Restoring the Spirit of Adventure
Genesis 6:1-8 and 22 (John 10:10, Hebrews 11)
One of our church members shared with me at one time and she said “I am 100%+ in favor of TIBC moving forward. I have been gravely concerned for several years about the way we have seemed to move only on those projects we could explain or rationalize the means in which to do things. I feel it is time for us as a church to really step out in faith. When have we taken a risk for God? What have we sacrificed for Him?”
These two questions echo what Oswald Chambers teaches through one of his daily devotionals (May 30), and he said: “Suppose God tells you to do something that is an enormous test of your common sense, totally going against it. What will you do? Will you hold back . . .?” Or we say, "Yes, I will obey God if what He asks of me doesn’t go against my common sense, but don’t ask me to take a step in the dark."
Jesus Christ demands the same unrestrained, adventurous spirit in those who have placed their trust in Him that the natural man exhibits. If a person is ever going to do anything worthwhile, there will be times when he must risk everything by his leap in the dark. In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ demands that you risk everything you hold on to or believe through common sense, and leap by faith into what He says. Once you obey, you will immediately find that what He says is as solidly consistent as common sense. ”
(We will learn a real-life example about someone who leaped in the dark – Noah. Scripture reading)
Genesis 6 The Flood 1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with [1] man forever, for he is mortal [2] ; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. 22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Because of the great wickedness of humanity (6:5,11), God resolved to destroy all living beings (6:13) with the exception of righteous Noah and his family (6:9,18). God instructed Noah to make an ark of cypress wood. He told Noah to take his family and seven (pairs) of every clean species and two of every unclean species of animals, birds, and creeping things, along with provisions for the duration of the 40-day flood.
Again, this is another well-known story, for which I do not need to provide a lot of details. And so, suppose God came to you now as He did to Noah and said, “You know, I don’t like the way the world’s going. I think I’m going to start all over so I’m going to flood the earth and begin again with just your family. What I want you to do is to build an ark, bring 2 animals of each kind into it, and then you and your family are going to get on this ark and you’re going to experience the ride of your life.” What would you say to something like that? Would you have any questions or doubts? Some concerns? If I were you, I would probably ask, “What’s an ark for? When will be the flood? What’s rain going to do?” But Noah, according to Scripture, didn’t doubt or argue or delay. He obeyed immediately even though he didn’t fully understand. And sure enough, he had the ride of his life. Therefore, the first principle we draw from the message today is: “Obey God’s command immediately even when you don’t understand it.”
With this principle being understood, we can then further explore and learn some valuable lessons together from Noah. These are something we need to know about a ride of life. We learned from the story of Noah’s Ark…
One: Don’t miss the boat. And don’t miss the timing to build the boat.
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four: Stay fit. Even if you think you’re old like 600-Year-old Noah, someone may still ask you to do something really big.
Five: Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
Six: Build your future on high ground. Store your treasure in heaven.
Seven: For safety’s sake, travel in pairs.
Eight: Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs (chefs?).
Nine: When you’re stressed, float a while. (Raking the leaves – analogy)
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Eleven:No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting
Aren’t these rich lessons from a simple, yet adventurous story like this! Unfortunately, most people are not willing to take a journey of adventure and thus miss out on what life has to offer if we don’t push the limits. In fact, America was established by great adventurers! We conquered a continent and tamed the West, but it seems today that we’re more interested in security and convenience than we are in adventure.
Warning labels on everything, saying “This could be hazardous to your health” These are dumbing down American. We are far more cautious now, we are just not into adventure any more. We have security system of every building, alarms to prevent car thefts or just cassette theft. These are just some examples to show and demonstrate how American value of being adventurous and willing to take risk being minimized over time and created circumstances by insurance companies and law firms.
AFLAC (American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus) slogan: “without it, no insurance is complete” Flyer: “Insurance without AFALAC is like going out in a thunderstorm with a raincoat and no hat! You’re protected, but not all the way! That’s why your company has added AFLAC. Our insurance policies give you the ability to receive cash benefits directly (unless you request otherwise) to help with such necessities as: leftover medical expenses, out-of-pocket costs, everyday living expenses, … and to help replace the loss of income.”
Now, the point is not whether or not these are good products. There will be arguments a-plenty on issues like that. I am addressing a phenomenon of a society. Some insurance most people can and should be able to do without. Some "extended warranties" are usually worth skipping. Don’t worry too much about things you have no control over. We need a generation willing and have the courage to have a spirit of adventure. Life is to be ENJOYED, not ENDURED or imprisoned. John 1010The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. What John is saying here is that Jesus want you to enjoy life, have it in abundance, have it to the fullest, and it will overflow. Does that describe your life?
