Sermon: Dare Greatly

you know a lot of things this summer didn't go the  way we expected that might be one of the biggest   understatements i've had but i got to do one  of the camps i was planning uh you know all the   teen camps were canceled and the pre-teen camps  because we just had to do it for safety but the   united youth camps include what we call challenger  programs that are designed for young adults and   i've been privileged the last couple of years  to be able to lead the one called the boundary   waters adventure and it's a privilege it's a  lot of fun it occurs up in northern minnesota   in the lakes that are right there on the border  with canada they're maintained very pristine   and a feature of the challenger programs though  is that we send the participants a book in advance   so it's a common reading that's designed  to get us excited to give us inspiration   but also to provide material for discussions  that we have as a group when we're out there   in the wilderness and i say that because i want  to introduce you to the book we chose this year   actually aaron booth who's  on the staff suggested it   it's won by a retired admiral of the us navy  william mcraven and the title is make your bed   i should give the rest of the title because  make your bed could sound like something   your mom tells you make your bed little things  that can change your life and maybe the world   you might be familiar with the basic  idea it forms the basis of this first   chapter and the idea is small things that make you  discipline your life can affect your whole life   i've heard people give speeches based on that and  seen writing and that's not my point for today i   just wanted to bring that in because i want to  focus on a lesson he makes in a later chapter   that i think is a lesson that jesus  christ intended for his disciples   and so please bear with me i'll talk a little  bit about the book but i am moving to what jesus   christ tells us as his disciples and also it's  good if i don't talk about the making your bed   thing because if i did my wife would attest that  it'd be a little hypocritical i do have certain   morning routines that i'm very disciplined  about but making my bed is not one of them in the course of his book admiral mcraven  tells many stories that he encountered   training to become a u.s navy seal now if you're  not familiar the navy seals are one of i i think   is the most elite of the special forces units  in the american military they train very hard   that's i was looking for a better adjective  but they develop their minds and bodies and   they prepare themselves and they can do a lot of  things they scuba dive they skydive they they can   paddle boats they can swim immense distances so  they go through very difficult training to do so   and in the course of this book he draws  lessons out of that that he says apply to life   and in chapter six i like the title of this  chapter was dare greatly you must dare greatly   in the subtitle i shouldn't show it  because you can't read it from there but   if you want to change the world slide down  the obstacle head first what does that mean   well that's that would draw you in to read the  story and i'll tell you the story you know they   have an obstacle course as part of their training  there and obstacle courses have climbing nets and   crawling in mud through barbed wire and all kinds  of things one of the obstacles that gave him the   most difficulty was a 30-foot tower climb up  the tower and then a rope is suspended out   to a distant point on the ground so you climb  the tower and then you have to go down the rope   so mr mcraven said he did well at all the  obstacles and he successfully did the rope   but he used what was called a possum technique  you get a hold of the rope and then you swing   your legs up and you inch your way down it's safe  it's effective it's not very fast he said you know   time after time that ruined his score one of his  his instructors told him mcraven if you want to do   better at this you have to learn to take some  risks okay i i don't want to promote careless   risks so i'll point out admiral mcraven as he's  describing this in his book he says i came to   appreciate the motto of the british special  forces unit called the special air service   and here's where i get into my military history  mode but the special air service was formed   during world war ii it was the original special  forces unit according to some their motto is   who dares wins three-word motto who dares wins  now when i read about the special air service   it piqued my interest partly because when i  was younger i had the opportunity to work at   the church's summer camp in scotland that mostly  served our youth in brit britain and the rest of   europe and i actually worked alongside two men who  had formerly been in the special air service they   weren't at that time they joined the church and  weren't in the military but i developed a great   deal of respect for these men they were tough  they'd been through a lot of interesting things   one thing i knew about them and i think reflected  all of the special air service is they were   trained to not take foolish risks they never  took needless risks so when they would say who   dares wins they would always dare could say with  care i didn't plan that ahead of time it came out but these men trained to develop their abilities  and to know what they were capable of and then   push their minds and bodies to the  utmost limits of those capabilities   admiral mcraven