Take a Risk for Life and Fruitfulness

0:00 Let's pray together. Father, take these few minutes and make them powerful in the directing of these people's lives in ways that they did not expect when they came and will be surprised by because of your remarkable work in their lives and how you're going to direct them and push them in ways that are new. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. So what I'm about to say is based on four convictions. Number one, taking a risk for the glory of Christ is biblical and right. Number two, God often uses risk-taking to set people free from long-standing fruitlessness. Number three, Christians are often pushed over the line to take a Christ-honoring risk just because somebody comes along and says, you should seriously consider taking a risk, which is what I'm here to do.

1:14 number four many of you in this room all of you sooner or later are at a fork in the road and you need to take the risky path, and that's why you're here, for me to say that. and my prayer is that because of what I say, great blessing along that path for you will also spill over onto passion life, this ministry that we're celebrating tonight. Yes, financial support. Yes, prayer support. Yes, spice and curry, $250,000. Yes, let's make that happen. but I have in mind inscrutable ways, inscrutable ways that God may cause your life to intersect with passion life.

2:16 that you will not be able to explain or predict. So let me go back to conviction number two and illustrate what I mean by God often uses risk-taking to set people free from long-standing fruitlessness. So when I was 12 to about 20, in other words, my entire teenage years, I was not able to speak in front of a group. I've written about this in Future Grace and other places. It was not your typical shaking knees, butterflies in the stomach. It was paralysis. My shoulders would get tight. My throat would close off. My heart would pound so hard that I could see my shirt moving. I was terrified at the prospect of shame and simply could not do it.

3:16 I remember in the eighth grade that we were coming down the row, and all you had to do was go up and read a paragraph of your project. So tell the whole class what your project is. And as it was coming to my turn, I got up and left the class, went to the bathroom, and cried. In the tenth grade, Dr. or Mr. Vermillion, my cynics teacher, said in the first day of class, everybody will do an oral book report. And I went up to him after class and I said, Mr. Vermillion, I can't do a book report. and he said, you have to do a book report. I said, I can't. He said, the best grade you can get in this class is a C if you don't do a book report. I said, fine. And I took the C. I did not and could not. It was not a matter of choice for me. It was not going to happen. 1966.

4:07 I'm 20 years old. I'm at Wheaton College between my sophomore and junior year, thinking I'll have to drop out because there's a speech class required next year. Seriously. I'll go to a school where they don't require that. And a chaplain comes up to me, Evan Welch, and he says, Johnny, would you pray in chapel in summer school? and inexplicably I said, how long do you have to pray?

4:40 And he said, 30 seconds, a minute. And to this day, I cannot account for why I said yes. I just cannot. He went away and I walked back and forth on front campus pleading with the Lord. and made a vow. I've only made two or three vows in my life. Vows are dangerous. You'll vow to the Lord and mess up. He does not like broken vows. But I made a vow. I said, Lord, if you'll just get me through 30 seconds of prayer in front of 500 students, I will never again say no to a speaking opportunity out of fear. and he cut me through something broke in the summer of 66 I could tell other glorious things on the summer of 66 it was the most pivotal year of my life the summer of 66 but that's an illustration to me and I've seen it in other people of how God uses risk taking to me that was I would rather go to war than speak in front of 500 people to say yes to that was an inexplicable risk.

6:06 I took it. God met me. And I think I've kept the vow to this very day. every person in this room is facing or will face a fork in the road, and you will have to decide, do I take the easy, safe, risk-free way or the hard and the risky way? And God has sent me here tonight to simply say, you should seriously consider the risky way. That's my message. Where do you think passion life came from?

6:51 Where does every fruitful ministry come from? Where does a fruitful life come from? Before John Enzer was president, as you've heard, global leader in pro-life ministry, he was a pastor in Boston.

7:13 He invited me to a conference in 1987 called Fueling the Burning Heart. and even then, almost 40 years ago now, we were dreaming about the relationship between local ministry. I was a pastor. He was a pastor. We were dreaming about local ministry and its relationship to global impact, to save eternally and to save in the womb.

7:45 Something was brewing in 1987 in America with regard to pro-life. Risk was brewing in America. We both were involved in the rescue movement. So here's an excerpt from my journal, March 6, 1989, two years later. I just talked to John Enzer, who had just gotten out of jail today at 5 p.m. after two and a half days of internment for participating in a rescue in Boston. He was ecstatic. he had preached on Sunday in jail to 40 men he said it was like a men's retreat on the front lines and it wasn't long before John Enzer was overseeing five crisis pregnancy centers in Boston and then he did the same kind of thing in Miami and then he came to Atlanta then he goes to China and you've heard this the story from there I didn't bring it with me today the brochure okay you get the brochure in your hand there So the second page of the brochure, it says, first line, you'll see almost, the challenge before us is hard, costly, occasionally dangerous.

