Risk Takers
Matthew 10:16-22, The Message
Elizabeth Elliott wrote a book called, Through Gates of Splendor. In it, she tells the story of her husband, Jim, who was one of the five missionaries killed as they tried to evangelize the Waodani tribe in Ecuador. What is so amazing to me is that the wives of these five men went back with their young children and won over to Christ the very men who killed their husbands. I don’t know how many of us really realize what we’re signing up for when we say yes to Jesus. But we are called to take great risks in the name of Jesus.
Do you remember the 33 Chilean miners who spent 69 days underground? One of the miners who was a part of that company, but not on that shift, was waiting for his friends to be rescued, and this is what he said, “These are the risks that go with our jobs, it’s the only life we know, it’s our way of life and it’s our way of death.” Every miner who enters a mine is very aware of the inherent risk of their work and the commitment they’ve made to the job. Now, when we embrace the mission of Jesus, we make a commitment to hazardous work. And yet one of the things we see in the church today is that following Jesus has become something far less than that. It’s more about comfort than danger and belief rather than faith.
There’s a difference between faith and belief. Jesus calls us to have faith. Faith is physical. It is hard work. It is dangerous and it comes with great risks. Belief is mental and easy. When you say yes to Jesus, you make a commitment to follow him into service even unto death. The first followers of Jesus believed following him meant that they would literally follow him to the cross, that they would die for their faith in service of Jesus himself and the mission of God. That’s how Jesus’ life ended and so they just assumed theirs would end as well if they were faithful to the Gospel. Making a commitment to follow Jesus is not unlike making a commitment to join the military and going to Iraq or Afghanistan. When you do that, you surrender your will, you surrender your freedom and you surrender your plans, all for the greater good: freedom. As a soldier, when you surrender your life, you are willing to die for your country. And when you surrender your life to Jesus, you’re willing to lose it all for the sake of the Gospel.
Following Jesus is the difference between being a servant and a volunteer. A volunteer is still in control of their own time because they serve when it’s convenient. But a servant serves at the will God and the needs of others. In Acts 20:22 Paul says, “I’m now compelled by the spirit…” and that means Paul moves under the discretion of the spirit….” “And now compelled by the spirit; I’m going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city when I have preached, imprisonment and hardships faced me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me, the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” When you are a servant of God, you go where the Spirit leads and embrace whatever may happen, knowing that the only thing that really matters is faithfulness to the mission of God by sharing the Good News.
Remember, the call isn’t age specific. It’s for the young and old. Abraham was called by God at 75 to move, on foot mind you, from Northen Israel to Egypt. Can you imagine the energy you would expend in this odyssey at this point of your life? You can’t use the excuse that you’re too old or too young. David was called when he was just a child. Moses was 80 years old when God spoke to him at the burning bush. It doesn’t matter if you are male or female. Esther was a Jewish woman who was in the king’s harem. She did not reveal her Jewish identity because the king had ordered genocide against the Jews. But, her uncle challenged her to go to the king on behalf of all Jews and she responded, I love this line, “If I perish, I perish.” I don’t know if we really understand what we sign up for when we are saying yes to Jesus but this is the spirit of that commitment and sacrifice to the point of even death.
Faith makes us dangerous, sisters and brothers. Belief is nothing. But faith makes you dangerous because we expect opposition and persecution. Listen to Jesus again, “Be on your guard. You will be handed over to local councils, and flogged in the synagogues. On my account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.” Matthew 10:17-18 Remember, faith is physical, demanding and costly. Belief is mental and easy. Everywhere the disciples went, there were riots. In Thessalonica, a mob attacked and drug the disciples before the city officials and said, (I love this line in the Bible) “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have come here also.” Don’t you love that? “These people who have caused trouble all over the world have come here also.” We’ve got to remember that we’re confronting principalities and powers. We are called to challenge the status quo because the world is not about the will and values of God which will always be opposition.
The call is revolutionary. Do you really realize what you are signing up for when you say yes to Jesus? Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to Earth.” Matthew 10:34 Why do we think when we come to Jesus, life is going to be more peaceful? “I didn’t come to bring peace but the sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be members of your own household. Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” In Luke, Jesus goes on to say, “Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciple.” Now, if any of you want to sign up for THAT, come on down! When I went to Haiti, I was amazed at how many people were worried for my safety. Me? Not at all. First, I know that UMCOR never puts us in danger. But secondly, if something did happen, I could see no better way to die than in the service of God.