describes how as he was then  cadet mcraven he finally nerved himself to   climb on the rope and slide down headfirst at  breakneck speed but he didn't break his neck   he did very well in the obstacle course and of  course he graduated he describes how some of   those lessons he learned applied later he was the  commander of all the special forces units in iraq   during operation desert shield he said time and  again they'd have to make these crucial decisions   and sometimes they would dare  and he described some of those you might be wondering again  what's this got to do with us   my first scripture i'd like to turn to is in  daniel 11. daniel 11 beginning in verse 32. now we're breaking into a long chapter as you  might know the longest continuous chapter in   the bible so i don't want to describe all of that  but it seems to be describing the the persecution   that occurred under antiochus epiphanes and that  led to the maccabean revolt but breaking in it   says those who do wickedly against the covenant  he shall corrupt that was antiochus with flattery   but the people who know their god shall  be strong and carry out great exploits   and those are the people who understand  shall instruct many for many days   i want to leave off there so i was interested  i've always liked this phrase those who know   their god will be strong and do great exploits  i'd like to do some exploits i think that sounds   pretty exciting i thought i'd see more faces  people joining in don't you want to do exploits   what are exploits sounds almost like  it could be a snack food but it's not but maybe you and i do have some exploits  in our future you know if as the sas model   said motto says who dares wins if god has  something in our future should we be prepared   to dare greatly and i think so within as i said  within limits understanding but i'm saying this   because we have been called to be disciples of  jesus christ we have a calling from god the father and that calling has a purpose   you know when i was younger in the church i  heard herbert w armstrong many times say you   weren't called just for your own salvation that  was something that was understood in the church   he said you're called now for a different purpose  if we were called just so we could be saved god   could bring us up in the resurrection and  do it then we have it a little harder now mr armstrong taught and i believe he  was correct the reason we're called now   is we have a work to do we have the job to preach  the gospel of the kingdom of god to the world   we're called now to be a  light a witness of god's way   we're called now so we can prepare to teach and  lead in the world that will come beyond today   i wanted to work that in we used to say the  world tomorrow it's the kingdom of god on earth   we're called now to be ready when that time  comes to help jesus christ change the world   as if admiral mcraven said if we develop  little habits now to change our lives   we can use those also to change the world during his earthly ministry jesus christ  called disciples for those purposes they   had to change their lives then so that they  could go out and begin to change the world   i think we can learn a lot from those men they  were a group of young men called together for a   purpose so i like to consider a little bit about  who they were and what the feeling was with them   and it's easy to get this image of these  gray-bearded wise old men sitting around   with jesus but was that it no now their  master was only 30 when he called them   sometimes i'm amazed at that you  know because of course he had existed   for eternity before that and he's at the right  hand of god now but physically he was 30.   you know when we have a minister in the 30s  today we think oh he's one of those young guys   matter of fact i can attest if you're a minister  in your 50s you're one of the young guys   which i don't mind so much  i like being a younger guy but yeah these men were probably in they might  have been in their early 20s could have been   in their teens and then let's review in  scripture some of what they were like   what it was like for them and being in  a group let's turn to mark chapter one   mark 1 we'll begin in verse 16 and i'll say i want  to read some scriptures to kind of give us just   a feel for what it was like because as i if  i'm saying they were willing to dare greatly   how how did they go about  that what was the attitude mark 1 and verse 16 speaking of jesus  christ says he walked by the sea of galilee   as he walked by the sea of galilee he saw simon  and andrew his brother casting a net into the sea   for they were fishermen and jesus said to them  follow me and i'll make you become fishers of men   and they immediately left their nets and  followed him they probably were quite excited   verse 19 says when he'd gone a little further he  saw james the son of zebedee and john his brother   they were also in the boat mending  their nets immediately he called them   and they left their father zebedee in the boat  with the hired servants they went with him let's move ahead to chapter  three we're setting the stage   and i'm gonna read a couple of  scriptures start in verse seven   jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea  and a great multitude from galilee followed   him from judea there's a multitude but if we  look in verse 13 we'll see when he went up   to the mountain he called to him those  he himself wanted and they came to him   so there's a multitude there's a small number  back up to verse 10 and 11 