“SOMEONE WORTH LOSING EVERTHING FOR”
(Radical #1)
John 6: 53-66 (p755) Sept. 4, 2011
If Jesus tarries, over the next 9 weeks we’re going to examine what it means to Radically follow Jesus Christ…Our missions committee chairman, Doug Lucas asked if I might mention the book “Radical” by David Plat…and use some quotes in my upcoming sermons.
I told him I think I can do a little better than that since it’s one of my favorite books..and one of the most challenging CALLS facing the American Church today.
Maybe it’s one of those “God Winks” or “God Incidences” that I had been recently challenged by this book…and then they choose to make it a study for future missions planning…so I’ll try to use this theme, remain connected to God’s word…and be “Radical” through it all!
By the way the sub title for David Platt’s book is “Taking Back your Faith from the American Dream and the challenge is
“For Christians to wake up, trade in fake values rooted in the American Dream, and embrace the notion that each of us is blessed by God for a global purpose”.
My first 5 years or so at Fern Creek Christian Church were kind of the ones you dream about in ministry.
I felt without a doubt God had brought me and my family here…and I think the church felt much the same way…Fern Creek was healing…had gone through a difficult time… numbers had dropped.
But over the next few years God began to increase us…it felt really good to outgrow our facilities…it was the American minister’s dream to say, “We’ve doubled in size…we’re building a new facility.” Pictures in the paper, articles about our new place and our ministries. I started thinking about being a church of 1,000….I really did and do believe that every number is a soul…and each soul counts…so part of me always wants to grow…be bigger, reach more…it’s the American church dream.
But there a flip side to this coin…one that’s always challenged me….almost yelled at me spiritually and ministerally…
1.
“CROWDS DON’T EQUAL DISCIPLESHIP!” NUMBERS DON’T EQUAL SUCCESS
That’s not what my culture says…”Bigger is better….Popularity equals fame…the bigger the crowd, the better the minister”.
And my measuring rod for success is Jesus…not the American dream… and Jesus spent most of his ministry time with 12 men. When he left earth he had only about 120 people who were sticking around and doing what he told them to do…not exactly a mega church, huh?
Jesus…the founder of the mini-church! Who had a habit of turning away thousands of people…When the crowd got too big he’d say—“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
I have to tell you this request is probably not found in any church growth literature.
Can’t you imagine Peter….whispering to James (probably a pretty loud whisper too)…”Oh Man…not the drink my blood speech! We’ll never get on the list of fastest growing movements if you keep asking them to eat you!”
Jesus clearly wasn’t interested in building a crowd…he wasn’t interested in marketing himself to the masses…by the end of this speech only 12 men remained…the crowd left…and Jesus was o.k. with that…because
I RADICAL OBEDIENCE FOCUSES ON THE FEW THAT BELIEVE HIM.
Folks, this is a radical statement…so radical the crowds dessert Jesus. “My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink” might make a little sense to many of us now because of communion…but there is no such context for this crowd..even the disciples say….
“This is a hard saying…who can accept it?” And they start to mummer…grumble to each other about this…”Eat his flesh…drink his blood…that’s crazy…that’s too radical a teaching!”
And Jesus responds “Does this offend you?” The answer is yes! It did!!!
And here comes the radical challenge for American Christians today.
1) Do we believe Jesus enough we accept his radical message even though it drives the crowd away?
And then the bigger challenge:
2) Will We Obey JESUS?
Maybe our greatest fear in America is that we’ll do exactly what most people did when they encountered Jesus in the 1st century. Hear his words and walk away…content to settle for our definition of what it means to follow Him…Instead of Radical Obedience I am content with the American definition of “Christian.”
Many times that just means someone who believes in God…for many it’s something like this…”I don’t want to go to Hell!…So I’ll take enough of Jesus to get to heaven, but not enough to change my daily lifestyle.”
