Worth the Risk

His name is Felix Baumgartner (born 1969). His is an Austrian born skydiver. On October 14, 2012, he roared twenty-four miles up in a helium balloon. He found the place where space begins. Do you remember what happened? The video clip was shown countless times. He jumped out of his balloon and drifted down to the surface of the earth safely. Along the way he became the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power. I knew he would be safe because the whole thing was sponsored by energy drink company, Red Bull. Can I ask you a question? Do you consider Felix a hero? Do you consider Felix a fool? We can all agree on the fact that he is a risk taker. Here is a question you must answer. How great of a risk are you willing to take for God? That leads us to the scripture lesson for today.

We are in the third chapter of Acts, verses one through ten. According to the text, Peter and John are on their way to the temple to pray at 3:00 in the afternoon. It is unusual for us to show up at church for pray in the middle of the afternoon, but it was not unusual for them. The devout came at scripted times. They came at 9:00 in the morning. They came at 3:00 in the afternoon. They came at sunset. The Hebrew faith has always valued prayer.

As the devout came, they saw the usual cast of characters lining the street, the beggars. Most did not come by their own power. They were placed there by their loved ones, who knew of the generosity of the religious. After all, how can you worship God and ignore the needy of this world? Each one of the beggars had their own spot and story. Some were begging because of some physical limitation. They were blind, lame, or deaf. Some were begging because of an accident or a disease. Some were begging because they were simply too old to work. It was quite a crowd. The only thing they had in common was poverty. They sat there begging because they had nowhere else to go. They were the lowest of the low in their society. They were a sea of hopelessness. Everyone had pity on them, but no one would have traded places with them.

According to the text, as Peter was nearing the temple, he does something unexpected. In the middle of that sea of hopelessness, Peter picked out one man. I do not know why that man. Perhaps, he had been there the longest? The text tells us he had been lame from birth. Perhaps, his voice was the loudest or the most annoying? Perhaps, he was the most pitiful? Or perhaps, the man just got lucky? The man just happened to be at the right place at the right time. He just happened to be there when Peter mustered enough courage to try something new. That was Peter’s first miracle. It is always hard to do something for the first time. What happens if he calls on the name of Jesus to heal the man and nothing happens? The more I have wrestled with this text, the more I am convinced Peter was a risk taker. Are you a risk taker? I hope you are, because you are never going to make a difference in this world playing it safe. Let me ask you two questions. Both are extremely practical.

First, how much of your personal pride are you willing to risk serving God? There are no guarantees in the ministry. In the history of the church, we have known great success and we have known great failure. When was the last time you were part of a ministry that failed? The feeling never goes away. When ministries fail egos are damaged and people never forget. However, the worst thing is there is nothing we can do. Are you willing to be a risk taker for Jesus or are you happy playing it safe? Helen Keller (1880-1968) once said, “Life is either a wild adventure or it is nothing at all.” Are you willing to risk your personal pride serving God?

Listen to this list of names:

1. Bill Gates
2. Abraham Lincoln
3. Isaac Newton
4. Ludwig van Beethoven
5. Frank Woolworth
6. Walt Disney
7. Thomas Edison
8. Winston Churchill
9. Henry Ford
10.  Albert Einstein

Each one these individuals knew great success. Each one of these individuals also experienced failure. I can give you a story of failure about each one. For example, Thomas Edison’s (1847-1931) teacher once told him me was too stupid to learn. I respect each name on the list because they worked through their individual failures.

I love this story because Peter lays everything on the line. Verse six says, “Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” It is one thing to say the words. It is another thing to have a miracle flow through you. I don’t care how you turn the story. Peter was risking his personal pride. What would have happened if the man wasn’t healed? Peter would have looked like a fool. How foolish are you willing to look for Jesus? Are you willing to risk your personal pride?

Second, how much of your personal security are you willing to risk serving God? It isn’t just true of Peter. It is true of us. We live in a sea of hopelessness. Our world is filled with hurting people. God expects us to help them. They are not going to come to us. We are going to have to go to them. God expects us to meet them. God expects us to interact with them. God expects us to get emotionally involved with them. That is the difference between missions and charity. Yes, there is an element of risk. Are you willing to risk your personal security?

During my time in the ministry, my wife Katheryn and I have visited the former Soviet Union over two dozen times to help unadoptable orphans. In December of 2011, Kathryn and I were getting ready to travel back to Russia. We were traveling to an orphanage we had visited in the past, the Renewal Orphanage in Dmitrov. We were excited about that trip because our youngest daughter, Anna, was going. It was her first trip, and she was a little apprehensive. I couldn’t blame her. She had never done anything like this in the past. She had seen a mountain of pictures from previous trips but going was different. Anna has always tried to hide her emotions, so she was not always easy to read. That is why when she came home from school just a few days before we left upset, I was surprised. I said, “Anna, what is wrong?” She responded, “Someone asked me if my will was up to date. You may need it if you are going to Russia.” She asked for the first time, “Dad, are we going to be safe?” I said, “Yes! Do you really think I would put you in danger?”

Have you ever noticed how many cowards there are in this world? You know it is true. You don’t have to travel out of the country. Just try to do something in the name of Jesus. Annually, my church sent teenagers on domestic youth mission trips. They went everywhere. Annually, someone will tell me it isn’t a good idea because the highways are dangerous. Try to help people in the city and people will try to discourage you by quoting some crime report. Try to save the souls of the incarcerated and people will wonder about your sanity. Have you ever tried to discourage someone from doing something in the name of Jesus? Could it be our pews are filled with cowards?

Are you willing to risk your personal security? Just think about it for a moment. In the text, the group that was responsible for killing Jesus was still in power. They had the authority to kill anyone who supported Jesus. Peter healed this man in the name of Jesus. He was aligning himself with Jesus and putting himself in danger. You can say a great deal about Peter, but you can’t call him a coward. Do you consider yourself a coward? Are you willing to risk your personal pride? Are you willing to risk your personal security?

I love this old story. A clergyman from New York called on Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) at the White House during the darkest days of the Civil War. He said: “I have not come to ask any favors of you, Mr. President; I have only come to say that the loyal people of the North are sustaining you and will continue to do so. We are giving you all that we have, the lives of our sons as well as our confidence and our prayers. You must know that no boy’s father or mother ever kneels in prayer these days without asking God to give you strength and wisdom.” Lincoln was moved by his words. He replied, “But for those prayers, I should have faltered and perhaps failed long ago. Tell every father and mother you know to keep on praying, and I will keep on fighting, for I know God is on our side.” As the clergyman started to leave the room, Mr. Lincoln held him by the hands and said: “May I consider this a pastoral call?” “Yes,” replied the clergyman. “Out in the country,” replied Lincoln, “when a parson makes a pastoral call, it was always the custom for the folks to ask him to lead in prayer, and I should like to ask you to pray with me today. Pray that I may have the strength and the wisdom.” The two men knelt side by side, and the clergyman offered the most fervent plea to Almighty God that ever fell from his lips. As they arose, the President clasped his visitor’s hand and remarked in a satisfied sort of way: “I feel better.”

I love that story because it humanizes one of the great figures in American history.

I don’t care if you are president of the United States or a common citizen, we all need prayer. If you are going to make a difference for Jesus in this world, then you better collect as many prayers as possible. It is not easy risking your personal pride. Sometimes we fail. It is not easy risking personal security. There is a sea of hopelessness out there. It is not easy serving in the name of Jesus, but it is worth the risk. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) once said, “A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is NOT what it was built for.” Neither are you!