we'll see why   no actually sorry i'm looking and it's  not saying what i wanted it to say well i'll catch it later um but i did want  to read this in verse 10 he healed many   as he had afflictions they pressed about him  to touch him unclean spirits when they saw him   fell down and cried out you're the son  of god and he warned them not to speak   so there is all this going on i can imagine what  was it like to be one of these young men working   with jesus christ well he traveled around for  three and a half years they spent a lot of time in   galilee going from town to town sometimes speaking  in synagogues sometimes out on the seashore people   came to him to be healed you can imagine you  don't want just a mob coming in so sometimes the   disciples might have been working crowd control  or jesus decides to feed 5 000 people dinner   man imagine if you called home to your wife honey  i'm bringing someone home for dinner how many   five thousand well but jesus okay make them  sit down in groups of fifty so let's get them   organized oh here let's break the breads share  it gather up the fragments so they were working   but they also had this disciples  alone with him at times   and so i'm being frustrated that i'm not  seeing the scripture that i was looking for   it's probably in matthew no no no  i don't think it is there though okay well i'm sure i'm gonna come across it they  were probably fairly excited about this imagine you know they were serving the messiah that  they were going to help change the world   even after christ had been crucified and then  resurrected if you read at the beginning of acts   one of the things you see them saying is master  now are you going to establish the kingdom   it's not not the time and of course they had no  way of knowing a couple thousand years would go by   but what a what a time they had sometimes  working very hard working with the crowds and   then he would make time for them alone later and  i imagine them perhaps when they're not staying in   someone's home sitting by a campfire and hearing  jesus tell them stories and explain parables   they probably told jokes they probably sang songs  together and they were looking forward to big   things they were dreaming great dreams daring  greatly for what was ahead they were pretty   common folk we just read four of them we know were  fishermen so they weren't the educated advanced   people you know one was a political zealot  who left that behind he'd been a revolutionary   trying to overthrow the government one was a tax  collector a collaborator with the government they   left those things behind and devoted themselves  to this work of jesus christ the messiah andrew was so excited when he first found out  let's turn to john 1 and see how he expressed it   john 1 and verse 41 you know all the different  gospel accounts look at these things from   different angles and this shows well we'll begin  in verse 40. one of the two who heard john speak   followed him so john the baptist was  there and pointed out jesus christ   andrew simon peter's brother and it says in  verse 41 he found his own brother simon and said   we found the messiah which is translated to  christ and he brought him to jesus that's   imagine your brother or sister comes home  guess what i found out you gotta check this out and how did peter react well  we don't know exactly right   then he'd become a disciple but let's turn to my   matthew chapter 16 we'll see some of how convinced  peter became matthew 16 beginning in verse 13. this is a passage that we read  fairly often for good reason and this is one of those times we believe jesus  led his disciples away from the multitudes   they went up around tyre and sidon and they were  coming back so they had perhaps a bit of a retreat   where they could get advanced teaching without the  crowds and the distractions of feeding thousands   of people and it says in verse 13 when jesus came  to the region of caesarea philippi so this is in   northern israel they came to this place and  possibly they were in this cave where one of   the headwaters of the jordan river was and some  people say he might have sat on this big boulder   even while he did it and he asked them who do men  say that i the son of man am oh some say john the   baptist some elijah others jeremiah or one of the  prophets he said to them who do you say that i am   simon peter answered you are the  christ the son of the living god   that's a powerful thought he was fully convinced  i know who you are you're not jeremiah or elijah   you're the son of god jesus answered and said  blessed are you simon bar jonah flesh and blood   has not revealed this to you but my father in  heaven and we know this passage i say to you   you're peter you're you're petros he might have  reached down in the water and picked up a stone   and if he was sitting on that boulder he'd  say but on this petra on this rock i'll build   my church and we know jesus christ is the  foundation and the gates of hades will not   prevail against it nothing is going to stop  us that's the way they felt and it was true   and i'll give you here's where i personally feel  he wasn't speaking just to peter at that point   but to all the disciples i'll give you the keys  to the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind   on earth will be bound on heaven whatever  you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven   jesus christ gave his church high responsibility  but also high authority and that's something   it's important and it's powerful we could