9:06 That's a quote from the brochure. Fruitful ministries and fruitful lives come into being through risk. That's how it happens. so let's take a few minutes and think biblically about risk just so that i'm not just a motivational speaker saying hey take a risk but rather let's listen to what god has to say about this so my first conviction you remember was taking a christ-honoring risk is biblical it's right here's the definition so you got to have a definition if you're going to make any sense out of this and oh my goodness people get all messed up when they don't have definitions. Here's my definition of risk. What is it? A risk is an action that might, very important word, expose you or others to loss or injury. If you take a risk you could lose money, reputation, health, job, home, life.

10:16 You can lose your life. I'm saying that's a good thing. It's a good thing to seriously consider. I don't mean all risks are good. We know from the Bible that they're not. Paul escaped out of Damascus in a basket, meaning got away from risk, saved his life in a basket through the wall. Jesus said, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. The angel told the wise men, go back another way. You're going to get killed if you don't. Avoid the risk of getting killed. Go another way. Not all risk is right. You know that from the Bible. And you know it from the wisdom of your own life.

11:07 Now, back to that word might. in the definition. A risk is an action that might expose you or others to loss or injury. Why the word might? That word means that the only people who can risk are people who don't know how it's going to go. If you know how it's going to go, you don't call it a risk. If you know you're going to die when you throw yourself on a grenade,

11:48 you don't say, I'm going to take a risk. You say, I'm going to make a sacrifice. I'm going to lay my life down. That's not a risk. That's a sacrifice. So, the only people then who can take risks are people who don't know the future. And you don't know the future, so you can take a risk. When Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, he did not say, this might be costly. he said, they will mock me and spit on me and flog me and kill me. And after three days, I will rise. That's not a risk. That's a sacrifice, a fully aware, intentional sacrifice, which implies this.

12:44 God cannot take risks. I get so fed up I've heard this for decades people trying to make God sound courageous or noble or loving or humble in that he took a risk to create the world he took a risk to send Jesus baloney that's heresy God cannot take a risk because he knows exactly what he's doing and when he sends his son he's not crossing his fingers saying I wonder how it's going to turn out he sent him to die it wasn't a risk it was a plan to save and to sacrifice God can't take a risk now I'm going to come back to that at the end in just a few minutes because the fact that God can't take a risk is why you can and should and I'll try to make the connection for you between God's inability to risk and your call to risk in just a few minutes. But first, let's listen. Let's watch some beautiful risk takers in the Bible. And you could pick out the same ones that I pick out probably. So who should we go to first? Let's go to Joab, because I just love this scene. So you got Joab, who's the commander of the army of Israel and his brother is named Abishai and they are partners over the army of Israel and coming against them are a pincer movement of the Ammonites and the Syrians.

14:27 So the Ammonites and Syrians, enemies of Israel are coming and they're going to fight against Israel, and Joab does not know that he can win. And here's what he says, and the reason I picked this is because when I was early in my ministry, I got to build a staff. So as the church grew, we would add staff, and I wanted Abishai's with me. I wanted to talk like this. Here's what he says. he says to Abishai his brother if the Syrians are too strong for me then you shall help me but if the Ammonites are too strong for you then I will come and help you be of good courage and let us play the man for our people and for the cities of our God and may the Lord do what seems good to him. I just love it. So what is that? That's just pure risk. I don't know what the Lord is going to do. Let him do what he wants to do. I know one thing. I'm laying my life down for the cities of God. That's the kind of pastor I wanted to be. That's the kind of partners I wanted to have. I remember saying to the deacons, this is before I persuaded the church that they ought to have elders. So we had deacons instead of elders. And I said to the guys, look guys, let's do this. Could we just please fail at something?

15:59 If you devote your life to avoiding failure, you will not accomplish anything significant. It's just not a way to live. So what about Esther? Oh, you've got to love Esther, right? So Mordecai is a Jewish man with a younger cousin named Esther, and she's beautiful, and he adopted her because she was an orphan, and she, through an amazing set of circumstances, becomes the queen to the king of Asuerus, and she's Jewish. And Ahasuerus doesn't know this. Wicked Haman persuades Ahasuerus to decree that all the Jews should be slaughtered.

16:57 This has been true for the Jewish people for so many centuries. That kind of horrible, horrible opposition. Well, Mordecai finds out, and he says to Esther, look, Esther, you're our only hope. Under God. you've got to go to the king tell him you're a jew and persuade him that your people are going to be slaughtered including you if if he doesn't change his decree and she says you know there's a law and there was there was a law you cannot enter the king's presence unbidden you will die unless he lifts the golden scepter. And Mordecai basically says, you have to do that. Your people are about to be slaughtered. I know you could lose your life. We're going to lose ours anyway. Here's what she says.

17:55 Go gather all the Jews to be found in Susa and hold a fast on my behalf and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do and then I will go to the king though it is against the law and if I perish, I perish. You just got to love this. Oh, women, come on. Let's do this, right? If I perish, I perish. You don't want to live a safe life. You want to live an Esther life. That's why we're Christians.

