Jesus: The Ultimate Risk-taker

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

And today we're looking at him as the ultimate risk taker. In 2010, a guy by the name of David Platt wrote this book called Radical. Did anybody read Radical? Radical. It was taking back your faith from the American dream. It's pretty popular at the time, and it was a pretty bold message. He felt like the American church in particular was preaching a gospel of the American dream and not a gospel of Jesus. And he's saying we need to take our faith back and be Christ's followers and take his teachings seriously. I mean, it's a pretty bold claim, calling us to live radically, because he was convinced that's what the New Testament teaches, that Jesus lived radically and he invites us to follow him in radical ways. Read a couple quotes from his book just to kind of give you a feel for it. But he says we are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves. When the central message of Jesus is actually about abandoning ourselves. He says Jesus did not die for you so that you could have a nice, comfortable American dream. No, the American dream prioritizes a standard of living, while Jesus prioritizes a standard of giving. And what is his standard of giving? It's sacrificial. The message of radical grace has been diluted into a gospel of comfortable religion. David Platt, he was a pastor at the time. He then became president of the International Mission Board, which is the largest mission-sending agency in the world by far. It's the Southern Baptist Mission Agency. Now he's pastor at McLean Bible Church outside of DC. But then, four years after that, a guy made by the name of Michael Horton, he's a reformed theologian, wrote this book, Ordinary, Ordinary. The subtitle, Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World. In his view, the world is radical and restless. We have the ordinary, sustainable faith. It was somewhat in a response to David Platt's book, Radical. It shows the same close orange, but his premise was that the Christian life is not necessarily radical in the sense of doing big and bold things, doing extraordinary accomplishments, radical acts. No, it's just being faithful in the everyday, in the simple. No, he's saying the kingdom advances through everyday, ordinary, repeated practices. Give you a couple quotes so you can get a feel for his book. But he says the gospel frees us from the burden of having to make our lives extraordinary. No, we can live ordinary. Christ's body is not a stage for our performance so we can show how much we're willing to sacrifice, how radical we can be for God. God does not want us to do something amazing for him. It's that he is giving us, giving himself to us in very ordinary ways. We've forgotten that God showers his extraordinary gifts through ordinary means of grace. He loves us through ordinary fellow image bearers and sends us out into the world to love and serve in very ordinary callings. Facing another day with ordinary callings to ordinary people all around us is much more difficult than chasing some extravagant dream that I've envisioned in this grand story of my life. Radical, ordinary. Feel like they give us a picture of a little bit of the debate that we all in some ways experience, at least in the church. I've seen certain churches, they emphasize the call to great radical commitment to go to the nations, to wrestle through any pain, any problem, any torment for the kingdom of God, right? We're gonna live radically for the mission of God. Or, you know, Michael Horton. No, we just want to live ordinary. We want to do that effectively. And most of us will kind of lean, in my experience, of friends I've known, lean in one way or the other. We either are drawn to this radical commitment or we are encouraged to just find this ordinary hope. And I feel like churches kind of debate of what is it? Should we live radically or should we live ordinary? And I feel like maybe it is both. We're asking the wrong question. We're asking the wrong question. Ultimately, I think we should be risk takers. Are we willing to take risk? And that's what we will look at today that Jesus as the ultimate risk taker in John chapter 15. And I will pray for us, and then we will get started. But Jesus, we do just thank you that you've demonstrated to us, Lord, um what it looks like. You took risk, and that risk translated into sacrifice. And Lord, I just pray that we would just from your life be encouraged, be inspired, be convicted, be thankful today, be moved for how you lived. And Lord, in your life, you would teach us, Lord, how we should live. Very few most all of us would agree that Jesus took great risk. He took incredible risk. Jesus risked his comfort, he risked his reputation, he risked his life, he risked his comfort, and then he left heaven, lived simply in seeming poverty as a man endured exhaustion, hunger, and suffering. He risked his comfort. He risked his reputation and that he associated with sinners. He even confronted the powerful leaders of his day. He was falsely accused repetitively. He risked his reputation. He risked his life and that he walked directly toward persecution. Where we're at in