say that  these young men you know if we even want to call   them men yet they were growing up quickly they  they signed on to the ground floor of a movement   they trusted their master to do great things  and he taught them that they were going   to do great things they dared greatly  they were looking to do great exploits   am i reading too much into it you  know about this whole exploits thing   well let's turn back a couple chapters to  matthew 14 because i love the story and the   example of what it shows and there there's many  lessons that can be drawn from it but as we know   this is one of the cases where christ fed a  crowd and then he wants a little time alone so   matthew 14 and verse 22 we read immediately  jesus made his disciples get into the boat   go before him to the other side while he sent the  multitudes away and when he'd sent the multitudes   away he went up on the mountain by himself to pray  i wonder how hard it was for him to get a little   time alone so he did this and when evening came he  was alone there the boat was now in the middle of   the sea the sea of galilee it's funny if he was  up on the mountain he probably could see it and   they were having trouble the sea taught it was in  the sea tossed by the waves the wind was contrary   and we don't know if this is true but i imagine  jesus is looking at it's like they're going   to need help i better go get them and he walks  out there and of course he walks across the sea   and verse 25 says in the fourth watch of the  night jesus went to them walking on the sea when   the disciples saw him walking in the sea they were  troubled they just saw there's a figure out there   it's a ghost jesus don't be good  cheer it's high don't be afraid   were they willing to do exploits  peter says lord if it's you   command me to come out on the water come on i'm  sort of paraphrasing but no so peter comes down   out of the boat and he walks in the water to  go to jesus and he saw the wind was boisterous   the wind was boisterous he was afraid and  began to sink and he cried out lord save me   he didn't say you got yourself into this get  it you get yourself out no jesus immediately   stretched out his hand and caught him and why  were you of little faith why did you doubt you know jesus no not jesus peter he did  falter but he dared to try in the first place   and when he faltered jesus caught him and  pulled him to safety won't he do the same for us   i would say yes of course he  will he does he's done it before now i do want to stop and point out though  that jesus didn't call the disciples for   the point of doing flashy miracles it wasn't  even christ's idea for peter to walk on water   so that's not why he called us that's not our  purpose i say that thinking i remember when i was   about 11 years old and i was getting more and more  serious about the church and i decided to try it   because if i have faith i could go to the  swimming pool in my neighborhood well you   can probably guess how that worked out i tried it  several times luckily i already knew how to swim   if you will go with me to chapter 10 of  matthew because i want to see jesus christ   called his disciples let's read what he sent  them out to do this is a case where he's going to   organize them matter of fact in verse 1 he called  his 12 disciples he gave them power power over   unclean spirits to cast them out to heal all kinds  of diseases it lists the names but let's read in   verse five what he told them to do that these  twelve jesus sent out and commanded them saying   don't go in the way of the gentiles don't under  enter a city of the samaritans but go to the sheep   of lost sheep of the house of israel now that's  not my main point but i i should comment that   later on we see in the book of acts that  there was a time to preach to the israelites   and then a time to also preach to all the gentiles  paul on barnabas said it had the word had to be   preached to you first but since you reject it  we go to the gentiles so please don't take what   christ told them then as a any indication  we shouldn't preach to all the world now   but let's see what he says in verse seven as you  go preach saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand   matthew often writes kingdom of heaven rather  than kingdom of god because of his audience and he   didn't want to offend the jewish audience but the  point is go and preach and what do you preach the   good news of the kingdom of god god created you  for a reason and a purpose he has a plan he's got   a way of life that works and we need to share that  with people i would say as disciples of christ   first and foremost we're called to be a witness  they were then and we are now to tell people   about god's way to show it to them we're to be  a witness of the good news of the kingdom of god   now i want to come back to matthew 10  so you might keep a finger here but if   you turn to acts chapter 4 we can see how that  turned out acts 4 and we'll begin in verse 13. this is one of those stories  that gets me kind of excited and i'm going to summarize to get us into it  because the disciples were teaching and and   they were at the temple peter and john and  they got arrested for it uh the leaders of   the jewish community didn't like what they were  doing and they put them in jail and then they   bring them in and they're grilling them so we see  in verse 13 that as peter and john answer it says   when they saw the boldness of peter and john  they perceived they were uneducated untrained men   i would say they were uneducated or  trained in the traditional manner   but they weren't uneducated as it became  obvious they realized they'd been with jesus   i paused there i think i wonder  if people ever look at me   and would say he's been with jesus now not that  i've been up in heaven at the throne of god but   i hope all of us can say i hope people see  me and say he's he's on jesus side and peter   eddington recently gave a sermon when he talked  about how you know hopefully people would get a   a lesson from god they might even be interested  in learning our way of life from the way we live   peter and john were doing that  now let's drop down to verse 18.   