Valerie Catura of Diamond Bar, California, was going over one of her memory verses before the lunch rush at the restaurant where she worked as a waitress. The verse was Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
Then her first table of customers arrived; but instead of greeting them with her usual, “Hello, are you ready to order,” she said, “Hello, are you ready to live?” (Valerie Catura, Diamond Bar, CA. “Heart to Heart,” Today's Christian Woman, 1997)
They all had a good laugh, but the incident raises a serious question I want us to consider this morning – Are YOU ready to live? Are you ready to live life on the edge and enjoy it to the full? If you are, then turn with me to Acts 5, Acts 5, where we see a group of believers in the 1st century living life on the edge. Sure, it was risky, but that didn’t seem to dampen their spirits at all.
Acts 5:12-16 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico (in the Temple Courts). None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. (ESV)
God was doing a great work in this 1st Century Church – so great that it scared some people away, but many came to believe in the Lord, and their numbers increased. They were living life on the edge. They were living way out of their comfort zone, in the place where few dared to join (vs.13), but in the place where God delights to work.
How about you and me? How about us in the 21st century church? I challenge you…
DARE TO LIVE LIFE ON THE EDGE.
Dare to step out of your comfort zone. Dare to put yourself in the place where few dare to join? Dare to attempt something so far beyond your ability that God would have to perform a miracle to make it work. It’s the only way we’re going to grow. It’s the only way we’re going to progress as a church.
Dr. Palmer Chinchen in his book, True Religion, talks about traveling to the western edge of Zimbabwe to raft the Zambezi River. They boarded their raft at the base of the Victoria Falls where massive amounts of water spilled over the top and dropped almost a thousand feet. The roar was deafening and water from the falls rushes down the gorge in torrents, creating the world's largest rapids. In the United States, the highest-class rapid you are allowed to raft is a Class 5. The Zambezi's whitewater rapids can top 7 and 8…
Dr. Chinchen sat on the edge of the eight-person raft, all suited up in a tight, overstuffed jacket and a thick crash helmet. He felt like an overcautious tourist about to mount an overpowered moped in Honolulu… “The Zambezi can't be that dangerous, can it?” he thought to himself.
But then their guide [said], “WHEN the raft flips…” There was no “IF the raft flips” or “Or on the off chance we get flipped.” No. The guide said, “WHEN the raft flips, stay in the rough water. You will be tempted to swim toward the stagnate water at the edge of the banks. Don't do it. Because it is in the stagnate water that the crocs wait for you. They are large and hungry. Even when the raft flips, stay in the rough water.” (Palmer Chinchen, PhD, True Religion, David C. Cook, 2010,, pp. 55-57; www.Preaching Today.com)
That’s good advice for all of us who follow Christ, because stagnancy will kill your spirit. My dear friends, resist the stagnancy. Instead, get out into the rough waters, pouring your lives into people. Live in the whitewater. Live where it's just a little bit uncertain and unsafe, because that’s what following Christ is all about.
Jesus Himself said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:34-35)
Jesus calls us to risk our lives for Him. Jesus calls us to get into rough water and go with Him into some pretty scary places.
Bill Gaither once said, “I grew up seeing people attending church, dressing the right way and acting and saying all the right things, but never really affecting the world much... I don't think we're of any earthly value if we don't risk getting our hands and feet dirty to try to go to where the people are.” (Marriage Partnership, Vol.9, No.1, 1998)
Dare to get your hands and feet dirty. Dare to get out of your comfort zone. Dare to go where few dare to go. Someone once said…
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try at all is to risk failure.
But risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The man, the woman, who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, p.129)
Are you ready to live? Then take a risk. Dare to live life on the edge with Christ. And…
DON’T LET ANYBODY STOP YOU.
Don’t let anything get in your way. Never give up. Never quit. Certainly, don’t let some jealous people stop you. The 1st century church didn’t.
Acts 5:17-21a But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.
The apostles (or church leaders) became very popular. The other religious leaders got jealous, so they arrested the apostles. An angel let them out, and the apostles went right back to preaching and teaching in the temple courts.
