One Year To A Life Turned Upside Down Series

THE RADICAL EXPERIMENT

Matt 9: 36-38 (p687) October 30, 2011

INTRODUCTION:

INTRO,- ILL. - A journalist was assigned to the Jerusalem bureau of his newspaper. He got an apartment overlooking the Wailing Wall. After several weeks he realized that whenever he looked at the wall he saw an old Jewish man praying vigorously.

The journalist wondered whether there was a publishable story here. He went down to the wall, introduced himself and said” “I see that you come every day to the wall. What are you praying for?”

The old man replied: What am I praying for? In the morning I pray for world peace, then I pray for the brotherhood of man. I go home, have a glass of tea, and I come back to the wall to pray for the eradication of illness and disease from the earth.”

The journalist was taken by the old man’s sincerity and persistence. “You mean you have been coming to the wall to pray every day for these things.” The old man nodded.

“How long have you been coming to the wall to pray for these things/”

The old man became reflective and then replied: How long? Maybe twenty, twenty-five years.”

The Amazed journalist finally asked: How does it feel to come and pray every day for over 20 years for these things?”

“How does it feel?” the old man replied. “It feels like I’m talking to a wall.”

Over the last nine weeks we’ve delved deep into the question. “What does it mean to be a “Radical” follower of Jesus Christ? You’ve heard me challenge all of us to wake up and embrace the truth that each of us is blessed by God for a global purpose.

Many of you have gone even deeper in this “Radical” journey…you’ve read David Platt’s Book, you’ve signed up for the Bible study, and you’ve created your own small discussion group…

You not only have heard Jesus say, “If anyone would come after me…they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.

You believe it’s true and are seeking to discover the specifics in your life…

Some have heard the sermons and maybe perused the book and said, “I know all this is true, but come on…I live in a real world Rick.”

And once again I will remind you of this biblical, New Testament truth…God never uses the masses to change the world…he always uses the committed few.

It would not be the 4 or 5 thousand that show up for a fish sandwich that would go into all the world and make disciples…it would start with 12….no wait…make that 11.

Here are the claims we’ve looked at…Real success is found in radical sacrifice…ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves, but in making much of God. The purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. Meaning is found in community not in individualism…and ultimately, Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know experience and enjoy.

But Christianity remains a theory until you test it…these claims are just that…claims until they are tested.

So I’d like you to join me and my family in an experiment.

What’s an experiment? “Webster says “A course of action taken under controlled conditions in order to test a claim.”

The Claim…Jesus said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

But remember …this is just a theory unless you take a course of action that proves it’s real.

Many would just as soon keep their Christianity theoretical…and ironically they test the 1st part of Jesus claim…”As I seek to find my own life…I lose the meaning of life.”

The meaning of a Christians life is simple…we’ve seen it in scripture 1) Enjoy God’s Grace 2) Extend God’s Glory.

This has not changed from Abraham to the church. But what happens to a people who forget their purpose…?

I was headed home the other day when I heard Beth Moore read this scripture on the Christian Radio…She was talking about marriage and how a woman should never align herself to a man like this…but it struck me about the church and our Radical commitment to Christ… Here’s the scripture:

2nd Tim 3: 1-7 (p843)

Having a form of godliness, but denying its powers…not only should we not unite with someone like that in marriage, but Have Nothing to do with them “when it comes to living out Christianity.

There is a huge difference between a mannequin and a living breathing person…one looks like a person…one is alive.

We are not to look like the Body of Christ…we are to be the living breathing…Holy Spirit led…body of Jesus. His Bride….not a mannequin.

“The form of godliness keeps Jesus as a theory and the world accepts this form of Christianity without much fuss…but then someone puts the Radical claims of Jesus to a test and it turns the world upside down.