet of God, calls him to leave all of that. To go All In. All In means that he will be the prophet of God to a people who don’t want God. All In means leaving a life of luxury to live a life that follows God into suffering. And he makes the choice in a moment. He doesn’t just make a choice, but he destroys his old way of life so much so that he would have nothing to return to.
- If you knew Elisha and he told you this opportunity had arisen in his life how would you guide him on what choice to make? What parts of it would you weigh in order to help him make this decision?
- What would going All In look like for you right now in your life? What would you have to leave behind?
Each day before you begin though let’s begin the habit of sitting, silencing, and waiting. Our posture matters so “sit” in a way that allows you to enter into the presence of God. Silence all the distractions. Silence your phone, your to-do list, and ask the Holy Spirit to silence your heart so you can hear from the Lord. Lastly, take a second and just wait on the Lord. Verbalize it to him, that you are in this moment to wait on what he has to say.
Today’s Prayer Thought: “If our Adversary (Satan) can keep us engaged in ‘muchness’ and ‘manyness’ he will rest satisfied. – Richard Baxter
Pray for courage and strength to follow Jesus in a world that does not.
Pray for wisdom and discernment for what it looks like to go All In.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal what needs to be left behind in order to go All In.
Day 4
Peter
Observe
Jesus’ call to the disciples then is the same to us now. A call to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ as they follow him.
Luke 5:1-11
1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus is clear in this story to what it looks like to follow him. We hear him, we see him for who he is, we trust him, we follow him and we go out and we seek to help others to know him.
- Why is “Do not be afraid” one of, if not the, most commanded verse in the Bible?
- Why does fear have no place when following Jesus? Is it because Christians lose their ability to fear? Is it possible to not be afraid in the face of the things of this life?
Each day before you begin though let’s begin the habit of sitting, silencing, and waiting. Our posture matters so “sit” in a way that allows you to enter into the presence of God. Silence all the distractions. Silence your phone, your to-do list, and ask the Holy Spirit to silence your heart so you can hear from the Lord. Lastly, take a second and just wait on the Lord. Verbalize it to him, that you are in this moment to wait on what he has to say.
Today’s Prayer Thought: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts you.” Isaiah 26:3
Praise Jesus for who he is. Don’t until your mind is stayed on him. Pray for the Spirit to teach your heart to trust in him no matter what goes your way.
Verbalize your fears, worries, and anxieties. After each one pray “Jesus, I trust you.” Repeat as needed until your heart matches the words.
Day 5
Be Still and Know That I am God
Observe
This week our sermon will focus on Psalm 46 and that is our focus in Personal Worship today. Selah, we believe, is a term that urges us to stop and reflect. To take time and meditate on the different sections individually instead of just rushing through them as one unit. So give it a try today!
Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire; 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Psalm 46:10 is the most known verse in this passage. This verse is a behavioral directive (Be still) based on a particular thought (that I am God) that results in an emotional and spiritual peace.
- What fills you with hope and peace from this passage?
- Why is it that the particular thought “that I am God” can lead us to a behavior change (to be still)? What changes about us? What changes about what we are going through?
Each day before you begin though let’s begin the habit of sitting, silencing, and waiting. Our posture matters so “sit” in a way that allows you to enter into the presence of God. Silence all the distractions. Silence your phone, your to-do list, and ask the Holy Spirit to silence your heart so you can hear from the Lord. Lastly, take a second and just wait on the Lord. Verbalize it to him, that you are in this moment to wait on what he has to say.
Today’s Prayer Thought: Praying the Psalm
Take some time and pray through the lines of the Psalm. Use those words to pray to Jesus. Fill in what’s going on for you personally as you go.
Example: Dear God, You are my refuge and strength. You are my very present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear when _____________________ (fill in the blank with your fears) though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. You are my refuge and strength and I trust in you. Amen