You might be thinking here, well ‘how do I learn to live like Jesus says? How do I live life as an adventure?’ There is one word in the Bible that answers these questions. It is the word FAITH. And faith is what makes the difference between LIVING and just EXISTING. This leads me to share with you the 2nd principle of the message today: If you want to live a life of adventure, “Give generously even when you don’t have it.” That doesn’t make sense does it? But it will make sense as you listen with attentive ears and sensitive spirit, and understand the will of God for you. Giving and faith go together and God uses our finances to test us. May and I wish to test God on it as He challenge us in Malachi 3:10. We give 20%, which would be considered generous. More than that we give another 5%, which we give based on what we don’t have. But we are giving that additional 5% to God any way in adventure by faith with God!
Have you ever had to decide between paying a bill and tithing? Sure you have, if you tithe. That ‘s a test and God uses finances to test us. Everybody is either a giver or a taker but there are two kinds of givers. “I can give by REASON or I can give by REVELATION.” Let me explain the difference. When I give by reason its real simple. I simply look at what I have and figure out what I can afford and that’s what I give. When I give by reason it doesn’t require any faith at all. In fact, an atheist can give by reason. The second way to give and this makes it an act of worship and adventure is to give by revelation. And here’s where many people fall short. When you give by revelation, you pray and acknowledge that God has more resources than anyone does, but He want to give something to the world through you. How does He do this? Firstly, He calls for obedience to tithe. The first 10% of everything we have received belongs to Him, it is not ours. Secondly, He delights in receiving offering. Offerings beyond tithe are real acts of worship. We did it with another 10%. Thirdly, He invites us to walk in adventure in faith with Him by making a SACRIFICIAL giving. We challenged ourselves with 5% additionally. So the questions become, “what do you want to give through me, Lord?” “How much do you want me to trust you for? That’s giving by REVELATION. It’s asking God to reveal to you what He wants you to give, trusting God to make it possible, and then giving it! How can we do that? That is so contrary to common sense. Here’s the promise: God is able to take care of your needs and more. He is able!
Many of you are already giving by revelation and many more are going to have to give that way if we’re going to accomplish the task that God’s put before us. What I’ve found in giving and what many of you’ve found is that you’ll never truly believe God until you attempt to do something that can’t be done in your own power. You’ve never believed God until you’ve stepped out on a limb and you know you’re bound to fail unless God comes through. That’s what it means to live in adventure in faith God!
For the first time, May and I have challenged ourselves to give far more towards our spiritual home than to our physical home. Prior to this day, our number one outflow cash has been on our mortgage. Not any more. I trust that the Lord will bless more abundantly as we obey His vision to build.
2 Corinthians 9:6 Sowing Generously 6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Now, I am ready to share with you the 3rd principle to follow in order to restore the spirit of adventure: trust God completely even when you don’t feel like it. The truth about us though is that sometimes we just don’t fee like doing the right thing. You may not always feel like being nice to people. You may always feel like putting other people’s needs ahead of your own. You may not always feel like reading the Bible or praying. You may not always feel like forgiving people. But what I have found is this: “Feelings are highly unreliable.” Feelings are very slippery. The way of the world says, you base everything you do on your feelings. If it feels good, do it. If it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it. The way of God says, “don’t base your life on feelings but base your life on faith and that will make it an adventure.
When God called me one day and wanted me to go into ministry. There were, though, in my estimation, a few problems with that. I didn’t have the education or training. I had a big and young family to support. I was 35 years old – probably the golden years to pursuit the worldly pleasures. But perhaps the biggest problem of all was that I didn’t feel want to do it. I can assure you that it was not my idea to go into the ministry. It started out as a simple act of obedience. I didn’t let my feeling dictate my decision; I obeyed God even if I didn’t feel quite like it, even if it did take a while and now May and I are here as a result of that obedience. God honors obedience because that’s exercising faith in Him. It is faith when you obey God when it doesn’t make sense, even when it seems impossible.
Our culture is losing that spirit of adventure. This is why I am preparing the next four messages, which are dealing with the restoration of our lost values. We’re going to look at values that build a strong Christian character and Christian walk. We’re looking today at how to regain our spirit of adventure. That is what it means to live in adventure in faith with God! Serving God is not without risk or adventure. Sometime, we could get very uncomfortable. But so was the CROSS!
Each time I think of the nails that went through the hands and legs of my Savior, I could not long go with my feelings. How can I say that I am sacrificing for Him? What is my sacrifice for Him compared to His for me? Satan will constantly remind you how much does it cost you to do the will of God; but he will never tell you how much more will it cost you if you DO NOT do the will of God!
God is working in this church, not because we’re special people, but because we’ve chose to be obedient to His call. That’s our choice. I invite you to become a total part of this family of faith and move ahead with us. We don’t know what the future holds but I guarantee you it won’t be boring. It will be an adventure. Will you join us in joining God on another great adventure?
