I'm Game: Surrendering All to God's Mission

Devotional

Day 1: Bucket Brigades and Unplanned Obedience

When the baptistry drained unexpectedly, ordinary people carried water pitcher by pitcher to ensure God’s work could proceed. This moment reveals how God’s plans often bypass our preparations, inviting us to join His work through imperfect yet willing hands. True obedience isn’t about flawless execution but showing up with whatever we have. The miracle isn’t in the method but in the “yes” that keeps filling buckets when logic says to quit. What seems like a setback becomes sacred ground when we trust God with the gaps. [48:16]

“Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
(Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: Where is God asking you to carry “buckets” today—small, unglamorous acts of obedience that keep His work moving? What practical step can you take this week to join what He’s already doing?

Day 2: Leaky Baptistries and Unstoppable Grace

The water drained, but seven people still got baptized—a reminder that God’s purposes can’t be contained by human limitations. His grace flows through cracked vessels and imperfect systems, redeeming our failures as part of the story. When plans crumble, God writes better endings. Our role isn’t to prevent leaks but to keep showing up where the Spirit stirs, trusting Him to make up the difference. [48:03]

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
(2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

Reflection: What “leak” in your life (a limitation, failure, or insecurity) might God want to use as a channel for His grace? How can you release control of outcomes today?

Day 3: Bottom of the Ninth Faith

Like a bases-loaded moment in baseball, faith often feels like everything’s riding on one swing. But Christ already hit the home run through His resurrection—our job is to step up to the plate, trusting His victory. Being “game” means swinging boldly even when the count seems against us, knowing the final score is secure. [57:40]

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
(2 Timothy 4:7, ESV)

Reflection: What “at bat” is God calling you to take this season—a conversation, commitment, or act of courage? How does Jesus’ finished victory free you to risk stepping up?

Day 4: Surrendered Jerseys

The “I’m Game” series wasn’t about t-shirts but trading our uniforms for Christ’s. Like athletes yielding to the coach’s strategy, holiness means handing God the jersey of our ambitions, timelines, and control. True team play means letting Him call the shots in our work, neighborhoods, and even our leaky baptistries. [56:23]

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
(Romans 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: What “jersey” (identity, role, or possession) do you need to surrender to God’s coaching today? How might wearing Christ’s name instead of your own change your next interaction?

Day 5: The Post-Series Miracle

Series end, but the Spirit’s work never does. Seven spontaneous baptisms proved God moves beyond sermon outlines—He’s writing His next chapter in school carlines, office break rooms, and grocery aisles. Our job isn’t to prolong a series but to stay alert for the unscripted moments where heaven interrupts. [53:08]

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…”
(Ephesians 3:20, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you boxed God into “series finales” instead of expecting new stories? What ordinary space will you approach today as potential holy ground?

Sermon Summary

God has been moving through prayer, new connections, ministry partnerships, FCA, Discover Mustang Naz, and spontaneous baptisms. God even used a leaking baptistry and a bucket brigade to make sure seven people could be baptized. The water may have leaked out, but God still moved. The series may be ending, but the mission is not.

The call of “I’m Game” reaches far beyond t shirts, a fun series, or a slogan. The standard is full surrender. God receives every part of life: time, talents, resources, family, work, school, neighborhood, health, finances, grief, grace, and the places that cannot be controlled. The Church of the Nazarene names that kind of holiness plainly: it is all God’s. Nothing gets held back.

The question presses into the hidden thing that has been carried around for a long time, the thing nobody else sees or understands. God asks, “Would you just let me have it? Would you let me be God?” God does not merely ask for public activity. God asks for permission to do whatever He wants with all that a person is and all that person hopes to become.

Hebrews calls the church to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, while Romans calls believers to give an account of the hope within them. Team Jesus means being available for what God is already blessing in the world. The mission may involve walking across the street, serving in ministry, praying more deeply, helping somebody with gas, joining community, or taking a step that feels uncomfortable. The Spirit may call for something that sounds wild, but Scripture, prayer, wise friends, and the church help discern whether God is at work.

The enemy will resist anybody who goes all in. A whole new level can bring a whole new devil, because the enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy. Yet Jesus won, period. The bottom of the ninth looked hopeless, but Jesus crushed the home run through His death, resurrection, and reign at the Father’s right hand. Satan does not win. Jesus does.

The final call is for spectators to become participants, for those playing church to start living for Christ, and for those delaying baptism or obedience to step forward. Jesus has already won the game. Now the name gets called. God asks, “Will you say, ‘I’m game. Put me in’?”

##

Key Takeaways

1. The mission does not end [49:00] The end of a series does not mean the end of God’s work. God keeps calling ordinary people into prayer, witness, service, and obedience long after the banners come down. Faithfulness means staying available for whatever comes next. [49:00]
2. Everything belongs to God [50:19] Full surrender is more than giving God a religious corner of life. God claims time, talent, resources, relationships, work, pain, hopes, and unanswered questions. Holiness becomes real when nothing is treated as off limits to God. [50:19]
3. God asks for the hidden burden [53:56] God sees the thing that has been carried in silence. The deepest act of trust may not be visible ministry but releasing the burden that nobody else knows how to hold. God’s invitation is not shame but freedom: let God be God. [53:56]
4. Jesus has already won [57:15] Spiritual resistance is real, especially when a person steps into deeper obedience. Yet darkness does not get the final word, because Christ died, rose, and reigns. The believer enters the game from victory, not toward it. [57:15]
5. Spectators must become participants [01:00:23] Playing church can keep a person close to Christian activity while avoiding actual surrender. God calls each person to step into the game through baptism, service, witness, and a life that says yes. The name is called, and the question remains personal.

