This summer, our family had the privilege of going to Puerto Rico. One day we did a river tour that was amazing. We learned that Puerto Rico doesn’t have any poisonous snakes or spiders that are native to the island. Which was comforting. Especially, when the tour guide grabbed a spider that was in a dark crevice of a cave and started handing it to the group.

Do you want to see a picture of me with the spider? I can’t show you that because it doesn’t exist. Now, I wouldn’t say that I’m afraid of spiders – I just don’t need that type of adventure in my life. I think worst case scenario: what if the spider that gets put on my face somehow evolved and became poisonous; or the tour guide heard wrong about there being no poisonous spiders on the island? No! I don’t trust. I’m not doing that. I’ll let my kids do it; but I’m not doing it.

We’re in this series, Letting Arrows Fly: How To Aim and Release Our Lives. Here’s what I want us to talk about today: At times, God will call us to aim our life in a certain direction that we don’t want to go. If you are a follower of Jesus, you can bet that there will come a time that God is going to call you to do something that is really scary to you. And in those moments, most of us are tempted to pass like I did with the spider. But do we have that option? I mean, I guess we have the option. But listen, What are we missing out on if we don’t step into the scary thing that God has for us? To take it a step further, many times God will call us to do something not simply for our benefit but for the benefit of others. So, What are we withholding from others when we don’t follow God’s leading?

All of us here are on a spectrum between playing it safe and being a risk-taker. Where would you place yourself? But here’s the thing, just because you are a risk-taker in one area doesn’t mean you are willing to take those risks in other areas. Some of you are massive risk-takers when it comes to your work. Some of you have started companies; which is super risky. But when it comes to your relationships, you play it safe by keeping people at a distance – you only let them come so far; you only let them see so much.

And if we’re being honest, most of us are playing it too safe when it comes to following Jesus. We’re not taking the risk to share our faith with our coworkers and neighbors; we don’t step into a small group and take the risk of becoming known in this community; we don’t take the risk of being generous and trusting God with our finances; we don’t take the risk of stepping into leadership and saying to others – like Paul did – “Follow me as I follow Christ.” We play it safe.

One of the main reasons why we play it safe is because we fear failing. We let "what if I fail?" overshadow "what if God wants to use me here?" But hear me, you will not be able to step into the purpose of God in your life without taking some calculated, faith-filled risks.

We are going to look at a passage of Scripture that shows the two ways that we can respond when God calls us into something scary. One response is faith-filled and risky; and the other that is fearful and safe. Let’s see what we can learn by comparing the two.

Numbers 13:1-2; 21; 26-28; 30-33

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”...

21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. …

26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. …

30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (These guys are convincing.)

Sometimes it’s wise to play it safe. But let me tell you when it’s not: When it’s clear that God is the one instructing you to do the opposite of the safe bet. Verses 1 and 2 say that The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. (Numbers 13:1-2) The key phrase in that passage is “WHICH I AM GIVING.” God was calling the Israelites to take possession of the land that he was giving them.

Next week Pastor Ben is going to talk about how we hear God’s voice – in essence, how we discern what God is giving us – the specific assignments that God is calling us into. But let me give you the framework Nicky Gumbel shares in Alpha on HOW GOD GUIDES US, and then share a story to illustrate why this is helpful.

Commanding Scripture (the Bible) - The Bible is our primary source of guidance. This isn't about randomly opening the Bible for answers, but studying and meditating on it to understand His will.

Compelling Spirit (the Holy Spirit) - We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, providing internal guidance through impressions, convictions, and that sense of peace or unease about decisions.

Counsel of the Saints (the church) - Wisdom Table. The maturity and wisdom of others provides accountability; and helps us avoid the dangers of making subjective and selfish decisions.

Common Sense (reason) - God gave us minds and he expects us to use them. Practical wisdom, logical thinking, and careful consideration of consequences are all part of how God guides us.

Circumstantial Signs (providence) - God can guide us through opening and closing doors; and also with the not-so-random occurrences of life.

The order of these things matter. Signs alone should not determine your decisions – they should be considered alongside the others. And you're not always going to get clarity or a green light from all five; so you will need to weigh and consider the priorities.

Back in 2008, when Bea and I were about 24 and 25 years old, and before we had kids of our own, we took in a teenage girl that was in the foster care system. Outside of deciding to get married, this was the biggest and hardest decision that we made in our lives. But let me tell you how it went down. One night, at our youth group that we were pastoring, Bea and I had separate conversations with this young lady; who had recently started coming with a friend. And on our drive home that night one of us said, I think we need to bring Christina to live with us. And the other turned wide-eyed and said, "I thought the same thing." Now that felt a bit like a combination of a Sign and the Spirit.

