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.
I’d like to challenge you to try this radical experiment for a year…test the claims, just see if the will of Stone doesn’t become a heart of flesh…maybe Jesus will cease to be your religion and start being your savior.
The challenge is for 1 year and it involves 5 components…I dare you over the next year to…
1) PRAY FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD 2) READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE WORD 3) SACRIFICE YOUR MONEY FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE 4) SPEND YOUR TIME IN ANOTHER CONTEXT AND 5) COMMIT YOUR LIFE TO A MULTIPLYING COMMUNITY.
I PRAY FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD.
Sounds vague doesn’t it…over whelming…How can I pray for the entire world Rick? How can I pray effectively and specifically for the entire world?
Here’s how it can be effective and why it’s so essential.
Last week we examined Matt 10…where Jesus gave his disciples instructions for going into the world, but before he told them to do anything else…Jesus told them to pray.
And what is surprising is what he told them to pray for…
Jesus looked around, saw the multitude harassed and helpless...like sheep without a shepherd….He’s moved with compassion so he turns to his disciples and says “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore, to send out workers into His harvest fields” (Matt 9: 36-38)
Why would Jesus look at the multitude of people who needs so much and then turn to his disciples and tell them to pray for those who would help them….not them, but those who would go to them?
The answer is humbling…when Jesus looked at the lost and hopeless apparently His concern was not that the lost and hopeless would come to the Father….His concern was that His followers would not go to the lost.
Jesus says, “Pray…pray, for the entire world but the most urgent need isn’t how they will respond but who will go…Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out Christians into the field….(man…and be prepared for what He’ll do to arrange it and fund it.)
This is the step you and I are most likely to ignore and yet it’s the most dangerous to overlook or give slight urgency to…We have seen how inadequate our resources and abilities are to accomplish anything of value apart from the power of God…
We are a planning, strategizing, implementing, busy people…We are reactionary people… Jesus is saying “Be proactive in your players for the entire world…and what God does and who He does it through.
Prayer can lead to effects for beyond what we can imagine…I’m daring you to intentionally specifically, courageously pray for God’s purpose to be accomplished around the world. And next
II READ THROUGH THE ENTIRE WORD
The second challenge in this radical experiment is to read through the entire Bible in a year…Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21…and all 31, 101 verses in between…do this in the course of a year.
There is no other book like the Bible…it’s God’s word…breathed out from His heart…it’s living, active and sharp…
It’s what prepares us and it’s the weapon that protects and propels us.
God’s people have settled for “Bible Life” for way too long…It’s what unites us with our brothers and sisters around the world…Many of them using their very lives in order to study it.
The point is this…makes a commitment to read through the entire word of God this year…it is the only book that reads you better then you read it.
God reveals Himself in His Word…It is the only Book that he has promised to bless by His Spirit to transform you and I into the image of Jesus…It’s the only book that will bring our hearts, minds and lives into alignment with Him…
We need a Radical transformation in the way we think…and God’s word is the only method that can perform this work…this is the 2nd component of the experiment: Read the entire Bible in a year! The 3rd component…
III SACRIFICE YOUR MONEY FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE.
Not just give…sacrifice…Our hearts always follow our money…The key word here is sacrifice that means “Giving up something it hurts to give up.”
Sacrifice is not giving according to your ability; it’s giving beyond your ability.
We are an efferent people living in an impoverished world…if we make 10, 0000 dollars a year we are wealthier than 84% of the world. If we make 50,000 wealthier than 99% of the world.
Materialism is a battle we each fight in our lives…How we spend our resources reveals to priorities of our heart.
And for a year I would ask you to sacrifice your money for a specific purpose…A gospel centered purpose, a church focused purpose, a tangible purpose (one that’s measurable, real and specific)…(That’s a name)
Maybe you cannot do this forever, but identify , above your tithe, a sacrifice that’s costly to you, that benefits the Kingdom of God…this isn’t charity I’m talking about…it’s a heart check that involves your wallet…
And the 4th component of this radical experiment…
IV SPEND YOUR TIME IN ANOTHER CONTEXT
Here’s where things get personal…It’s not just about giving, but going as well…Here is the component that will touch your heart in a way that it never has before.
I don’t know if you’ve ever gone anywhere away from home to share the gospel or care for the needy in the name of Christ, but this year you make a commitment to do so…
There will be all kinds of excuses…Now this doesn’t fit into your agenda…but unless you go in the name of Christ you will never identify with the Christ who left heaven for God’s eternal purposes.
God only had one son…and He was a missionary.
The 4th challenge in this radical experiment….give some of your time in the next year to making the gospel known in a context outside of Louisville….How about 2% of your time…this year I will commit 1 week to take the gospel to another context in the world…the point is not where we go, how we get there, or even how long we stay the point is simply that we go.
The challenge is, as an individual or as a family to spend 2% of your time over the next year going to another context in the world with the gospel.
And the 5th radical component of this one year experiment…
V COMMIT YOUR LIFE TO A MULTIPLYING COMMUNITY
This one is last, because it’s where the other four challenges come together.
You see Christ’s command to make disciples is an invitation to give our lives for the sake of others. God has created us for community with one another and the community we were created for is called the church.
As part of a vibrant community of faith you will have support and encouragement to live out your intention to be radically abandoned for Jesus.
When you surrendered to Christ…He saved you…God added you to the universal body of Christ, united with brothers and sisters across the world and across History in a heavenly community…
But it is also the New Testament pattern for us to be part of a local body of Christ, a gathering…a fellowship of brothers and sisters in a particular location where our Christianity comes to life…It is God’s design for the local church to effect every facet of our Christian lives.
We pray, but we don’t pray alone…we read through the word, but Godly mentors help us understand and live it out. We sacrifice our money for a specific purpose and we spend time in another context, but we are not Lone Rangers trying to accomplish the purpose of God alone…Our giving and our going must b e tied to the multiplying of the church.
If we are going to live in radical obedience to Christ, we will need the church to do it…we will need to show one another how to give liberally, go urgently and live dangerously…
I’m gonna pray and Jeff is going to come and extend the invitation…with some specifics for your to consider in the Radical Experiment.
