Jesus Didn't Play It Safe
One of my life verses that is always in front of me is Hebrews 11:6…
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
One of the myths that has been crippling to Christianity for years is that Jesus has called us to “play it safe”…when that is not taught OR modeled by Jesus OR His followers in the Scriptures. (See Acts 20:24 and Galatians 2:20)
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Jesus didn’t play it safe…Paul didn’t play it safe…none of the Apostles played it safe…the church in Acts 4:23-31 upon being threatened and persecuted did NOT pray for safety…they prayed for boldness!
Yet today we seem to want to play it safe…that cannot be the goal.
So what about you church leader? Church member? Whoever…what is that ONE THING that you KNOW the Lord is calling you to do? You know it’s a risk…you know that in order for it to take place you are going to need divine intervention? What is it? Why not do it?
People have asked me before, “Pastor P, how do I know that it’s God telling me to do it and not just an idea I had?” GREAT question…allow me to share three identifying marks that I have personally experienced.
#1 – This thing that you believe you are called to do by God will not contradict God’s Word! I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit…and I believe that He speaks as loud today as He did in the book of Acts; however, I also know according to the teachings of Scripture that the Holy Spirit will not contradict the Word of God. So…if “that thing” that you feel called to is in direct conflict with God’s Word…then it’s not God telling you to do it.
#2 – You can’t get away from this thought…it dominates your thinking and the more you marinade on it the more you feel like you might explode. For example…I really did believe back in 1996 that Jesus was telling me I needed to start a church. BUT…instead of running out and doing it immediately I began to read books on it (Rick Warrens books and Bill Hybels book on the subject of church planting impacted me significantly) and dove into the Scriptures to see what they taught about the subject. AND…the more I prayed, studied and read about it…the hotter the fire inside of me became.
#3 – Godly people in your life affirm it. (SEE Proverbs 15:22) What I have learned from personal experience is that if I do not want to share my idea with those in my life who I know really do love Jesus and love me…then…I usually know it’s not a “God idea” but rather a Perry idea. One of the things that EVERY believer in Christ needs is godly men and women who love Jesus and love the person enough to speak the truth in love…people who value the friend more than the friendship and are willing to say what needs to be said. ANYTIME I have ever shared a thought/idea that I really believe the Lord has placed in my heart and the people the Lord has placed in my life to love and challenge me push back…I ALWAYS take a step back and pray and think through the idea more until the Lord either gives me greater clarity OR shows me that the wise counsel of my friends is exactly what I needed to hear.
That is what works for me…so how about you? What is that thing that you know you should do?
Life is short, hell is hot and eternity is forever!!! The world has NEVER been impacted by Christians who spend their whole lives in a car seat and beg God to never let anything bad happen to them!
Ask HIM to set you on fire with HIS plans…and THEN GO FOR IT!