## [60:23]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[44:10] - A Burden for Prayer and Renewal
[45:39] - Signs of God Moving
[47:38] - Baptisms and the Bucket Brigade
[49:00] - The Mission Is Not Over
[50:19] - Full Surrender: It Is All God’s
[53:56] - Let God Have the Hidden Thing
[55:57] - More Than T Shirts and Slogans
[56:52] - Jesus Wins the Battle
[58:22] - Saying Yes to the Next Step
[60:23] - From Spectator to Participant
[61:09] - Put Me In, Lord

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Hebrews 10:24 — “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,” [54:57]

1 Peter 3:15 — “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” [55:04]

John 10:10 — “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” [57:11]

Observation questions

What kinds of “love and good works” are pictured through the examples of ministry partnerships, serving others, prayer, and people taking steps of faith? [46:26]
What areas of life are specifically named as belonging to God when a person says, “I’m game”? [49:37]
What does the passage describe as the hidden burden God invites a person to release to Him? [54:08]
According to John 10:10, what are the thief’s purposes, and what contrasting purpose does Jesus have for His people? [57:11]

Interpretation questions

Hebrews 10:24 calls believers to consider how they can stir one another toward love and good works. What does this suggest about the responsibility Christians have for one another beyond simply attending church?
1 Peter 3:15 connects hope in Christ with a gentle and respectful response to others. What might make a believer’s hope noticeable enough that someone would ask about it? [55:04]
Full surrender includes grace and grief, blessings and things that cannot be controlled. Why can trusting God with painful or uncertain parts of life be harder than serving in visible ways? [50:57]
Jesus has already defeated sin, death, and Satan, yet believers still face spiritual resistance. How does Christ’s victory change the way a believer can respond when obedience becomes difficult? [57:27]

Application questions

What is one area of life that is easiest to offer to God, and what is one area that is harder to surrender—time, family, work, finances, health, grief, plans, or something else? What would it mean to say, “Lord, it is all Yours,” in that specific area? [50:19]
Is there a burden, fear, habit, wound, or unanswered question that has been carried quietly for a long time? What would it look like to honestly place that particular thing before God this week? [54:18]
Who in this group, church, neighborhood, workplace, or school may need encouragement toward love and good deeds? What is one specific way to encourage that person this week? [54:57]
When someone asks about faith, hope, or the reason a Christian lives differently, what part of the story of Jesus could be shared with gentleness and respect? [55:04]
What “across the street” step may God be placing in front of you right now: starting a conversation, joining a group, serving, helping someone in need, praying with someone, or taking another step of obedience? [59:07]
Where have you recently felt resistance, discouragement, or fear after trying to follow Jesus more fully? How can the truth that “Jesus won” shape your next response? [57:27]
Is there a place where you have been more of a spectator than a participant in following Christ? What is one clear next step that would help you move from watching to living fully for Him? [01:00:23]

Sermon Clips

54s

#VictoryOverDarkness

“when you go to a whole new level, there's a whole new devil. if you're gonna say I'm game, the the enemy wants to steal, kill, destroy. And the reality of that journey is that you will start to face stuff that you're like, holy cow. Where is this coming from? But we don't wrestle flesh and blood. We wrestle against principalities of darkness. Jesus won, period. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs, everything seemed like it was on the line, and we were losing, and Jesus hits the home run. was buried and saved in the tomb for three days and was resurrected and now is seated at the right hand of God the father. Satan does not win. Jesus does. We do.”

38s

#ImGameTrustingGod

“And we say, Lord, I'm game. I'm willing. I'm available. I trust you, Lord. In the midst of all the things that are going on, the things of grace and the things of grief, Lord, I trust you to do that which only you can do. I'm game. The mission's not over. The series might be, but the mission's not. My my neighbors may may not be a person yet of faith, but, I I'm willing to walk across the street and have a conversation. Lord, I I'm game.”

54s

#GiveGodYourBurden

“We've just begun to to to see the tip of the heart of God with people who spontaneously said yes last week, and people coming to prayer, and people deciding that they wanna take steps of faith and practice, and and live out this faith in a a dynamic way, and yet there's still stuff that God wants to say. Hey, would you trust me with that? Would you let me have that particular thing that you've been carrying around for a really long time? I I I want you to give that to me today. No one else knows about it. Nobody else sees it. Nobody else hears it. Nobody else has able is able to understand it. But it's something that you've been carrying and God is saying, would you just let me have it?”

Ask a question about this sermon

Mustang Nazarene This sermon · AI assistant

What does being all in for God mean

How should Christians respond when God asks

What risks follow wholehearted surrender to God