Be A Brave Adventurer Series

(We opened with a video by our children’s minister which integrated Stephen Curtis Chapman’s “The Great Adventure” with clips from the Indiana Jones movies - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag4MXV8yqb4 till time stamp: 2:58)

As Christians, God saved us to go on a great adventure.

God has called us to be bold and brave adventurers.

According to one of the dictionaries I read, an adventurer is:

“Someone who likes dangerous or exciting experiences.

“A person who seeks adventure.”

“A person willing to take risks.”

Synonyms you might use for “adventurers” are:

• Swashbuckler,

• Hero/heroine,

• Traveler,

• Voyager,

• Explorer,

• Pathfinder,

• Pioneer.

ILLUS: Back when I was in the Purdue Glee Club I had the opportunity to go overseas to Europe - and for many of us in the Glee Club THAT was a great adventure. The first night, we sang in Vienna in a concert hall where one of the great composers of the Middle Ages had performed. After the concert a few of us decided to walk back to the hotel… and we promptly got lost. But we had so much fun getting lost we decided to get lost in every other city we visited. One of the cities we explored was while in Europe was Budapest – a city still behind the Iron Curtain at the time, and firmly inside the Soviet Union’s control.

At one time Budapest was actually two cities: Buda… and Pest (seriously). And those cities were divided by the river Danube. In the middle of the Danube was an island called “Elizabeth’s Island”, and one day some of my friends and I went to the island sight-seeing (complete with cameras and binoculars).

On that island there was a city park… and in the park was a track where several young men were practicing for a race. We were told they were practicing for a track meet with Austria the next week. From a distance I could tell that these men were carrying odd batons, so I asked a friend for binoculars and focused in on them. What I saw shocked me. The batons the racers were carrying were machine guns (apparently they had no intention of letting the competition get ahead).

Later that day we ventured into the main city and were admiring the beautiful buildings. At one point we were walking along the sidewalk beside an imposing building on our left. One of the things that puzzled us was a plastic chain link fence along sidewalk. We had no idea why it was there until we heard a man shout “NYET!”

We were so startled we jumped over the fence and turned to face a stern Russian soldier with a machine gun. Unknowingly we had been walking beside a prison… and the soldier was not happy about it.

For the college students in the Glee Club, going to Europe was an adventure.

An adventure in a foreign and exotic land.

But were we “Brave adventurers”???

Nah.

We were nowhere near being brave.

And were just sight seers. And we were shocked to find a dangerous and forbidding land where soldiers and track stars all seemed to carry weapons. We were nowhere near being “bold”. In fact, we were so obviously “just kids” that the soldier was probably having a little fun with us.

But now, as Christians, God has called us to be bold adventurers.

He’s called us to face certain danger.

He’s called us to go on a mission… a mission to show this world exactly what Christianity is all about.

Jesus described us this way: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

I used salt to season my food. And I turn on lights to light up a room.

But if salt and light don’t fulfil their purpose - if they’re hidden away and not used - they are literally USELESS to me.

And that’s what Jesus was saying to us in the Sermon on the Mount: We’ve been called to fulfill a purpose. We’ve been called to be more than just a bunch of folks who sit inside the 4 walls of a church building and just sit there. We’ve been called to be bold in our faith and to share that faith in Jesus with others.