Live and Learn 2003
From the Series—Live and Learn
December 30, 2003Next week we’ll begin a three-part series of evotionals from Matthew 6 titled M6.
In his book, Listening to Life, Fredrick Buechner says, “If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything I was trying to say both as a novelist and as a preacher, it would be something like this: listen to your life.”
All of us know people who have been Christians for twenty-five years, but they don’t have twenty-five years of experience. They have one year of experience repeated twenty-five times. Why? Because they aren’t learning what God is trying to teach them. They aren’t listening to their lives!
Deuteronomy 11:2 says, “Remember what you have learned about the Lord through your experiences with Him.”
This evotional focuses on five lessons learned in 2003. Throughout the year, there have been certain passages of Scripture and certain truths that have become inescapable. They got into my heart and spirit and I couldn’t get them out. They have woven themselves into the fabric of who I am.
Playing it safe is risky
The first lesson learned is: playing it safe is risky. Matthew 14 is a microcosm. It’s about an approach to life that doesn’t play it safe.
In Matthew 14:25 says, “During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.’ But Jesus immediately said to them, ‘Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.”
Peter gets a bum rap. Peter is the disciple who denies Christ three times, but we forget the fact that he was also the only one who got close enough to get caught. Everybody else was playing it safe.
Peter is the disciple who impulsively cut off Malchus’ ear when the religious leaders came to arrest Jesus, but we forget the fact that he was the only one who came to Jesus’ defense. Everybody else was playing it safe.
And Peter is the disciple who sinks, but we forget the fact that Peter is also the only one who walked on water. Everybody else was playing it safe.
Teddy Roosevelt said, “It is 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 them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.”
Here’s what I think: sinking is better than sitting. It is easy to criticize Peter from the comfortable confines of the boat. But I believe that God is honored when we step out in faith. And the truth is: you can’t walk on water if you don’t get out of the boat.
One year ago, things were going great at NCC. We experienced a 43% increase in both attendance and giving in 2002. It was tempting to just keep doing what we’d been doing. But we decided to “get out of the boat” and launch a second location because we felt God calling us to become a multi-site church.
I look back on all the miracles that happened in 2003 because of the launch and I realize that none of them would have happened if we had stayed in the boat and remained one church in one location.
A few months ago I read a story about John Muir the founder of the Sierra Club. Eugene Peterson describes Muir this way. “He tramped up and down through our God-created wonders, from the California Sierras to the Alaskan glaciers, observing, reporting, praising, and experiencing-entering into whatever he found with childlike delight and mature reverence.” He was an explorer extraordinaire.
In 1874, Muir was staying with a friend at his cabin in the Sierra Mountains and a storm set in one December day. The wind was so strong that it bent the trees over backwards. Instead of retreating to the safety of the cabin, Muir entered the storm. He found a mountain ridge and climbed to the top of a giant Douglas Fir. He held on for dear life and rode out the storm. Muir wanted to experience the full effect of the storm-the sights and sounds and scents. Peterson says Muir relished the weather-its “rich sensuality” and “primal energy.”
Eugene Peterson says, “The story of John Muir, storm-whipped at the top of the Douglas Fir in the Yuba River Valley” is an “icon of Christian Spirituality.” Peterson says it’s a “standing rebuke against becoming a mere spectator to life, preferring creature comfort to Creator confrontation.”
You have a choice to make in 2004. You can stay in the cabin or climb the tree. You can stay in the boat or walk on water.
The bottom line is this: playing it safe is risky! I love the way Erwin McManus says it in his book Unstoppable Force. He says, “The center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world.” Then he makes a great distinction. He says, “To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in his will makes us dangerous.”
The Only Certainty is Uncertainty
If I had to describe the first three months of 2003 in one word it would be the word “uncertainty.” I cast the vision to launch a second location in January 2003, but there were high levels of uncertainty swirling around that decision. This is a little embarrassing, but I had second-thoughts the day after I cast the vision! Here is my journal entry from Monday, January 27th, 2003.
Once I cast the vision for the launch I had this feeling like, “Wow, we really need to do this now.” It was that “scary, uneasy” feeling that you get every time you try something you’ve never done before.
Let me tell you something about stepping out in faith: you almost always second-guess yourself. You make the decision to get out of the boat and you have second-thoughts. You wonder if you made a mistake. Did God really tell me to get out of the boat? I think Peter second-guesses himself. He loses focus-he looks at the wind and the waves. And when you lose focus you lose faith.
I’ll never forget sitting at the Starbucks on the 1st floor of Ballston Common Mall and reading a book by Andy Stanley during that season of uncertainty. It was like the book was written specifically for me. Stanley wrote, “There will always be an element of uncertainty. Generally speaking, you are probably never going to be more than eighty percent certain. Waiting for greater certainty may cause you to miss an opportunity.”
Most of us want certainty-we love 100% money-back guarantees. But the problem with that is this: there is no such thing as risk-free faith. Uncertainty is a prerequisite to faith.
In his book, Divine Appointments, Erwin McManus says, “Don’t wait for God to remove all the uncertainty. Realize He may actually increase the uncertainty and leverage all odds against you, just so that you know in the end that it wasn’t your gifts but His power through your gifts that fulfilled His purpose in your life.”