they called them and they commanded them to  not speak at all or teach in the name of jesus   peter and john answered and said whether it's  right in the sight of god to listen to you   more than to god you judge should i do what  you say and not do what god says you tell me   verse 20 we cannot but speak the things that we've  seen and heard they're saying we can't not do this   now i wanted to note this before going back to  matthew 10 because i want to point out that even   when god does have his servants perform miracles  and great wonders that's not the great exploit   that he wants us to dare to do necessarily  first and foremost is the message to preach   now once we're doing that some pretty cool  things could happen matthew 10 and verse 8   jesus told the disciples heal the sick cleanse  the lepers raise the dead cast out demons   freely you've received freely give it would take great daring to be willing to do  those things and i don't know i within us i've   never laid hands on someone and just healed them  dramatically although i share with students i   still remember one of the first times i did anoint  someone he'd had a stiff shoulder and afterwards   he went that'll do when he walked out and went  back to work and i was my jaw was hanging open   i think god did that as a lesson to me  saying frank believe i can do this when   you anoint someone and ask me to heal i do  he doesn't always do it instantly but he can   when god calls us to do great works will we  dare to do it and christ would later remind   the disciples that to whom much is given much  will be required and we've been given much   so we have a requirement but as i said  i'm not talking about how we should go   planning to work miracles you can visit the  pool and try to walk on water like i did but you know matter of fact it's funny i would  say in the book of acts you can read the disciples   doing these things they healed people they cast  out demons they literally raised someone from the   dead you don't read about them walking on water i  wonder if peter's episode put them off of that one   i put that in my notes for humor but  they laughed a lot more in the morning but first and foremost it's always been  about the message about the content now i i want to continue on in matthew because  there's a bit more of christ's instructions and   let's read in verse 24. he says a disciple is not  above his teacher nor a servant above his master   it's enough for his disciple that he be like  his teacher and a servant like his master   that's one of the things we need to do  before we think about changing the world   we are called to change our lives being a  disciple of jesus doesn't just mean learning   knowledge and information it means becoming like  him imitate him make his lifestyle our lifestyle   and that's what we're called to do let's look at  verse 26 therefore don't fear them there's nothing   covered that will not be revealed and hidden  that won't be known and there's different ways   to interpret that but we see largely saying the  message is going to get out there nothing's going   to stay hidden he says what i tell you in the  dark speak in the light what you hear in the ear   preach on the housetops and we could say  like at one point when the pharisees told   jesus tell these people to stop and he said  if they would stop the stones would cry out   if we don't preach god's message he could raise  children to abraham out of the stones but he wants   us to do it and he says in verse 28 do not fear  those who kill the body but can't kill the soul   rather fear him who's able to destroy  both body both soul and body in hell   now i i don't want to get sidetracked on the  discussion of why we know that this isn't about   an immortal soul that goes to heaven or hell but  it's worth noting christ was telling him there's   worse things than dying human beings can only take  your physical life we're focused on eternal life   and god's kingdom and god has the ability  and the right to end life permanently   that's not his goal or his purpose let's  get down to verse 38. he does tell us he   who does not take up his cross and follow  after me is not worthy of me and that means   you know in that setting a condemned criminal  had to carry that that wooden beam to with him   to the place they would nail him to it and end  his life once we take up the burden of being   christ's disciple we're not allowed to set it  down we don't take a break but who would want to   his way is the way and he says he who finds his  life will lose it if we're worried about saving   our physical lives or building a great life  on earth we could lose it but he who loses   his life for my sake will find it meaning  if we lose our life in the process of living   god's way you know galatians 2 20 is where christ  or paul said that i i live because jesus christ   lives in me and i'm summarizing briefly