But here’s the thing, when we started sharing it with our parents, our mentors, our leaders, when we sought the Counsel of the Saints, all they saw were red flags. Like the 10 spies who came back with a bad report, they told us all the reasons why we shouldn’t do it. And like the spies, it was all fear based. She was a big girl who had been in a lot of fights. Her siblings had been in gangs. The fear was that she could get violent. They even feared, what if she accused me of something.

But when we considered the Scriptures and how it says we are to care for the orphans (both her parents had died of AIDS) and when we considered the peace we felt from the Spirit, and when we looked at the situation just from a common sense perspective – we had an extra room, she was living in a shelter – we were like, "what other proof or affirmation did we need to move forward?" And so we did. And it wasn’t easy. But it’s one of those moments in our lives and faith journey that we are glad that we said yes.

And listen, I don’t share this story for you to think well of us – I can tell you that I haven’t always gotten this right. But I share that story so that you may learn from it. Not saying yes in that moment would have felt like disobedience to God. In all honesty, the question today is not whether we are risk-takers or playing it safe. The real question is, Are we willing to be obedient to God’s voice?

What is God giving you or calling you into that you have been ignoring or saying ‘no’ to? What’s stopping you? For the Israelites it was fear. They said: …“We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”... They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.” (vv.31b and 32b)

Fear is debilitating. It makes us delusional. The Israelites got to the point where they said in chapter 14: “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:2b-4)

One commentator writes about this: They thought it was safer to return to Egypt! Safer to return to a land devastated by their God! Safer to return to a land still mourning for its firstborn sons! Safer to return to the land they had plundered on the eve of their exodus! Safer to return by the Red Sea where the Egyptian army had drowned when pursuing them! What kind of welcome do you think Pharaoh would give them? Yet, this seemed safer than to believe that God would lead them to victory in Canaan.

Can it be that at times our playing it safe is just foolish unbelief? I know that at times we can foolishly rush into things. But are we foolishly not stepping out in faith?

Now fear is typically the culprit. But let me give you several other ways of HOW WE PLAY IT SAFE.

We use perfectionism as a shield. Some of us are over-preparers. We delay, we delay, and we delay because we are convinced that we're not “ready” yet. And this can come across as spiritual, right?! – to seek more training, more prayer, more clarity – but sometimes it's just fear dressed up as wisdom.

We compare and then disqualify ourselves. We look at other people’s gifts and conclude that we have nothing valuable to offer. "Someone else is better at this" becomes our default excuse for not stepping forward when God may be calling us to act.

We let our past and weaknesses stop us. We see our limitations, failures, and even current situation as as a disqualifier. But let’s not forget that God often works through our weaknesses and broken places.

We settle for mediocrity. We convince ourselves that ambition or big dreams aren't humble or appropriate. Ouch!

We overthink, rather than obeying. We overanalyze every possible outcome rather than taking the next faithful step. Sometimes God calls us to move forward with incomplete information, trusting Him with the results.

To counter our tendency to play it safe, we need to remember that what’s most important is not our success or failure, but it’s our obedience and faithfulness – it’s remembering who is calling us and promising to be with us. That’s the only that allowed Joshua and Caleb, who had the dissenting view to the other ten, that we should do this. They said: “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:7b-9)

They believed what is taught throughout the Scriptures, that if God is for you, who can be against you. (Romans 8:31) They believed that he who was in them was greater than he who was in the world. (1 John 4:4) We shouldn’t have self-confidence. But man, we should have a lot of God-confidence and what he can do through us. When we're secure in that, we can take faith-filled risks and attempt great (and small) things for God.

So let me ask you, Has God invited you to step into something that scares you a bit? If he hasn’t, he will. I want you to be prepared to say yes. Here’s another question you may want to consider today: What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

Don’t let fear stop you. Let me ask you a question that may surprise you. Before Jesus went to the cross, was he afraid? Some of us struggle with that idea of Jesus being afraid – myself included. I don’t know if he was afraid in the way that you and I feel fear. But we do know that he was overwhelmed with sorrow and deeply distressed. We also know that he didn’t want to go where God was leading him – he didn’t want to drink the cup of God’s wrath. But for your sake and my sake – both as a substitution and example – he went there. He didn’t play it safe. He took the risk.

And if our Lord could feel those things, how much more will we? And because his power and presence is living within us, we can say yes to God and move forward in faith. Let’s pray.

RESPONSES

For those who haven’t crossed the line of faith yet, recognize that Jesus took the ultimate risk on the cross so that you might be forgiven of your sins. I would say that another word for risk in the Kingdom of God is faith. Faith is stepping into something even when we don’t have all the evidence – even when it’s scary. Jesus is calling you to trust in him.

Where is fear holding you back? Commit to memorize a passage of Scripture and meditate on it. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

What has God clearly spoken that he wants you to do; but you have been delaying or ignoring it? Sometimes God won’t give you the next assignment until you complete the current one. Commit to take one step this week in that assignment.