Risk and Faith I. Introduction A. One can look at life through many different lenses B. One such lens is the lens of risk 1. We understand risk: the analysis of exposure that might lead to loss or gain 2. What dangers, difficulties, challenges are we exposing ourselves to? 3. On the other hand, what benefits and gain can we obtain because of that exposure? C. Another such lens is the lens of faith 1. Faith here is a matter of trust and confidence in God, and the willingness to depend on God in various circumstances (Matthew 14:28-31, Hebrews 11, etc.) 2. How much faith do we have? How much are we willing to depend on God? 3. What are the consequences if we do not have sufficient faith in God? D. In reality, Christians live in tension on a spectrum regarding risk and faith 1. On one side, an overabundant concern for safety that leads to little willingness to expose oneself to risk, to have faith 2. On the other side, a complete lack of concern for risk that can lead to recklessness E. These are significant issues in our lives! F. Which path shall we take? How do we live our lives when it comes to risk and faith? II. Risk: Counting the Cost A. Risk, particularly risk management: an everyday feature of life 1. In reality, everything we do in life involves risk at some level 2. When we love, get married, have children, have any kind of relationship, are employed, get into a car: all are risks 3. We are always, somehow or another, engaging in a cost-benefit analysis with risk 4. We decide whether we are willing to take whatever risks in life: is the prospect of the possible benefit worth the exposure to the possible loss? 5. Marriage: is the possible benefit of companionship, pleasure, and so forth worth the risk to pain and loss? 6. Employment or an investment: is the wage or the possible gains worth the exposure to loss of time and resources or the possible loss? B. Counting the cost important in the decision to follow Christ 1. Luke 14:26-33 2. Jesus provides examples of two people: one building a tower, a king going to war 3. They should "count the cost": engage in some risk management 4. Do they have the sufficient resources to accomplish their purposes? Is the endeavor worth the outlay? 5. So it is with being a disciple of Christ 6. As He says, to follow Him, one must be willing to renounce family, bear the cross of shame, and even renounce all that one has (Luke 14:26-27, 33) 7. So is the risk worth it? Is it worthwhile to give up all that one has, all that one can feel secure about, and trust in God? 8. If all of this Christianity business is wrong and there really is no God, then it is a colossal waste of resources and the likelihood of being disappointed and a failure is strong 9. But if Jesus is the Son of God, and God is the Creator, and He will judge the living and the dead through His Son, then there is no greater benefit, and the greatest risk is in not obeying Him (cf. John 1:1-4, Acts 17:30-31, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)! C. The Idol of Safety 1. There is a great danger in attempting to put trust into the notion of "safety" 2. Worldly wisdom would tell us that there is benefit in always "playing it safe" 3. People will tell you that it is always better to curb one's intentions and desires and efforts so that they do not go beyond the realm of what is safe, lest one enter into whatever is considered dangerous and fail and suffer! 4. But is there really such a "safe" position? 5. One could say that it is "safer" to not get married, have children, be in relationships, for then one cannot get hurt... 6. ...but ironically, one then risks the very real pain of isolation, loneliness, and regret! 7. One could advocate safety in terms of investments, activities, and the like... 8. ...but as we have learned, there is no such thing as a truly safe investment, and without any taking of risk, humans tend to atrophy in many ways! 9. Spiritually, many think it is best to take the "safe" path... 10. ...but who are we told of who took the safe path but the one talent/one mina servant (Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 19:12-26)? And look what happened to him! 11. Therefore, "safety" is not always what it is cracked up to be: it is not the solution D. Some level of risk, therefore, is utterly necessary in order to live! 1. "The unrisked life is not worth living"! 2. Where there is no risk, there is never any opportunity for real gain 3. A life without risk is a life full of regret 4. Therefore, we must understand that risk is a part of life, and if we want to enjoy life, then we need to take some risks! III. Faith: Truly Trusting God A. Concept of faith often discussed, too often abused 1. Faith often discussed in terms of mental assent to a proposition 2. Completely necessary, but on its own completely insufficient 3. Our discussion of faith goes beyond acceptance of the existence of God and the truths in His Word: instead, it focuses on the actual level of confidence we have in God! B. There is a wide gulf between believing in God and believing God! 1. It is one thing to believe that God exists, and even to believe that God is able to act in fantastic ways 2. It is quite another to hear what He says and place your complete trust and confidence in Him no matter how the situation may look! C. Consider examples of old 1. Abraham (Genesis 12, 22) a. Abram hears from this YHWH to leave Ur and go where He says and He will bless him (Genesis 12:1-3) b. Sure, it sounds good, but it is a major risk: how can Abram be sure that this is really God talking, that it is really the real God talking, and that He will do what He says? c. But Abram was willing to believe God, and he went out, and was blessed! d. Then, after getting to know God better, God commands him to sacrifice his son of promise (Genesis 22:1-2) e. It seems so utterly against the nature of God, so contrary to the promises God made: yet Abraham believed God, proved willing to do so, was prevented from doing so, and was blessed (Genesis 22:3-18)! 2. Gideon (Judges 6-8) a. Jesus spoke of a king with 10,000 who sues for peace with a king who has 20,000 (Luke 14:31-32) b. Imagine how Gideon felt being charged with taking 300 men against the whole Midian host (Judges 7:7)! c. What if Gideon proved unwilling to step out in faith and take the risk? d. But he went up against 135,000, and ended up slaughtering all but about 15,000 (Judges 8:10)! 