but that  we have god living in us and that's true life he speaks about verse 40 he who receives you  receives me he who receives me receives him   who sent me who he who receives a prophet in the  name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward   i wanted to get to the reward let's skip down  to verse 42. whoever gives one of these little   ones only a cup of cold water and the name  of a disciple assuredly i say to you he'll   by no means lose his reward one of the reasons  i wanted to get to the end is to remind us that   while there is danger sometimes we haven't  lived a dangerous life usually in this world but   following jesus christ can be tough he promised  persecutions sometimes we have to suffer   it can cost us everything but  there's a reward the reward is life   and it's eternal life happy life in god's kingdom  a fulfilling rewarding life that goes on and on   as i said those disciples of jesus those  young revolutionaries i've heard him call they went on to do what he said you  know they did as they were inspired   there's a lot about what they did in  the book of acts there's a shorter   summary at the end of the book of mark so  if you'll turn quickly to mark chapter 16 mark 16 beginning in verse 15. he said to them  go into all the world and preach the gospel   again that's first preach the gospel to  every creature now we like to interpret   that better creation because i haven't  been preaching to squirrels or chipmunks   lately but it means to all creation preach  the gospel he who believes and is baptized   will be saved he who does not believe will be  condemned there's a lot of emphasis on belief   and signs will follow those who believe in my name  they'll cast out demons speak with new tongues   take up serpents if they drink deadly things  it won't hurt them they'll lay hands on the   sick and they'll recover as i said we see in  the first century christ's disciples did this   how'd it turn out there's a briefer summary  here in verse 19 and 20. after the lord had   spoken to them he was received up into heaven  and sat down at the right hand of god and they   the disciples went out and preached everywhere  the lord working with them confirming the word   through accompanying signs they went out and  they shared the message they shared the good news i'm inspired by what they did and they said i  think they dared greatly they changed their lives   they began to change the world they'll certainly  work to change the world when christ returns but that was them that was a long time ago what about us what about now   does this still apply to us i mean i haven't  sat around a fire with jesus having him tell   stories and then tell me frank go out and  lay hands on people go preach the gospel   but the church is long taught i believe correctly  that that commission has gone down through the   ages each generation should dare to preach the  gospel in john 17 verse 20 you can note it if you   want i won't turn there but as christ was praying  to god the father at the conclusion of his last   passover on earth he specifically said that he was  not praying just for his disciples then and there   but for those who would believe through their  work and that's us that work has gone on   i would like to turn the book of second  timothy second timothy beginning chapter two there's a couple scriptures in this  book that i i find very inspiring second timothy 2 and verse 2 paul's writing to  a younger minister and he says the things you've   heard from me among many witnesses commit these to  faithful men who will be able to teach others also   you heard it from me teach others and make sure  they can teach others also you know we summarize   that sometimes with a three-word phrase pass it on  each generation should do this so i think that's   come to us i think that's why we know what we  know men did this men and women let's go back   to chapter four same book chapter four verse  two again here's a little encouragement preach   the word be ready in season and out of season  convince rebuke exhort with all long-suffering   and teaching you know i take these scriptures  personally because as you've heard you know i   have the privilege and it's a great blessing but  also a responsibility to teach here at ambassador   right here in this room and several others here  do and it's not something that we take lightly   but paul didn't write this for us not us alone all  of us have an opportunity and a chance to do that   those of you who are parents you know more than  more than anyone more than anyone that meant   and those of you who aren't parents yet your  time is coming i say that having a younger child i think the commission that christ  gave to his church continues the   father called us to dare greatly dare  to do the work that christ gave us now can i be a little more specific i wrote  down that i should i mean should i climb up on   my house and preach from the rooftops i'd get some  interesting looks from my neighbors if i did that   what's the first thing we should  do to do the works of jesus christ   now i'm arbitrarily saying that this is first  but there's an interesting answer you'll find in   the book of john in chapter 6. john 6 beginning in  verse 28 because this is another case where christ   had fed a multitude then he started telling  him some things that were difficult to hear   but they wanted to they wanted to test  him they wanted to ask him questions   and in john 6 and verse 28 they said to him what  shall we do that we may work the works of god   jesus answered