William Wilberforce was converted to Christianity while a member of British Parliament in the late 1700’s, and spent the rest of his life tirelessly fighting to make slavery and the slave trade illegal in England. He was vilified, persecuted and verbally attacked. Why? He upset the political and economic equilibrium. After 40 years, he finally had victory. How many of you know about Dietrich Bonheoffer? As a Christian, if you only read one book in your life, make sure it is The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonheoffer. The Lutheran church, was the state church, and thus supported Hitler and the Nazi party. Bonheoffer and the people of his church spoke out against both. Dietrich Bonheoffer was considered so dangerous, even though his only weapon was the word of God, that Hitler put him in a concentration camp. Hitler was so mad at what Dietrich Bonheoffer did to undermine him, that he had him hung by piano wire 3 hours before the camp was liberated by Allied forces. Dr. Martin Luther King was also dangerous because he spoke out and marched against racism and segregation. The FBI had him followed and kept tabs on his every move and speech. Why was it like this? Because all of these people challenged the status quo in the name of God. Jesus didn’t come to bring peace, to leave things the way they are, but to upset the equilibrium. “They are going to drag you into synagogues and flog you.”
When Paul and Silas began preaching the real gospel, it upset the financial institutions. Paul and Silas were seized and put into prison. Do you really understand what you’re signing up for? If you do, come on down. You see, persecution and witness are inseparable. The words in Greek for “martyr” and “witness” come from the same root word. Do you know why? Anybody that said yes to Jesus in the first century knew that they had a good chance of dying by the sword or by crucifixion on the cross. All 12 disciples died a martyr’s death. Everything that Jesus was telling them had come to pass. Do you really understand what you’re signing up for?
Let me ask you a question: what do we give up when choosing not to follow Jesus? What do we lose if we don’t follow Jesus? First is eternal Life, which is forever. Second is the joy that Jesus brings, right? What else is the cost of not following Jesus? Third is peace, an inner peace that far surpasses anything the world will understand. It’s a peace that comes in the midst of imprisonment, persecution and even crucifixion. It’s not a peace which comes from a comfortable, trouble-free life but peace that comes in the midst of trouble and tribulation. Fourth is unconditional love. The reason that people keep going from relationship to relationship is that we keep looking for love from another person that will heal and fulfill us. Both will never deliver. Jerry MacGuire had it wrong when he said to Renee Zellweger, “You complete me.” The only one who will complete you is Jesus. If you try to get your needs met by anyone or anything else, you will always be left disappointed. It can only come from Christ. Fifth is purpose and meaning. In his book Tough Times, ___________ says that most women seek to have their greatest need, security, met in their marriage and most men in life seek to have their greatest need of accomplishment through their work. But it is Jesus who can only provide true meaning and purpose, for you were created to be an instrument of salvation for the world.
We have to move from just believing in Jesus to having faith in Jesus, which is dangerous and risky work. If we are going to be on mission for Jesus, we have to keep persevering no matter what. We have to persevere amidst challenges, we have to persevere amidst doubt, we have to persevere amidst fatigue…we have to keep persevering no matter what.
How? First, always be alert. Jesus said, “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves.” Sheep are pretty defenseless, aren’t they? We don’t go out with guns and swords with the Gospel. We go with the word of God and that’s it. Then Jesus says, “Therefore be shrewd as snakes, and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16 Snakes are always alert for predators. Pastors and Christians are falling morally and spiritually all around us. Satan is on the attack so be on alert. The media interviewed the second Chilean miner freed, and here is what he said, “The time down there changed me. God had one hand and the devil had the other hand, and when I was down there, I decided to let go of the devil and hold onto God. I buried 40 years of my life down there, and I’m going to live a lot longer, to be a new person. I think I learned a lot of lessons about taking the good path in life.” Be on the lookout, sisters and brothers, don’t be naïve.
The second important principle of perseverance is to keep stepping out into new places. Don’t get comfortable in your faith. It too easy for people to put their life on cruise control and quit stepping out, and taking risks for the Gospel. We get comfortable and just want to stay where we are. After Moses died, the Israelites were getting ready to cross over from the wilderness to the Holy Land, and God said to them, “I was with Moses, so I will be with you, I will never leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous….Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Keep stepping out. Don’t get comfortable. Take risks and be strong and courageous for God will be with you. Faith is messy, and it involves risk taking.
Third, depend on the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “When we find ourselves in those bizarre situations, it will not be you speaking, but the spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:20 says, “Wherever you are, when you are obeying God, when you are where God wants you to be and doing what he wants you to do, the Holy Spirit is right there working through you. “Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord. I want to ask you, and I want you to think about this and take a moment: “What is God asking you to step out and risk today? Is God asking you to step out and risk serving in a new area? What is God asking you to step out and risk today?
Let us join together in this prayer, and this is really a prayer to be a risk-taker. Are you ready to step out on faith and be a risk-taker? Let’s pray. “Lord, may my life be lived fully forward, penetrated throughout by love. Demonstrating faith that sees God life in all things. Hope that stands firm in challenge. Power to do right in the face of evil. Father God, may the cross-shaped yoke of Christ rest on my shoulders; not as a weight of burden, but as an instrument of liberation and power, a reminder of the presence of Christ. May my vision be focused on Christ alone, the fulfillment of the highest human possibilities and life on the highest plain.”