Francis Chan in the book “Crazy Love” says:
“Some people claim that we can be Christians without becoming disciples…I wonder then why the last thing Jesus told us was “to go into the world, and as we are going make disciples of all NATIONS, teaching them to “obey” all that He commanded?
You’ll notice that he didn’t add “But Hey, if that’s too much to ask, tell them just to become Christians---you know, the people who get to go to heaven without having to commit to anything.”
James 2:19 says “You believe there is One God, Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.” God doesn’t just want us to have good theology. He wants us to know and love Him.
Listen to 1 John 2: 3-4 (p 862).
That’s pretty radical isn’t it?---that verse means…”that the person who claims to know God, but doesn’t obey His commands is a liar and that the truth isn’t in Him.
And who are the people that claim to know God in American. Where are they found?
Anyone? ------------“The Church”
I sure don’t have all the answers…I’m seeking and searching as well…but it sure seems that we in the church cannot continue with business as usual…Are we willing to take an honest look at the Jesus of the Bible and dare to ask what the consequences might be if we really believed him and really obeyed Him?
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it… (Matt 16: 24-25). And in Luke 14:33 He says…. “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”
That’s an invitation…but it’s a radical invitation that many will hear, but only a few will follow. I love how David Platt in the book “Radical” deals with how powerful this invitation really is…He says…
“If Jesus is who he says he is and if his promises are as rewarding as the Bible claims they are, then we may discover that satisfaction in our lives and success in the church are not found in what our culture deems most important, but in radical abandonment to Jesus.”
Here’s the $64,000 question for us as American Christians. At least I know it is for me.
II. How Do I Recognize the Radical Without Rationalizing it Away?
Jesus told the rich young ruler to go sell everything he possessed and give the money to the poor and then come follow Him.
But Jesus didn’t ask Nicodemus to do that. Why?
Here’s my answer: Jesus is able to discern the things we love most, maybe even more than Him, and the call to radically obey His word was different for Nicodemus and the rich young ruler because Jesus knew their hearts and He knew God’s purpose for their lives.
If we genuinely, radically choose to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus we can be assured that that which we love most will be “tested.”
This next year we’ll spend about $400,000 toward our mortgage on this building and we’ll commit about $120,000 toward missions. Does this say something about what we love the most? Is this the norm for an American church? What do you think? Yes, if you are an American success.
But what would happen spiritually to our church if we make a commitment to reverse these figures in five years? To become a church that radically is committed to reaching the lost of this world. That’s taking a next step, isn’t it? From being radical followers of Christ to becoming a radical community of faith. And I believe that through this process individuals would experience God’s personal call. A call that asks, “Is Jesus something or someone who is work losing everything for?”
Conclusion: In Matthew 13 Jesus tells his disciples “The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it he hid it again and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
I like this story. Suppose you were out hunting or hiking, found a box of 20 dollar U.S. gold pieces buried under a tree. I mean a huge treasure trove. Maybe five or six hundred pieces. It’s more valuable than anything you’ve ever seen or will see. It’s too heavy to carry so you cover it up, go home and sell everything you own and buy that old hunting pasture.
Your friends and family think you’re nuts. “What the heck are you doing? That’s a crazy investment.” You respond, “I’ve got a hunch.” And you smile as you walk away. You smile because you know that you’re not really giving up everything at all. Yes, you’re abandoning everything you own, but you’re gaining more than you could in any other way.
So with joy you abandon it. With joy you sell it because you have found something worth losing everything for. This is the picture of Jesus in the Gospel. He is the treasure. And I think many times we’ve turned away from Him in search of trinkets.
The American dream isn’t our treasure. Jesus is. We need to return with urgency to a Biblical gospel because the cost of not doing so is great for our lives, our families, our churches and the world around us.
For the sake of more than one billion people who have never heard the gospel will we risk it all? For the sake of 26 thousand children who will die today of starvation or preventable diseases will we risk it all?
For the sake of my life, my family and the people who surround me will I risk it all?
This is our journey as we seek to radically follow Jesus.
Let’s pray.