I don’t know about you, but I think I would have found another place to minister. I think I would have tried to avoid any more trouble. Not these people. They went right back to the place where they were arrested.
They didn’t a group jealous people stop them, and neither should we. Let me tell you: when God calls you to step out of your comfort zone, when God calls you to do something big for Him, and you dare to do it, then count on it – others will envy you; others will get jealous as God begins to work through you. And don’t be surprised if that jealousy comes from others in the religious community, from those who should be supporting you, rather than trying to tear you down.
Sometimes people are like sea gulls. Philip Yancey says, “[Sea gulls] are so fiercely competitive and jealous that if you tie a red ribbon around the leg of one gull, making him stand out, you sentence him to execution. The others in the flock will furiously attack him with claws and beaks, hammering through feathers and flesh to draw blood. They'll continue until he lies flattened in a bloody heap.” (As quoted by James Dobson in The Strong Willed Child, 1995)
Jealousy does that to people, as well.
In the late 1800’s, D. L. Moody was leading hundreds of people to Christ. As a result, he received a lot of criticism from fellow pastors. They were jealous of his success. One of them reamed him out for the way he invited people to come forward after his services.
Moody listened patiently and then replied, “I agree with you brother. I don’t altogether like the method myself, and I am always looking for a better one. What is yours?”
The man was dumbfounded. He had no method of inviting people to trust Christ.
Across the Atlantic, at about the same time, Charles Hadden Spurgeon was busy growing a church in London. Unlike Moody, he didn’t invite people to come forward after his services. He invited them to come to his office later in the week if they had any questions. Do you know, he led dozens of people to Christ each week, and his church grew from 80 to 6,000 people in just 7 years.
Do you think the other pastors in London were thrilled? No! They were jealous of Spurgeon’s success. They wrote editorials against him in the papers, calling him “vulgar” and “theatrical,” “an insult to God and man.” One writer called his sermons “outrageous manifestations of insanity.”
Another pastor called Spurgeon “a young upstart (he was only 26 at the time) in whom he could not find the least evidence of saving grace and concluded that he probably had never been converted.” Some of the accusations are too crude to be repeated in mixed company.
That’s what happens when you dare to do something big for God. People get jealous, and they do everything they can to stop you. Don’t let them.
Don’t let their jealousy stop you, and don’t let their dictates stop you, either. Don’t let them bully you into quitting. The 1st Century Church didn’t.
Acts 5:21b-24 Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. (ESV)
This is humorous. The supreme court of Israel meets to judge prisoners they no longer have. Guards are carefully guarding empty cells, and nobody can find a few men that are literally right under their noses in the Temple Courts.
Acts 5:25-28 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” (ESV)
They ordered the apostles to stop preaching Jesus. Now they are trying to bully them into stopping, but Peter and the other apostles refuse.
Acts 5:29-32 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” (ESV)
They preach Jesus to the very people who told them to stop. They accuse the Jewish leaders of opposing God Himself, and they declare that they will obey God rather than men.
The 1st century church didn’t let the dictates of men stop them from doing what God had called them to do. They didn’t let a bunch of jealous, power-hungry people keep them from stepping out of their comfort zone, and neither should we.
The Three-Self-Church is the state-approved church in China, the largest nation in the world with a billion people. Leith Anderson, a godly pastor, talks about being in Beijing where he attended a service in one of the Three-Self-Churches. He recalls a hundred-year-old building, a translator, and some familiar hymns. They read the Bible. They had prayers, and there was a sermon, right from the Bible. It was a good service.
The only problem is they’re not allowed to share their faith outside the four walls of their building. In order to become an approved church, free from government harassment, they made a deal with the state. The state told them, “You can do your thing as long as your thing doesn't include persuading somebody else.”
On the other hand, there are about 50 million Christians in China who have chosen not to associate with the Three-Self Church. They meet in illegal house churches, because they're convinced you can't be a Christian unless you evangelize. (Leith Anderson, “Making More Disciples,” Preaching Today, Tape No.165)
Christ has made it very clear: We are to be His witnesses. And these Christians have chosen to obey God rather than man. Their pastors are imprisoned. Their people are persecuted, but the house-church movement is growing so fast in China, nobody can keep track of it.