I used to think that the more proficient I became in my calling, the less uncertainty I would experience. But I think Andy Stanley is right. He says, “Uncertainty actually increases with increased leadership responsibility. The more responsibility you assume as a leader, the more uncertainty you will be expected to manage. The cost of success as a leader is greater uncertainty, not less.”
I love Henry Kissinger’s perspective on success. He said, “Every success is an admission ticket to a new set of decisions.” And those decisions don’t get easier. They get harder. Success equals bigger and tougher decisions.
There is a pattern established in the parable of the talents: when we are faithful in a few things God expands our responsibilities. Matthew 25:23 says, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things: I will put you in charge of many things.”
It doesn’t say retire or take a vacation. The reward for good work isn’t taking it easy. In the kingdom of God, the reward for good work is more work.
Signs Follow
We want God to provide signs before we step out in faith. And sometimes He does. But more often than not, signs don’t precede faith. They follow faith.
Mark 16:20 says, “They went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.”
There is a pattern established in this passage. When we step out in faith we can expect signs to follow. The Lord will confirm it in different ways at different times.
I think one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever made as a church was where to launch our second location. We did our homework. We looked at different locations. We considered all the options. And finally we had to make a decision. We decided to launch our second location at Ballston Common Mall. But if you’ve made a major decision like that, especially if there were other options, you still wonder if you made the right choice.
The day we made the decision we prayed for favor with Regal Cinemas. We had been negotiating for months and hadn’t made any progress. The week we prayed for favor, Regal restructured their rental rates. It was a sign following.
A few weeks later we announced the second location to NCC-at-large and the next day I got a call from Tom Doyle at Regal Cinemas. I’d never met or talked with Tom before. I had no idea who he was. And he had no idea we were in negotiations with Regal. Tom lives in Denver, Colorado and happened to read an article about NCC in the Washington Post online. He called and asked if we’d be interested in leasing with Regal. To make a long story short: we got more time for less money. It was a sign following!
Some of us never see any signs because we never step out in faith. May 2004 be full of signs!
Don’t Pray in Vague Terms
Our dream this year was to launch a second location and we had three specific goals: 10 community groups in our target area, 100 NCCers on the launch team, and $100,000 to invest in the launch. But the closer we got to the launch the more those prayer goals seemed like impossibilities. And I started to wonder if I should keep praying for 10, 100, and $100,000. I was tempted to give up on the goals and start praying in generic terms. Then I picked up a book by David Yonggi Cho that had been on my shelf for years. And I read something right when I needed to read it. Cho wrote, “God doesn’t answer vague prayers.” There was something about that statement that convicted me and challenged me.
The more I thought about it the more it made sense. God doesn’t answer vague prayers because when you pray vague prayers it doesn’t take any faith and God doesn’t get any glory. Vague prayers are a cop out. Let me explain. When we pray in vague terms there is no way God can or cannot answer. There is no way of telling whether or not the prayer was answered because it was so vague.
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for.”
Don’t underestimate the spirituality of specificity. Level of specificity reveals level of faith.
During that time we were trying to get noon access at the theater but it wasn’t looking good. It is very difficult to get anything past 11:30 AM access at theaters on Sundays because the movies start playing. I remember praying with some NCCers about access time and I said, “Let’s pray for noon access.” I still remember one of them making doubly sure and saying, “We’re praying for noon access, right?” I said, “Yes.” Our contact at Regal said noon access was unlikely and there was part of me that wanted to cop out and pray in vague terms. But we prayed for noon access and we got noon access. You have not because you ask not.
As we enter a New Year I want to challenge you to become more specific in your prayer life. Quit praying in vague terms. I’m not saying I always know what to pray for. Sometimes I pray in the Spirit. Sometimes I pray in very simplistic terms. My favorite one word prayer is “Help.” I think God hears and answers those prayers.
But we also need to pray through. Luke 18 says, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
I think sometimes we pray in such vague terms that we forget what we prayed for before we open our eyes or walk out of church. God doesn’t get excited about answering those kinds of prayers.
As you set goals this year, be specific. If your goals are vague you’ll never know if you achieved them. Don’t make a resolution to “get in shape.” That’s meaningless because it’s not measurable. If you want to get in shape then set a goal to “workout three times a week” or “reduce your body fat 5%” or “run a 10K.”
The Spirit is Always Interceding
I don’t think we need more knowledge as much as we need deeper convictions. I don’t think we need to increase the breadth of our knowledge as much as the depth of our understanding. Another way of saying it is this: if we could grasp the simple truths of Scripture it would totally revolutionize our lives. Here is one of them.
Romans 8:26 says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes fro us with groans that words cannot express.”
At different points this year I’ve gotten up in the morning and gone to bed at night with that thought. What a powerful thing. Long after you go to bed tonight and long before you wake up tomorrow morning, the Holy Spirit will be making intercession for you.
If you can grasp that simple truth it’ll completely change your entire outlook on life. Oswald Chambers said, “No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God in a human spirit, it is an inner unconquerableness.”
May you walk into 2004 with a sense of destiny!