#7 Taking The Leap Of Faith

Maximum Impact #7

Taking the leap of faith

This week, we will work on THE issue that has the potential to keep more people from living a maximum impact life that makes a difference than any other thing– FEAR! I am convinced that outside of love, fear is the most common driving emotion felt by human beings.

Ill. Fear has filled America’s news this week as with the continuing economic turmoil. AIG, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, teetered on the edge of insolvency until the US Gov’t offered $80 Billion in an emergency bridge loan! Lehman Bros., a huge financial firm and brokerage, collapsed as a result of having too much invested in mortgages on properties that are not worth what is owed against them! The fear has broght paralysis to the flow of money on the international funds markets and is rippling down to ordinary citizens, who now wonder what is happening to pensions, retirement funds, and nest eggs.

Many of us in this room, let our decisions be FEAR driven, without even knowing it! We may not recognize it as such because fear doesn’t always wear the face of terror from tyranny or some other immediate threat. Sometimes it is a less defined ghostly influence that whispers ‘what-if,’ ‘maybe,’ or ‘could be!’

Listen to a story that Pastor John Ortberg tells.

Florence died. In the attic of her home, her grand-daughter found the most exquisite set of china she had ever seen. It was a hand-painted set made in Bavaria before WW II. No one in the family remembered EVER seeing the china set for dinner. After inquiries were made to older members of the family, it was discovered that when Florence was very young she was given the china over a period of years. As she received each piece she carefully wrapped it and put it away to use for a 'special' occasion.

No occasion ever came along and Florence's precious china remained in the boxes unused after 60 years, hidden in the attic. It would have been given away to the Salvation Army had not an observant grand-daughter taken time to open some old boxes! Now those beautiful dishes grace the table at the Ortberg home at every excuse for an occasion!

If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat, Ortberg

Fear is a subtle emotion that disguises itself. Sometimes it is camouflaged as caution, and other times it hides in the garb of prudence. “I’m not fearful,” we say, “just cautious.” Most of us prefer the tried and true to living on the edge, the predictable to the spontaneous. The result is that in far too many lives treasures are locked away, never enjoyed, never shared -- in some mistaken attempt to avoid risk.

· There are couples who choose not to have children because they are afraid they might not 'turn out right.' Their choice allows them to avoid sleepless nights with colicky babies and curfew dodging teenagers, but they never have the incomparable joy of a little one's kisses or the pride of seeing their progeny become productive, God-loving adults, either.

· There are thousands who choose not to marry pointing to the risk of a broken heart, of infidelity, of the pain of rejection. They will never know the pleasure of being one in heart and spirit with another either. Their love is like that treasure packed away in an attic!

· And, too, millions will never risk ministry in Jesus' name. They will take the love of God for themselves but never share it. They will never be embarrassed by failure, but they will never discover the joy that comes from giving away God's grace and feeling the glow of His pleasure.

You know what I’m talking about, I’m sure. It’s called a ‘comfort zone.’

Wayne Cadeiro writes in his book –– Dream Releasers – these provocative words:

“The richest place on the earth is not the diamond mines of South Africa or the gold caches of Ecuador. It is not the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, or in the uranium excavations of the Balkans. Neither is it in the mineral deposits of the Dead Sea.

No, the richest plot of land on this planet is in your very own neighborhood. You might even have passed by it this morning. It’s the cemetery. That’s right! The graveyard is the wealthiest place in all of creation. Beneath those rectangular pieces of sod lie countless unsung melodies and unwritten poems. The grassy plots overflow with brilliant ideas that could have transformed entire communities, rehabilitated the lost and borne hope to the weary. Our burial grounds reek with unattained successes and unrealized dreams.”

I don’t mean to imply that all routine is bad, or that proper caution is all bad. Establishing patterns and routines lets us be productive because those routines allow us to complete many of life’s tasks without having to plan or think about what we’re doing.