18:38 One more. And you know where I'm going? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Oh, good night, these guys. So Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar has built his 90 foot, or is it 90 cubits? Can't remember. 90 foot, 60 cubits. 90 foot statue, and everybody's got to bow down to it. And these Jewish faithful brothers, they're not going to bow down to it. They're going to get thrown in the fiery furnace if they have to be. And so here's what they say to the king. Oh, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. if this be so our God who we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand oh king but if he does not be known to you oh king we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set So we know our God can deliver us, but he may not.

19:42 Doesn't matter. We're just not bound down. That's a risk, right? God might come through and he might take him to heaven. That's called risk. I'm going to ask you this because most of, I don't know, looking around here, good many older people, so I'm talking about grandchildren now instead of children. I was going to say, we used to read these stories to our kids and want them to be like that. Do you want your kids to be like that? America coddles her kids today.

20:20 Protects them from every imaginable risk. This is another message that I must stop preaching. So grandparents, do what you can to read these stories to those kids and say, be like that. Be like that. Esther, little girls, be like that. Joab, Abishai, Chadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the little boys, be like that. One more. I said that was one more. There's another one. And I love the Apostle Paul. I wrote a whole book called Why I Love the Apostle Paul. and the Apostle Paul in Acts 20 said,

21:03 I do not count my life of any value nor as precious to myself if only I might finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. My life doesn't count for anything, just one, finishing my course, testifying to grace.

21:27 Now, that means, I think, better to lose your life than to waste it, which I think is the great truth. But he goes to Jerusalem to deliver the offering for the poor. And before he gets to Jerusalem, he stops in Caesarea. And the prophet there named Agabus prophesies over Paul like this. thus says the Holy Spirit this is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles you're going to get arrested Paul you're going to bind your hands deliver you into the hands of the Gentiles he didn't say what, what then? They're going to kill you?

22:22 They're going to keep you in prison forever? Doesn't say. So he didn't know. He didn't know what the prophecy ultimately would entail. But here's what he said. What are you doing? Weeping and breaking my heart. for I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

22:52 If I perish, I perish. may the Lord do what seems good to him. This is a line running through the Bible, right? This is a line of faithfulness running through the Bible. Now, I promised I would return at the end to make the connection between God cannot risk and you should. What's the connection? the connection is the reason he cannot risk is because he knows everything and he can do everything right he's sovereign he's omnipotent and he's omniscient knows everything a person who knows everything and can do everything cannot risk they can only plan and perform which is what God does. He governs the world. He performs his word. Add to that that he sent Jesus Christ into the world to die for sinners. That's you and me. And when he dies for sinners and draws the elect to himself and unites them to himself by the Spirit, all our sins are forgiven.

24:13 It's just glorious. In this room right now, everyone who's trusting Jesus, there's no guilty person in the room. the wrath of God is gone and all of that omnipotence and all of that knowledge is in the service of his mercy nothing happens to you but mercy Christian it's hard, hard as hell because it's hell on earth but it's not wrath it's mercy Thank you. you put those together and say, how does that relate to my risking? here's the answer from Romans 8. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

25:11 Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, we are being killed all day long. We are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things, in all these things, We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Which means amazingly that because God takes all that, tribulation and distress and persecution and famine and nakedness and peril and sword, he takes all of that and makes us super conquerors more than conquerors.

25:48 You can't risk ether. Well, that's not quite right. You got to be more careful. Yes, you can in this life. ultimately no Christian takes a risk. It's going to turn out well. It's going to turn out wonderful no matter what happens here. And I just love it that in the brochure you have there in front of you I read I had this online a few weeks ago. Thank you John for sending it because it's just got juicy juicy sentences in it. Your theology, I don't know who wrote it, but I'm assuming you're behind it, and good night, these are good. So I read the first one. Here's the second one. This is just a summary of my message, and you didn't know what I was going to talk about. But about two-thirds of the way down the first column there on the inside page, if you have faith that God is watching over you, then you know nothing bad can happen to you that isn't good for you.

26:59 That is a great sentence. I want to read it again. It's so good. That ought to be in the Bible. Actually, it is in the Bible. It's called Romans 8. If you have faith that God is watching over you, then you know nothing bad can happen to you that isn't good for you. Well said, Passion Life. You have served us well, Passion Life. You have served the nations well, Passion Life. you have served the children and the mothers and the fathers well passion life you serve the gospel well passion life and may God give you decades of fruitfulness as you continue to take risks for the cause of Christ and I would just bend it out now to the rest of you because I do believe that God gave me this message not only for passion life, but for where you are right now.

28:14 Everybody in this room is at a fork in the road. Enough of you are older that it might have to do with retirement and what you're going to do next, what you knew your house, what you're going to do with the boat, what you're going to do with the 20 years of health you're going to give you between 65 and 85. Others are younger. Everybody in this room is right now or will be at a fork. and I'm just saying because of the Bible because of grace and because of God's inability to take a risk and ultimately your inability to take a risk as you take a risk take a risk Father grant blessing on this ministry Passion Life you have done wonders we stand amazed at what you've done thank you that you've honored the steady risk-taking along the way.

29:08 And I pray that you give grace and courage and trust for everybody in this room to take that.