Taking Risks for God

God sometimes asks us to take risks. He calls us out of our comfort zone. 

Throughout history, God’s people have taken risks for him. Noah took a risk for God when he built a massive boat. When his boat was completed and torrents of rain began to fall, Noah’s risk paid off, and he and his family were kept safe while the world was destroyed.

Abraham took a risk when God told him to go out to the Promised Land. He went out, not knowing where he was going.

Mary took a risk when she said “yes” to bearing Jesus Christ. She could have been stoned for getting pregnant outside of marriage, but she cared more about God than herself.

Peter, James, John, Andrew, Matthew, and probably all the other apostles took a risk when they left their jobs to follow Jesus.

Thomas risked everything when he left the comfort and safety of his homeland to travel to India to share the gospel.

All these people took risks, but their risks paid off, both in this life and in the age to come.

Jesus said that there is no man who has left everything to follow him who will not receive a great reward, both in this life and in the age to come (Mark 10:28-30). Everyone who takes a risk for God will be blessed.

Following God seems like a risk because God is invisible. His ways are higher than our ways. We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Walking by faith is a risk because you can’t see where you are going.

It always seems safer to take zero risks and just stay in our comfort zone. But if we want to see forward progress for God’s kingdom, we’ll have to take risks.

God likes it when we take risks for him because that proves our faith. Taking risks for God shows we trust his word. It shows we believe that he will take care of us and that his plans will succeed. Taking risks for God shows that we value him above all else.

Taking risks for God actually keeps us safe. God is the one who keeps us safe, not the government, a business, other people, money, or anything else. We need God. God never changes. His word contains divine power that protects people. When we do something “risky” according to God’s word, he will protect us. 

If God be for us, who can be against us?

On the other hand, disobeying God is extremely unsafe. If God has called us to take a “risk” and we refuse to, we put ourselves in danger. Disobeying God makes us contrary to God, and if God is against us, who can help us? God is merciful, but we don’t want to be against him.

Taking Risks for Jesus

Throughout history, people have taken risks to follow Jesus. 

Nicodemus took a risk to meet with Jesus at night and hear the gospel. 

In the first century, Jews took a risk to believe in Jesus, and Gentiles took a risk to trust in Christ and forsake their idols. 

Today, in many Muslim countries, people risk their lives to believe in Jesus. 

In China, people take a risk to go to a house church rather than to a government-approved church building.

People may not understand it when we take risks and are radical for God. They may think we’re a bit crazy. But we can’t let that stop us. We’re not living for people, we’re living for God. It’s possible that someday the very people who criticize our risk-taking will be blessed by the radical steps we take. 

The only way to bless others is to obey God ourselves.

YOLO

Many people today are bored with the mundane life that the world has laid out for them. The world says we have to get an education, get a job, make money, get married, have kids, buy a house, go on a cruise, then die in a nursing home. 

What’s the point of this?

There’s a saying today called You Only Live Once. This saying has become an acronym – YOLO. It basically means, “Life is short, so make the most of it!” 

People today with a YOLO mindset are taking risks. They are jumping off cliffs into the ocean in Bali, piling all their money into meme stocks, splurging on expensive toys, and traveling around the world. They think they only live once, so they need to take risks and make the most of life.

But all these things are passing away, and they have little or no eternal value. Instead of “YOLOing” off a cliff into the sea, we need to “YOLO” into more of God. God is worth taking risks for, and since we only live once, let’s live all out for God’s kingdom and be radical for him! Then we will be rewarded in this age and in the age to come. If we’re going to risk our lives for something, let’s risk our lives for God, not for worldly trinkets or for more Instagram likes.

Be Sure to Hear From God

But we must be careful when taking a risk “for God.” We have to be sure that we are actually hearing from God. Some people take risks and do things that God never told them to do, and this can end badly. Don’t come up with a crazy plan and then blame God when it doesn’t work out. 

To be clear about what God is saying, pray, read the Bible, and receive counsel from mature believers. When you’re sure you’ve heard from God (and only then), go for it. 

The Season is Changing

We are living in unusual times. An exponential rise in technology is causing AI to transform the world, and humanoid robots are not far behind. A global government, global economy, world religion, the Antichrist, and the mark of the beast are coming. God is looking for holy risk-takers to meet these challenges. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those who trust in him” (1 Chronicles 16:9). God is calling forth a remnant who will be spiritually and materially prepared for what’s coming. They will be strong and do exploits at the end of the age (Daniel 11:32).

New Testament Church is the Only Ark of Safety

The only place of safety at the end of the age will be inside the true church. The church is God’s house. The blueprint of God’s house is found in the New Testament. We must put everything we have into the manifestation of the bride of Christ according to this divine pattern.

Noah put everything he had into his boat, and Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.” Like Noah gave up everything for God’s plan, so there will be people at the end of the age who will risk everything to see God’s house (the church) built. 

A group of people must take risks for God together. Individuals are not going to make it, only the body of Christ will make it. We need each other. Joshua and Caleb, through the strength of their united faith, brought the entire nation of Israel to the Promised Land. Praise God for their unity. There is multiplied power when believers are united together. We must work together to see God’s plans happen.

The House Church Model

Many Christians today think house church is only an alternative form of church – they think it’s one way among many. They say, “house church may be great for you, but it’s not for me.” 

But church is an objective reality, not a subjective reality. Church is defined by God, not by us. House church is the only model of church given by God in the NT. We can’t just do church however we want; we need to do church the way God told us to in the NT. 