In our country, we face far less persecution, we face far less opposition, and yet too often we let the threat of ridicule, the threat of rejection, or even the threat of a law suit stop us from sharing our faith.
Let’s not do it anymore. Dare to live life on the edge. Dare to let God use you in a big way, and don’t let anybody stop you. Don’t let their jealousy stop you. Don’t let their dictates stop you.
And don’t let their threats stop you either. Not the threat of pain, Not the threat of rejection, not even the threat of death. The 1st Century Church didn’t.
Acts 5:33-34 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. (ESV)
Gamaliel was the top teacher of his day, head of the school of Hillel, a seminary president (if you will). He ordered the apostles out of the meeting.
Acts 5:35-39 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice… (ESV)
Gamaliel is exactly right! If what you’re doing is just your own idea, then you will fail, but if it’s from God, then nothing can stop you. Either way, the best thing for your detractors to do is to let you alone.
Acts 5:40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them (i.e., they flogged them, whipping them 39 times) and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go… (ESV)
…Then the apostles left the Sanhedrin, remorseful because they had suffered so much, and they vowed never to mention the name of Jesus again. Is that what your Bible says? No!
Acts 5:41-42 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.
These guys don’t know when to stop, do they? In chapter 4, they were arrested at the Temple and released. In chapter 5, they were arrested and released, recaptured, flogged, & then released again. And where do you see them? Right back at the Temple and everywhere, “teaching and preaching the Christ is Jesus.”
They didn’t let the murderous threats of others stop them, and neither should we.
I remember when Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry were rescued from the Taliban now more than ten years ago. Do you know what happened after they were rescued? They began to make plans to go back to Afghanistan. A reporter asked them, “Have you considered not going back and using the platform you have now to help evangelicals become aware not only of the needs of Afghans but of the Muslim world?”
Mercer replied, “Everybody has a great plan for our lives. It's really funny: ‘You should do this, you should do that.’ All of this has actually solidified the desire of my heart to go and live among the poor and invest in people one life at a time and, I hope, see local churches established among people where there's never been a church before. I'm more confident than ever that spending my life on that and being obscure forever really can change the world.”
The reporter then challenged her. “Some missions observers praise you for your zeal in evangelism, but wonder whether your situation might make it harder for missionaries who try to fly in under the radar and do things quietly. Do you feel like it's going to be harder to reach Muslims in that part of the world?”
I love Heather’s reply. She said, “I'm sure it will affect people as they look at going back. But I rest in the fact that… God has sovereignly put all of this together. It has nothing to do with us; we're just trying to respond to God in the midst of it…”
She continued, “Others will disagree or agree, but there will be a point in this whole area of missions among Muslims where you're not going to be able to slip under the radar anymore. If we're going to see the glory of God and local communities of believers established in these places where there's never been a gospel witness before, it's going to mean people standing up in the midst of persecution saying, ‘Yes, I follow Jesus. I know it's not the popular thing here, but I'm going to boldly make known his name.’ And it will cost people their lives.
“We can't forever be incognito Christians and expect it to happen. The church is grown and birthed in the midst of persecution. It was that way in the New Testament, and I believe it will be that way in our generation, too.” (Stan Guthrie and Wendy Murray Zoba, “Double Jeopardy,” Christianity Today, June 28, 2002)
Wow! Doesn’t that make you want to stand up and applaud? Heater Mercer and Dayna Curry were not content to be incognito Christians, like so many others. They were not content to live a comfortable life of ease, away from the difficult places where God loves to work. NO! They dared to be on the cutting edge, and they were not going to let anything stop them from doing what they knew God wanted them to do.
How about you and me? Are you ready to live? Then dare to step out of your comfort zone. Dare to put yourself in the place where few venture to go? Dare to attempt something so far beyond your ability that God would have to perform a miracle to make it work. Dare to live life on the edge, and don’t let anyone or anything stop you.
People who stand still may avoid stubbing their toes, but they won't make much progress. So…
Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings. (William P. Merrill)
