Chasing Lions [4] - Neil Ryan
Sermon
When did you last do something crazy?
Life is funny – We are born into a world where we don’t know what’s crazy and what’s not.
Then between about 2 and 25 we do all sorts of crazy things.
Comes under various headings like ‘childishness, adolescence, immaturity’ etc
Then about that time we grow up we start the process of SETTLING. We become more mature, more predictable, often more boring!
Then somewhere around 50, something terrible happens –we have this mad urge to do crazy things all over again.
Jump out of planes, wear funny clothes, have strange hair styles, join a gym etc
Called = mid life crisis
I heard of a Middle aged man who was going through his mid-life crisis so he went out and bought himself a new bright red Porsche. He decided to take his new Porsche on a test drive in the country.
He got up to about 130 kph and all of a sudden he saw the police car with lights and siren blaring behind him. In his mid life madness he decided his Porsche could out run the Police. So the man sped up to 160 kph. Police kept coming.
The man finally came to his senses and said to himself, "This is crazy, I could go to jail for this," so he pulled over. The police officer came to the car and asked to see his licence.
He then said, "Its been a long day and I am tired. It’s nearly knock off time and I don’t need any more paper work so if you can give me an excuse no one else has ever given for driving like this, I’ll let you go."
Man thought for a moment and said, "Last night my WIFE ran off with a policeman and when I saw you CHASING me I thought you were trying to BRING HER BACK."
The officer looked at the man and said, "Have a nice day."
Now clearly, craziness can be dangerous and at times down right stupid. Especially in mid life it can have devastating consequences.
But I can’t help wondering if a similar process impacts our Christian lives!
Why is it only the young Christians -
• Who are crazy enough to believe that God can do amazing things?
• Who are willing to give up careers, give away their money, make outrageous sacrifices for Jesus?
Why do we settle down into status quo Christian living that is safe but predictable, secure but often boring!
Why does growing up in faith become synonymous with such stability that we barely think a crazy thought let alone do a crazy thing for God!
Here’s a question for you.
What is crazier –
Chasing a lion or jumping out of a boat to walk on the water?
Here’s another crazy thing
One day Jesus was going into Jericho and the crowds were following in such numbers that it was hard to get near him. Luke 19 tells us that there was a man with such a HUNGRY HEART that he climbed a tree just so he could get close to Jesus!
We think it’s OK when KIDS climb trees but what about grown men?
To make things worse, Jesus gets to the tree and HIGHLIGHTS the fact that this grown man is sitting in the tree!
Zacchaeus was willing to do something crazy to see Jesus.
You know what happened – Jesus returned the favour.
He says,
I need to go to your house for lunch!
That was the craziest thing.
Of all the people that day, Zacchaeus was the least deserving of Jesus.
Read v7
You know I wonder how many times Zacchaeus went back to that tree!
I wonder if he took his grandchildren and told them the story.
“Kids your not going to believe this, but one day I did this really crazy thing – yet it changed my life forever! It turned out to be the day I met Jesus!”
But let’s go back to the boat story!.
Matthew 14:25-32
It was between 3-6am, the disciples are out on the boat on the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus comes walking on the water.
Jesus tells them not to be afraid.
Peter says about the craziest thing you’ll ever hear.
Sort of thing you might only say somewhere between 3-6am!!
If it’s you tell me to come to you on the water!
Jesus says something just as crazy…..come!
Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water! [v29]
I love John Ortberg's book
“If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat”
Listen to what he says,
Matthew is not glorifying risk taking for its own sake. Jesus is not looking for bungee jumping, hang-gliding, day-trading, tornado-chasing Pinto drivers. Water walking is not something Peter does for recreational purposes. This is not a story about extreme sports. It is a story about extreme DISCIPLESHIP!
This means that before Peter gets out of the boat, he had better make sure Jesus thinks it’s a good idea. So he asks, “If it’s you, tell me to come…..”
Peter is less concerned how crazy it sounds and more concerned about WHO is calling him out!!
Has Jesus called you out lately?
Has he called you to do something crazy?
You know it’s interesting how often you come across craziness in the Bible.
OT
ABRAHAM LEAVING wealth and security of Ur to go to …. The “promise land” [Incidentally, he never entered!]
JOSEPH BELIEVING a dream that he would one day rule over his brothers.
NOAH BUILDING an Ark
DAVID FIGHTING Goliath with a sling shot
SHADRAK, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO REFUSING to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar –
NT
A Tax collector climbing trees and a former prostitute crashing parties to get to Jesus.
We see people pushing through crowds just to touch the Jesus cloak hoping to be healed.
We see people yelling at the top of their lungs like the blind beggar.