The NT Church Pattern

We must follow the teachings and examples of Christ and his apostles in the New Testament. Specifically, we need to follow the pattern of church found in Acts 2 and 4. This is the basic form and function of the bride of Christ. 

The Bible says the early church in Jerusalem continued faithfully in the apostolic teachings (Acts 2:42). The early Jerusalem church perfectly reflects what the apostles taught, and this is the divine standard for the church today.

The NT reveals that the church in each city was comprised of multiple house church communities. These house church communities met daily to break bread. They prayed together often. They had fellowship regularly. They shared everything. They sold their excess properties for the benefit of others. They even lived together.

People have all kinds of excuses as to why we don’t need to do such “radical” things in church today. 

Theological Excuses of Cessationism and Micro-Dispensationalism

Many Christians say, “That was just for them and then. It’s not for us today. It was for the beginning of the church but not now.” This is cessationism, a false theology that says the teachings of the New Testament don’t apply to us today. 

God never said we could change the New Testament. The instructions of the NT are our instructions today. We need to reject cessationism, whether it’s regarding spiritual gifts or regarding NT church practices.

We are not micro-dispensationalists either, believing that the church started one way in Jerusalem, and then God began working a different way through another church model 30 years later. The church pattern of Acts 2 and 4 is the church pattern that was followed throughout the entire NT apostolic period. 

Early Christians in each city followed this model to greater or lesser degrees, depending on their levels of spiritual maturity and dedication to God. No later apostolic teachings in the NT contradict this early Jerusalem model; instead, these later teachings build upon this initial blueprint and reveal its intricacies.  Apostolic instructions to the church given later in the NT (in Corinthians, Timothy, etc.) expand and build upon the basic church pattern recorded in Acts 2 and 4. The entire NT fits together perfectly to reveal a cohesive picture of what God’s house (his church) is to look like today.

God never changed the model of his house (the church), and we shouldn’t change it either. God owns his house and wants it built according to his blueprint. We have no right to make random alterations to God’s house. 

Cessationism and Dispensationalism are often just fancy-sounding theological excuses to justify disobedience to God.

“But It’s Too Risky to Do Church Like That!”

Most Christians today don’t want to do church like they did in early Acts. They think it’s too hard. They say, “IT’S TOO RISKY! What if we all have no food and die?”

In the parable of the sower, Jesus said there are three main things that choke God’s word (Mark 4:19).

1. Cares of life (worries about health, safety, security, etc.)

2. Deceitfulness of riches (chasing money)

3. Lusts for other things (wanting things that are not God’s will)

These three things choke the word of God and block people from obeying it. They hinder the construction of God’s house.

But if God is number one in our lives, we will be willing to sacrifice these things and just do what he says. These things are nothing compared to God. 

“No, I’m Not Coming to the Wedding Supper!”

Jesus says everything is ready for the wedding supper. He invites people to come to this glorious supper, but they refuse. This is why the bride of Christ is still not ready for the marriage even after 2,000 years (Rev. 19:7). She’s not ready to be married because she refuses to submit to her head and husband, Jesus Christ! She doesn’t want to do what he says because she thinks it’s too hard (or for other reasons).

Jesus said people have three primary excuses as to why they don’t want to come to the marriage supper (Luke 14:16-20).

1. Some say, “I have to focus on my business.” But God is more important than business.

2. Others say, “I need to take care of my investments.” But God is more important than money.

3. Others “say, I have married a wife, and therefore I can’t come”. But the newly-married status is not at all incompatible with focusing on Christ in community. Instead, the apostolic pattern of church is the best place for ALL Christians in ALL stages of life – singles, newlyweds, couples with young children, families with teenagers, and empty-nesters. God’s plan is the best for everyone!

When we submit to God’s word, we will become part of the bride of Christ. When the bride is ready, then the marriage supper will occur. The invitation to the wedding supper is really just an invitation for a group of people to fully submit to God. And until the church does this, the wedding supper won’t happen because the bride is not ready.

The End Times Rise of House Church Communities

As we approach the end of the age, radical saints will force their way into the kingdom of God (Matthew 11:12). They will seize the apostolic instructions of Acts 2 and 4. They will create house church communities, even if they have to go through fire and water to get there. These homes will be arks of safety, communities of refuge, and tabernacles of protection from the natural and spiritual troubles that are coming on the earth (Isaiah 4:5-6). Radical saints will sacrifice their own dreams and ambitions for the sake of God’s grand vision of his glorious bride (Ephesians 5:27).

To see such communities arise, we will have to take risks. Every step of obedience involves some form of risk, and larger steps of obedience will require greater risks. But these steps of obedience are actually NOT risky because obeying God is the only place of real safety. The safest place in the universe is in the center of God’s will. 

The growth of the church will cause our growth as individuals. Our individual spiritual maturity is wrapped up in the maturity of the bride of Christ. God is not going to give us a lot of personal revelations if we are not first obeying the general instructions in the New Testament for his church. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), and it is the means of our own maturity.

The steps to reach this glorious destination may seem hard. But someday soon, everyone in the world will see that it is actually far more risky to be outside a house church community than inside one. 

And like in the days of Noah, when the trouble begins, many people will seek to enter into this bridal position. They will frantically begin knocking at the door for it to open. But it will be too late, and the door will be shut (Luke 13:24-27). 

Let’s take risks for God now, so we get inside this place of safety before it’s too late.

by Peter