them and said this is the work  of god that you believe in him whom he sent   you want to do the work of god the work of god  is believe jesus christ now believe is a synonym   i believe well i know it is and i've looked into  the greek and i didn't write down the greek word   so that i can mispronounce it for you but it's a  synonym for trust for faith we're to have faith   where to trust how simple is that in the world  today we have a world in turmoil there's riots   there's people wanting to change our system of  government in this nation i believe in others   there's a disease plague that's made it seems  almost everything uncertain and changeable   one expert will tell you this is the situation  and you have to do this and another expert   will tell you almost the exact opposite say  that expert doesn't know what he's saying   in an uncertain world who do you believe who  do you trust well i'm not going to comment   on any experts but first and foremost you trust  jesus christ the son of the living god as peter   said when christ said who do you believe i am he  said you are the christ the son of the living god   above and apart from anything  else we have to believe that   that's what matters that's an important and daring  work to believe god means believing his word this   and for one thing to to believe it you got to  know what it says right that's why i commend our   students that have come in it's not an easy thing  to say i'm gonna set aside nine months and come   five days a week and spend hours i shouldn't  tell you the bad things now it's just starting   you know there are times you're gonna be you know  i tell we always say at the beginning of the year   it's going to go by like that except at some  point in february the days will last forever   and then they'll go by like that  but we've got to study it know it   if we're going to preach it and share others  we have to share it with others we have to most   of us in this room have been doing that  for years i know that's why you're here   you you're here because you have learned you  do believe to risk sounding like a journey   song we have to keep on believing we  have to keep trusting jesus christ   and we have to trust him remember one of the  things that mr kubick mentioned in a message   he wrote yesterday to be his disciples we have  to love for one another that's how people will   know we're his disciples and at a time when  there have been disagreements in the church   you know i'm not sure if this should be our policy  i'm not sure if we should be going here or doing   that i'm not sure that we shouldn't do this do  we have the faith to show love to our brother   do we have the faith to focus on the fact that  we got to believe jesus christ and his word and   be focus on getting that message out and not be  distracted by some things that are less important   so again that it's a fundamental work to work  the works of christ believe trust now i'm not   going to go back to read the scriptures i read but  obviously preaching his message is an important   thing share the word of god again preaching on the  house tops no christ also taught us that you are   the light of the world and it's not to be hidden  under a bushel we all know light is seen and not   heard by the way matthew 5 16 is that reference i  won't turn there because i'm running out of time   but let your light so shine before men that they  may see your good works and glorify the father   we live in a world today where  christian principles are mocked   even hated do we dare to let people see us  live a lifestyle based on those principles   that can come out in different ways i related  you know when we were not holding services here   because it was prudent to practice an extreme form  of quarantine we were meeting at home i wanted to   make sure i was presenting my best so i got up  and i put on my suit tied my tie interestingly   i didn't put on my church shoes i thought it was  amazing i went two months without wearing them i   thought are they still gonna fit and that's a  side but here we are we get in the living room   we get on the roku tv and then there's a knock  at the door can connor come out and play and   they never expressed it but i could see the kids  look in and you see that look on their face like   and they're thinking what are you doing you're  wearing a dress and a skirt a suit and a tie   it's saturday afternoon you know i i should be  well now they didn't ask but if they or their   neighbors were to come and say hey what are  you guys doing i'm celebrating the sabbath i'm   joining my congregation for services you  might have had it have you ever had your   neighbors look at you funny on saturday morning  you're dressed up you're carrying a briefcase   and you know they're thinking that guy's  in the c.i.a maybe he's a hit man or no   i am a christian i am keeping the sabbath i  need to be ready to dare to let people see me   do this and to do more to dare to speak  first peter 3 15 is a very common scripture   many of you haven't memorized i know about 19  or 20 of you who will before the year is over   sanctify the lord in your hearts and always be  ready to give a defense the old king james said   to give an answer it means give an explanation  of if anyone asks you of the reason of the hope   that is in you and with meekness and fear i hope  god's word is in us with meekness and fear but   how we answer should be meekly not what do you  mean what is the sabbath no let me explain to you   and we need to be willing as we have opportunity   