We see people who cutting holes in ceilings; jumping out of boats.
Let me give you a DEFINITION OF FAITH.
Faith is the willingness to look foolish.
Let me tell you why some of us have never chased a lion or walked on water or climbed a tree. It's because we're not willing to look foolish.
I Corinthians 1:27 reveals God's modus operandi:
God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.
Nothing has changed.
Deep down inside I think all of us have this primal longing to do something crazy for God. We want to build an ark or kill a giant or chase a lion. We want to do something great for God, but we allow the fear of foolishness paralyze.
I can't share my faith—I might look foolish.
I can't pray for a miracle—I might look foolish.
I can't make a promise—I might look foolish.
I can't admit I’m wrong—I might look foolish.
I can't quit my job—I might look foolish.
I can't raise my hand—I might look foolish.
It is the fear of foolishness that keeps us from walking on water or killing giants and worse still it’s the fear of foolishness that keeps us from finding and experiencing Jesus.
Let me take you all the way back to the Garden of Eden. I would suggest that there were no inhibitions in Eden before the fall of man. Adam and Eve were running around naked. And there was no shame. But what happened the moment they sinned? They became self-conscious.
Genesis 3:7 says, “At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.”
I think self-consciousness is part of the curse!
I want you to think of where you are most self conscious.
For me – it is dancing!
I would rather endure a thousand lashes than have to dance in public.
I feel like everybody just stares at me when I dance.
I feel completely insignificant!
But there is something else.
The other day, I received a CD in the mail from India.
It was video highlights of the 50th Celebration of Crofts Memorial Hospital,and they have put my entire message on it.
I tried to watch it.
It is painful.
I was embarrassed looking and listening to me.
It lasted 1 minute and I have filed it away in the dark recesses of my office never to be found!
I must have been crazy to think God could use that message!
But the strange thing – he does!
So how do we overcome this fear of foolishness?
How do we bring on a mid-life spiritual crisis that can rekindle our desire to do crazy things when God calls us out!
I think the answer is found in Ephesians 5:18: Don't be drunk with wine. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill you and control you.
What happens when you get drunk?
You lose all inhibition. But Paul is saying that wine is the wrong way to lose inhibition. The right way is being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us overcome our ungodly inhibitions.
You can see a picture of it in the book of Acts. When the Apostles are filled with the spirit there is a boldness that compels them to action.
In fact, the same Peter who denied Jesus three times says, “We cannot help but speak what we have seen and heard.” He became an unstoppable force! Why? He was filled with the Spirit of God.
I like the way Ron Rolheiser describes one function of the Holy Spirit. He says, “Isn't it the task of the Holy Spirit to introduce some madness and intoxication into the world? Why this propensity for balance and safety?
While I was in India the Minister of Transport arranged for me to spend a day at the Kaziranga wildlife sanctuary. It is a World Heritage listed Park.
As you know I am not WILD about animals!
But there is something about seeing ANIMALS in the wild.
They arranged for me to go on an elephant ride.
I have never been so TERRIFIED and so EXHILARATED in all my life.
To sit on this massive BEAST and plough through the wild life and come across herd of wild elephants, the one horned RHINO in a pond who just stared us out. Then as we barged our way through the elephant grass and I held on with a death grip there were the buffalo, the deer, the gazelle, bears, leopards, tigers and wild boars.
It was exciting provided you didn’t fall off the elephant!
But then you come home and go past the Zoo!
I’m over Zoo’s!
It’s not the same when they’re all CAGED up!
I used to love seeing those monkeys in the cage.
They were the highlight for me, but after I saw the GOLDEN LANGUOR monkeys in the wild – hundreds of them in their own world of tree studded forest, I never want to see one in a cage again!!
I wonder if churches do to PEOPLE what zoos do to animals.
We take something that is wild and we DOMESTICATE it. And we put it in a cage for easy observation. We remove the danger. We remove the risk. And the end result is CAGED CHRISTIANS.
That isn't the approach Jesus took. For starters, he handpicked a dozen disciples who were totally uncultured, uncivilized, and undomesticated. And Jesus didn't cage people. He unleashed them.
In fact, he used a zoological metaphor in Matthew 10:16. He was about to send them on their inaugural mission and he said, “I am sending you like sheep among wolves.”
The goal of church isn't to take people out of their natural habitat and domesticate them—make them look and talk and act like Christians.
When we pronounce the benediction at the end of the service we're releasing you back into the wild. And you go back into your natural habitat as a testimony of God's grace.
What about this for a challenge as we finish an old year and contemplate a new one.
Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Blaze a new trail. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.
Let’s Pray