John 15, he's going to Jerusalem, knowing that his day of death is coming, walking directly toward violence, ultimately, the cross. He risked his life. So I don't know how to start with just defining risk. Defining risk. And risk is the real possibility of loss or danger or failure or pain or uncertainty that comes from taking an action in pursuit of something valuable. An action in pursuit of something valuable. And you'll find there's two sides to risk. One, there's the peril, right? Loss, danger, failure, pain, uncertainty. There's peril, but there's also the prize, something valuable. There's a cost and there's a benefit. There's potentially losing something to gain something. Another possible definition of risk is embracing the cost inherent in opportunities. We're embracing the cost inherent in a potential opportunity. Another potential definition of risk, we're stepping into potential losses for the hope of greater gains. Jesus was the ultimate risk taker. And his risk didn't wasn't just in possibilities of loss, he realized them in great sacrifice. So what is sacrifice? Sacrifice when the perils within risk are realized of real loss, real pain, real uncertainty, real losing of his comfort, there is a sacrifice for something greater. Jesus took risk for a prize. Those perils were realized in sacrifice for something greater. We'll start in John chapter 15, verses 18 to look at what those risks looked like. Jesus says, if the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. He was hated. He risked his reputation. He risked his comfort. Verse 20, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. He was persecuted, wrongly accused. He was beaten. Verses 23. Whoever hates me hates my father also, but the word that is written in the law must be fulfilled. They hated me without a cause. He was hated. He was hated for no reason. Verse 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed, it has come when you will be scattered. He's talking to his disciples, each to his own home. You will leave me alone. His own friends, one betrayed him, another denied him. They all were scattered. They all left him. He was left alone. Jesus risked his comfort, his reputation, his life, and those perils in his wrist were realized into sacrifice of real pain, real cost, real persecution, real humiliation. And Isaiah, he writes, he grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground, he had no majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind. Jesus, a man of suffering, familiar with pain, like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Jesus, he was oppressed and afflicted. He did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shears is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of my people, he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. Though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth, yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. And though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his day, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. Jesus risked his comfort, his perils were realized in real sacrifice. So the first question I just wanted to ask is why? Why did Jesus embrace the perils that were a great sacrifice? Why did he do it? We read in John 15, verse 10. If you commit keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my father's commands and remain in his love. Throughout John, it's a theme that Jesus is faithful. He is obedient to the Father. He only says what he hears the Father speak, he only does what the Father tells him to do. He only communicates, he's living entirely, not for his glory, not for his will, not for his agenda, but as in a faithful, obedient son. He wants to be obedient. It's a theme throughout John in verse 6.38. He says, For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. John 5 30, he says, By myself I can do nothing. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself, but only to please him who sent me. In 828, I do nothing on my own, but I speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me, he has not left me alone, for I'll always do what pleases him. For Jesus, when we're asking the why did he do it, at least in John, there's a clear theme that he's being obedient to the Father. It's not a matter of his glory, but it's a matter of obedience. So then the second question is well, then what is the price? We talked about risk or sacrifice, right? There is a cost, but there's also a reward. There is a peril, but there's also a price. In Hebrews, it says, for the joy set before Jesus, he endured the cross, scorning or despising its shame. Better translation, more clear, maybe is just disregarding its shame. Why? Because the happiness, the joy set before Jesus, the prize, the opportunity, the reward was so great that the shame he disregarded. So what was the prize that he was after? We read in Titus verse chapter 2. Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Jesus the Messiah, he gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. What was the prize for Jesus? To redeem from us from all wickedness, purifying for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. If you were here two weeks ago, we talked about Jesus being fierce both for our salvation and our formation, fierce for our salvation and our formation. Here in Titus, it's saying he gave himself for our salvation to redeem us from all wickedness and our formation to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. What was his prize? The joy set before him, our salvation and our formation. So what does that mean for us? That Jesus risked his comfort, his reputation, and his life, and the perils in his risks were realized in real salvation, a real sacrifice. First, similar to Jesus, we obey God. We read back in chapter in verse five of chapter 15. Jesus says, I am divine, you are the branches. If you remain in me, most translations, if you abide in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. Here I like the NIV of remaining, because it's this idea that we stay in the love of God. We stay in Him. And how do we remain? How do we abide? We already read from verse 10 if you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my father's commands and remain in his love. For many years I always thought of abiding as something that I just needed to feel very close to God, right? I needed to feel so close to God because that is what I thought abiding was like, and that's why I like the NIV translation here, just because the really he's saying just to remain in my love. The love of God is constant, the love of God is certain, the glove of God is predictable. Our job in it is to remain in his love so we continue to experience his love. And how do we remain? Jesus is very clear, you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. We are obedient. Continues in verse six if you do not remain or abide in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burnt. But if you remain in me, or if you abide in me, if you if you keep my commands and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My command is this love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. So Jesus tells us, how do we remain in him, but we keep his commands? If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. What is his command? Love one another. My command is this. He tells us in the same passage. We might think, okay, I want to remain in the love of God. I want to abide in the love of God. I want to continually experience the love of God. Oh, he tells me I need to follow his commands. Then in the same passage, he tells us exactly what that command is. Love one another as I have loved you. Love one another as I have loved you. How did he love us? He laid his life down. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends. He laid his life down. How do we remain in the love of God? We obey the commands of God to love one another as Jesus loved us. So the first encouragement to us is that we obey God. It's how we remain in his love by loving one another as he laid down his life. Secondly, we keep our eyes on the true prize, the salvation and formation of his people. Jesus, for the joy set before him of the salvation and formation of a people for himself. That was his joy. He endured the cross. We keep our eyes on the true prize, not getting lost or confused along the way. There's another book written in 2006 by a guy named Shane Claiborne, called The Irresistible Revolution. Living as Ordinary Radicals, written before those two other books I mentioned, Radical and Ordinary. It was written before them. And for Shane Claiborne, it was just a critique of consumerism Christianity. It was a call to live simply in community, to be peacemakers, call to justice and compassion. It was kind of a little controversial book, it still is to this day. And why I bring it up is because Shane Claiborne believes that basically heaven and hell are purely tangible present experiences. Right? And so the goal for him, the hope, the prize for him is removing any pain in the earth. Removing any pain in the earth. He calls himself a hopeful pain. Universalist, that heaven and hells are present. Salvation is physical in this present life. The gates of hell are simply disdefensive structures. And why I bring it up is for him, the true prize is merely eliminating the pain in the pain on earth. He's a you know that came out of a Christian home, things like that. The prize for Shane Claiborne, the vision, the hope of Shane Claiborne that he's going after is removing, eliminating the pains on earth. So whatever pains we're experiencing, the kingdom, in his view, is eliminating them, right? We're bringing peace, we're bringing harmony to them. Jesus wasn't, that wasn't exactly Jesus' mission. Jesus was after the salvation and formation of his people for himself, not merely to eliminate pain on the earth. So secondly, in our obedience of loving one another, we want to keep our eyes on the true prize and not get distracted or disoriented on what is the goal. And finally, let's take risk. Take risk. Jesus risked his comfort, his reputation, and his life. As the saying goes, a ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. Right? They're meant to traverse the ocean, to explore distant lands, to transport materials. Taking risk is unsafe. But that is what we are made for. The greatest hindrance to God's kingdom work is not a lack of resources, but an unwillingness to take risk. Francis Chan wrote a book, I think this was in Crazy Love. Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter. Are we willing to take risk for the kingdom of God? Kind of back in that original question. Are we called to live ordinary lives? Are we called to live radical lives? I think it slightly misses the question, but what we are called to do is to take risk for the kingdom of God. I know when we hear things like this, there can be some sort of discomfort sometimes. Of like, okay, Vernon, putting the rubber around on the road, you're wanting me to take a risk. And risk involves potential peril. And if that peril is realized, it's sacrifice. Am I willing to take a risk? What are you gonna ask me to do? I think that it can be a challenge sometimes, or at least uncomfortable. I'll propose another potential book. A guy named Tony Merida wrote a book also, this was 2015, called Ordinary. I think the cover is brilliant because it's extraordinary, it's painted over with ordinary, and how to conquer the world was changed with how to turn the world upside down. And his call is for us to be ordinary and loving our neighbors, being hospitable, caring for the vulnerable, giving voice to the voiceless. All things that require risk, great risk, but they feel ordinary. Probably his biggest encouragement through the whole book is hospitality. Hospitality. You might not think of it as a risk, but he's like, this is a great risk. He has a quote that a lot of people use. We must kill this idea that our home is our refuge. I often hear people say that. It is idolatry. Jesus is our refuge. We need to open our homes to people. We take a risk in inviting them into our home. I give that as just one potential example of ways that we take a risk for the kingdom of God. So the encouragement is that we obey God, right? We are faithful to God. We keep our eyes on the true prize of the salvation and formation of people. It was Jesus' joy, the salvation and formation of a people for himself. And we take risk. So my encouragement for us today, I'm gonna give us maybe one minute to just consider and ponder what is one risk for the mission of Jesus that you are going to take in the next week. One risk. I appreciate Pat. Pat met, what's your name again? He met him at the store yesterday, right? And he had moved out here and job didn't work out trying to get back to Denver. Pat put him in Western. But there was the risk of starting the conversation, you know, and sometimes those risks are not as crazy as we feel, but they are they're ordinarily radical. And so y'all have bulletins. I'm gonna give you one minute to kind of process through what is one potential risk you can take in the next week. And I'll give you some options to help you process confessing addiction, asking for help. It's a risk, right? Inviting your friend to church or region or a men's group, adopting or fostering children without knowing future challenges, or maybe just supporting other adopted parents, moving somewhere new because they believe God is calling you, or starting a nonprofit without guaranteed funding, sharing your faith with someone that you meet when rejection is possible, or choosing honesty when lying would be easier. There's potenti there's countless risk. Every day we are given opportunities. So take a moment, take a minute. What is one risk for the mission of Jesus that you want to take in the next week?

SPEAKER_00 28:57

Further from you, I think you could not be enough. It's not lost on me, what you saved me from. Stumbling on hope, but I'm calming to give you this offering. My worship I'll never withhold. Broken body, you call it beautiful with the tears of the desperate, it's the fear of the Savior. Nothing I wouldn't offer. There's no waste at the altar with the heart of surrender with the hands of the Maker. Nothing I wouldn't offer. There's no waste at the altar. You can be as we say, every say.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

So we remain in obedience to God with our eyes on the true prize. What is the prize that was fixed before Jesus? The salvation and formation of a people for himself. On our eyes on the two prize, taking risk, willing to take risk. Whether it feels radical or ordinary, I don't think it matters. What matters is we're willing to take the risk. Yes, there's potential peril or sacrifice, but that's a part of the risk. Why do we do it? Why did Jesus disregard the shame? I like the wording because it's like didn't even care about it. All the shame and the pain. He didn't even care about it. Why? Because the reward was so great that the shame felt um insignificant. So with that, I will pray and then we'll do communion. Or we do just thank you, God, that Lord, you stir us, you call us, you've given us um unique gifts and talents and relationships, and you put us um in all kinds of situations every single day. Lord, we can take small, ordinary, or radical risk for the sake of just your mission of salvation and formation, God. Lord, I just pray that we would be stirred in that, Lord, and be a people willing to take risk. Thank you, God. Amen.