and and it's not always easy it seems like it's  getting tough now we are part of a media work   and as i thought about this you know  the church has been somewhat daring   we are part of a church that's been willing  to be at the forefront of trying new methods   in technology when we started printing a mass  circulation magazine that was less common and   then moving to radio having this message out there  on thousands of stations then moving to television   now on the internet and the council meetings  last week they peter eddington reported we're   again in the top 10 of religious sites we're up  there with churches that have memberships in the   millions and budgets that would dwarf ours i  like he says we're punching above our weight   partly because we've been daring we've been  willing to try advertising in ways that are   unorthodox or that cost money when some people say  perhaps the money should be spent here or there   you know i'm pleased to be part of a work  that does that i'm also pleased that there   are experts upstairs that know how to make  those decisions i don't have to do that but you know we have different ways that we do get  to share you know we can share with our neighbors   we have the internet you could put something  on on the web that will go around the world   we want to do it with meekness and fear we want  to do it with love of our brethren certainly knowing what we know are we willing to dare  greatly dare to do the work of god to believe him   i know i'm running out of time but i want to  emphasize one more scripture that talks about   how it is we're able to do that it's  in first corinthians chapter 12. this has been a theme i find myself coming  back to because i guess i'm intrigued by it   because in the business of education you  know my business is one of message of words   and that's a lot of what we've been speaking of  god has a message first corinthians 12 if we read   i'll set the stage in verse 4 and then drop down  but he says there are diversities of gifts but the   same spirit that's a powerful thing now the the  holy spirit itself is the most wonderful gift but   through god's holy spirit he sometimes gives us  specific gifts what kind of gift can i fly can i   turn water into wine like jesus did can i finally  walk on the water let's read and starting in verse   seven the manifestation of the spirit is given to  each one for the prophet of all oh well i want to   fly but how's that going to profit all of you you  know so he gives us gifts that will help others   for to one is given the word of wisdom through the  spirit to another the word of knowledge through   the same spirit talks a lot about words here to  another faith by the same spirit to another gifts   of healing finally to another miracles our gifts  of healing the same spirit working on miracles   to another prophecy prophecy that greek word  is profutos which we know and many times   refers to inspired speaking we're back to words  again that's not bad though i i make it sound like   i'm disappointed but this is telling us what are  the gifts that we need to do god's work another   discerning of spirits to another different kinds  of tongues to another interpretations of tongues   again the word the message so yeah there can be  healing there can be working of miracles believe   me if i suddenly had the power to heal coveted  19 i'd be pretty popular and i'd go and do it   but when christ sent the disciples out he  didn't tell him go out and heal people and   cast out demons that came after he said go out and  preach teach this word he told him you are a light   and i'm telling us we are a light we're to be an  example among these gifts are faith and wisdom   can god give us faith that we don't have or we're  short on it he can he can give me wisdom i hope so   that i can give an answer with meekness and fear  and discernment can i discern a person's spirit   you know when you're reading something  on a facebook post that makes you angry   pray for discernment and when i say that to you  i'm telling me frank pray for discernment and   before i start to type i don't know how many times  i've started and said frank stop don't do that   discern what my spirit is sometimes  my spirit gets a little riled up   and i need to calm it and i need to seek god's  guidance and through his spirit he will give it   think about that when we have disagreements you  know god didn't commission us for certain things   fast time in an obstacle course i think  obstacle courses are cool but that's not   what it's about otherwise my sermon would  have been done 40 minutes ago or sooner   he gives us the task of sharing his  message we've got a message to share   we share it through our visible example  every day i hope we share it with our words   not as often but when we have opportunity we can  do this if we're daring and we need to be willing   to take a risk sometimes risk embarrassment  risk being ridiculed risk facing antagonism   we need to dare to be different and dare to be  uncomfortable but it's not without reward we've   been called to be children of god to have eternal  life and again not a boring blase life but a happy   exhilarating fulfilling life in the kingdom of  god that's a goal that's worth daring to attain   if we dare greatly we can change our  lives and god will use us to change the world you

Channel: United Church of God Sermons

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Id: 7q2SJYezrBA

Length: 51min 25sec (3085 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 03 2021