3. Jonathan (1 Samuel 14) a. Jonathan sees the Philistine host b. 1 Samuel 14:6, 8-12: Jonathan proves willing to trust in God, fight against the Philistines with his armor-bearer by himself c. This led to a great victory and rout over Philistia (1 Samuel 14:13-23) 4. We could go on and on, as the Hebrew author did (Hebrews 11:1-40)! D. These men were not successful because of their own strength: they were successful because they trusted God and He gave them success! 1. Gideon and Jonathan actively sought indications from God that their course was the right course, and it was so 2. In every circumstance, if it were only a human thing, it would have failed; only God could have provided blessings and success in these and many other circumstances! E. Such also motivated the Apostles: 12 simple men: to take the world by storm with their message of Jesus Christ (Acts 2-28)! F. But what about now? 1. We seem to suffer some kind of paralysis in faith 2. We confess that God is able to do these types of things, but we act as if He will not do so today 3. Romans 8:28, 32; Ephesians 3:20-21 4. Do we believe that God is able to act powerfully through us, and are we willing to depend upon Him and not our own resources in order to try? 5. Or will we remain convinced that we have only the natural resources at our control, and that the supernatural resources of God are undependable and should not be factored into the equation? 6. Are we willing to believe that God is active in His creation today as He was before (Hebrews 1:3), and that He is still attempting to accomplish His will in the eternal plan in Christ through believers this very day (cf. Ephesians 3:11)? 7. Are we suffering from loss, doubt, fear, and spiritual atrophy because we are not willing to take the risk of really, truly depending upon God and His power today? G. The Disclaimers 1. While we should believe that God is abundantly able: and willing: to accomplish great things through believers to advance His Kingdom even today, we must be careful 2. There is a thin line between "trusting God in faith" and reckless, irresponsible living 3. We must renounce all that we have to follow Jesus, but we still must provide for our own family (Luke 14:33, 1 Timothy 5:8) 4. We must not expect to receive anything from the Lord if we are seeking to advance our own carnal desires (James 4:1-3) 5. We must make sure that we are not going beyond our God-given abilities and what is truly possible in our faith (1 Peter 4:10-11) 6. It may even be that we have trusted in the Lord and yet been disappointed somehow! a. We must then go through the examination: were our motives honest? Were we really trusting in God? Did we confuse our carnal will with God's holy will? b. If we still believe that we acted honestly in faith, we must not give up: perhaps God's purpose is going in a different direction than we thought, or perhaps this is but one piece in a larger puzzle c. Perhaps the challenge was that our timeframe was not God's timeframe! 7. These disclaimers notwithstanding, is it not true that our very existence and all that we have are gifts from God as it is (cf. Genesis 1, Ephesians 1:3, etc.)? 8. Why, then, should we resist entrusting ourselves and all such things back to Him? 9. We should not be discouraged in our attempts to entrust ourselves to God and His purposes! IV. Conclusion A. Risk is a part of life, and there is some value in risk management: we certainly do not want to be found reckless and irresponsible in the sight of God B. But God has not called us to safe living with moderate, sensible even to the worldly ideals C. We are called to entrust ourselves to God and His purposes (Galatians 2:20), and the more willing we are to step out in faith and depend on God, we are more able to live fully and for such greater reasons! D. As opposed to finding reasons why God would not provide such harvests as He did in past times, perhaps we should be asking ourselves why we are not willing to trust that He can, He will, and that He wants to, now as then, if only we would trust in Him and not in our own feeble, unaided efforts (1 Corinthians 3:5-9, 1 Timothy 2:4)? E. Why wouldn't God provide the harvest that He provided so long ago? F. Let us be willing to get beyond the safe live and live the true life of faith in Jesus Christ! G. Invitation/songbook Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have wherewith to complete it?” (Luke 14:28) Before we begin to follow Jesus we must “count the cost,” or, in a real sense, participate in risk assessment. What are the risks we incur if we follow Jesus? What are the risks we incur if we turn away from Jesus? Let us count the cost and prove willing to trust in faith! 2: “And another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I kept laid up in a napkin: for I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that which thou layedst not down, and reapest that which thou didst not sow’” (Luke 19:20-21). Three men were given minas; two proved willing to risk loss in order to obtain gain, but the third feared risking at all. The first two were commanded; this last was condemned. We cannot avoid risk; we risk even if we trust in “safety.” Let us trust in God in Christ and be willing to follow His lead! 3: Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. For therein the elders had witness borne to them (Hebrews 11:1-2). The only reason all the “heroes of faith” were “heroic” was their faith, or trust, in God. In and of themselves they could do little to nothing; they trusted in God, and God did great things through them. Will we prove willing to step out in faith as did the men of old, and receive the same commendation? 4: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us (Ephesians 3:20). Paul maintains confidence that God is able to work in and through us above all that we ask or think. Do we have that confidence? Are we willing to depend upon the awe-inspiring power of God and participate in things far greater than we could ever imagine? Or will we shrink back, afraid of failure, not fully trusting in God?