Faith Factor
From the Series—Courage
August 28, 2002C.S. Lewis said, “Courage is not just one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” At the testing point, it takes courage to forgive the unpardonable or believe the impossible or love the undesirable. Lewis said, “Pilate was merciful until it became risky.”
There is mercy and there is risky mercy. One of NCC’s core values is love people when they least expect and least deserve it. It’s easy to love someone when they expect it and deserve it. But there is no risk involved. Jesus set a higher standard.
In John 8, the religious leaders bring a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus and they want to stone her to death. That’s what the Levitical law required. But Jesus says, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” That took incredible courage. The last thing Jesus wanted to do was condone adultery, but he took a calculated risk and gave this woman a second chance. He said, “Go and sin no more.” That is risky mercy!
Walk on Water
It’s 3:00 AM. The disciples are fighting a headwind on the Sea of Galilee. And Matthew 14:25 says, “Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus said to them: ‘Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it is you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ Jesus said, ‘Come.’ Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. When he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me’!”
Peter gets a bum rap. He’s the one who impulsively cut off Malchus’ ear when the religious leaders came to arrest Jesus, but I don’t see any of the other disciples coming to Jesus’ defense! Peter is the one who denies Jesus three times, but he’s the only one who got close enough to get caught. And Peter sinks. He loses faith and loses face, but I don’t see any of the other disciples getting out of the boat.
It’s easy to criticize Peter from the comfortable confines of the boat. Theodore Roosevelt said, “It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”
Fear Factor
Matthew 14 is a microcosm on life: if you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat. The boat represents our security blankets, our comfort zones, our human limitations. And Jesus says, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” That is the most common command in Scripture: “Don’t be afraid” (NIV) or “Fear not” (KJV). It is repeated 366 times in the Old and New Testament.
Anytime you do anything for the first time it’s scary! But that is part of the growth process. As a father, I’m always trying to get my kids to face their fears. John Ortberg says, “God has an inextinguishable habit of asking people to do things that are scary to them.”
The cure for the fear of failure isn’t success. The cure for the fear of failure is failure. The cure for the fear of rejection isn’t acceptance. The cure for the fear of rejection is rejection. Allergies provide a perfect analogy. Allergists treat allergies by exposing you to a small quantity of what you’re allergic to. That’s how you build up immunity. If you’re allergic to failure, you need to be exposed to failure.
I’ve always had a fear of failure. I want guaranteed success. But Ecclesiastes 11:1 says, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” It’s counterintuitive: you need to let it go so you can get it back!
Ecclesiastes continues, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” If we wait for perfect conditions we’ll be waiting the rest of our lives! Solomon says, “Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that.”
The cure for my fear of failure was falling flat on my face trying to do a church plant during Seminary. It was embarrassing because I wasn’t able to do what I said I was going to do. But that failure released me from the fear of failure.
One of our buzzwords at NCC is “experiment.” We’re always “casting our bread upon the waters.” We’re just not afraid to fail. In fact, it’s kind of fun. It’s not fun at the time, but failure is funny! I remember one of our first coffeehouse concerts at the 3rd Place. It was a total failure. There were more people in the band than the audience! That’s failure. But that’s also pretty funny!
You need to face your fears head-on. Sometimes it’s helpful to think about the worst-case scenario. What’s the worst thing that can happen if you get out of the boat? In most cases, the worst thing that can happen is you sink, but if Jesus calls you He’s going to be there to catch you! At least you got out of the boat.
There was a very cautious man
Who never laughed or played.
He never risked, he never tried,
He never sang or prayed.
And when one day he passed away
His insurance was denied,
For since he never really lived,
They claimed he never died.
Faith Factor
A few months ago I sent out an evotional titled The Wild Goose. That’s what the Celtic Christians called the Holy Spirit. I can’t think of a better description of being led by the Spirit than “a wild goose chase.” That’s what it feels like sometimes! Shortly after that message I got an email from an NCCer.
About a month ago I applied for a position in Harvard’s WorldTeach program. I knew it was a long shot, but there were too many “coincidences” for me to ignore the opportunity God was placing before me. Last week you talked about stepping out in faith to follow God’s call. You said, “God is always calling us into terra incognita. He wants us to go where we’ve never gone and do what we’ve never done.”
In a nutshell, the government of the Marshall Islands has named educational reform as their top priority. I have been asked to be one of the 30 American delegates to help. Am I scared to go to a country that has electricity in only 1 of its 1229 islands? That is “connected” not through Internet or cell phones, but by short-wave radio? That is a 6+ hour flight from any other major civilization? That has the highest incidence of radiation poisoning anywhere on earth? To answer these and the other questions swirling in my head, I would say, “Yes.” Have I thought about turning down the offer? Yes. Do I believe that turning down the offer would be refusing God’s call? Yes. Will I go? Yes.
Going to the Marshall Islands is stepping out in faith, but you don’t have to go half-way around the world to get out of the boat. It may be praying for a miracle in private or sharing your faith in public. Getting out of boat is all about taking that first step of faith when Jesus says, “Come.”
Larry Lauden is an expert in risk-management. He’s spent more than a decade researching risk. Here is his conclusion: everything is risky. For what it’s worth, ever year a half-million Americans visit the Emergency Room for injuries sustained while falling out of bed. You can stay in bed and stay asleep all day and you’re still not safe!
Let me take Lauden’s conclusion one step further. The greatest risk is taking no risks! That is the principle in the parable of the talents. Jesus commends the two men who take a risk, invest their money, and make a return. But Jesus takes away the talent from the servant who buries it. Use it or lose it.
C.S. Lewis said, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course He isn’t safe. But He’s good.” Following Jesus is risky, but not as risky as not following.Following Jesus is scary, but not as scary as not following.
Face your fears. Step out in faith. And you might just walk on water.